Lived Experience Forum

[Jynx]

@Sunnyside226 not at all, I am always happy to talk about my ADHD! So if you have more questions, please feel free to ask! 

I don't think it makes me run faster as in, faster than other people. But I do tend to walk pretty quickly. 

Is there anything else you'd wanna know before you meet with this person?

[Sunnyside226]

@ArraDreaming   Yea  it must be annoying     so your on the move all the time?  

[Jynx]

@Sunnyside226 kinda, like I'm usually stimming in some way shape or form. Like if I'm sitting, my leg is almost always bouncing. Or I'll be fidgeting with my phone or something. Sometimes when the restlessness is extra bad, it'll feel like if I don't do something I'll explode. 

[Sunnyside226]

@Jynx one question 

Do you have hand flipping?    I get everyone's different with this  

I'm just preparing myself for next week 

Also do you  squeal 

If you know what I mean  

Alright that was 2 questions not 1 😂  maybe 3  are we still pals? 

[ArraDreaming]

the thing is it’s just me, just how I am, sure there are parts of adhd I don’t like but also it’s just the way I am, and there are some perks too… don’t get me wrong there is a bit of both,

I have a lot of energy and drive to try new things, I am creative and a different thinker.

We call it the Can’t Sit Stills in our house instead of boring old ADHD, we think one of our kids may have it too

For example it’s pretty normal for me to be skipping… if I’m watching tv (solo - not with the Mrs if I’m watching tv with the Mrs or kids I try to be good) I usually have a skipping rope or doing something.
If there is no movement required for the activity - I will make movement for it, I have to be moving
It’s just basically my personality, sure there’s a label to it called adhd but adhd is just a collective term for different parts of my personality

@Sunnyside226 @Jynx that’s what I always frame it as, it’s not I have ADHD and I want that all to disappear, it’s I have ADHD which is a label for how I operate, some good things some not so good things. If you took adhd away from me you’d be taking a large portion of my brain away.
Everyone has a personality and character traits, and how they function…. mine just happens to have a label

[Jynx]

@Sunnyside226 we're still pals! 

Hmm not so much on the hand flapping though I've been known to have 'T-rex arms' sometimes, kinda like in this pic: 

I do like a bit of hand flapping but it's not my main stim. I don't squeal, unless I'm super upset of course haha. I do however make a lot of random noises, little grunts and squeaks and stuff. 

[ArraDreaming]

I think some of the things you’re describing sound like possible autism traits @Sunnyside226 from my experience
I guess there is cross over for some people but not for me, I don’t have autism (that I know of 🤔) but I have a pretty good experience of it

[Jynx]

Aye a good summary @ArraDreaming for sure! Like when I first got diagnosed, my mum was all upset and said "I just don't like to think of my baby having a condition!" 

Like... it's not a condition, it's simply a different way of moving through the world. Or a different operating system. Like neurotypicals are Mac, ADHD are Windows (and autistic folk are Linux? Haha all my autistic friends would totally laugh at that, I'm absolutely gonna tell em), and whilst they do still perform the same set of tasks, some might have features others don't, or perform certain tasks more quickly or efficiently. 

So yeah, I might forget appts or run late all the time or lose stuff a lot, but I also can think outside the box, I'm full of random facts, and I have a creative streak a mile long. Oh, and I'm very funny 😋

[ArraDreaming]

exactly… it’s not a “condition” because we’ve always had it and it’s always been there, I always think… nothing changes when you get that label, it’s what happens AFTER
a peice of paper saying “this is the name of some of the things you do” (not literally)
Ok cool?
If I want to use that in the future to get supports or adjustments in the work place or something I can, but for now it’s an explanation of why I am the way I am, nothing more nothing less
the label is just a word… it says this is the reason you are the way you are, we made a word for it

It’s about how you choose to use that label and that’s entirely up to you @Jynx (sometimes sadly it’s not up to you all the time and there can be stigma, I think we are moving forward though) 

[ArraDreaming]

You are v funny @Jynx true