If Humans Do It, ADHD Affects It Part I
Recently, I was talking about ADHD to a group of college students, and I said, “Basically, if humans do it, ADHD affects it. I had ten minutes to explain all of ADHD to these students (NOT ENOUGH TIME!), so I did not take the time to expand on that. However, I will here!
Going to the Bathroom
When an ADHDer gets into hyperfocus, the message from the bladder to the brain that it is time to evacuate can get ignored. This results in a mad dash to the restroom after the ADHDer finally says, “Holy crap, I’ve never had to pee this bad in my life!”
Moreover, ADHD and enuresis often co-occur. Enuresis is involuntary urination which can either occur during the day (diurnal enuresis) or at night (nocturnal enuresis).
Relationships
Family
The challenges of raising a child with ADHD or raising a child when a parent has ADHD can cause family distress. Non-ADHD children can be jealous of the attention their ADHD sibling needs. A person with ADHD might subconsciously cause arguments and fights due to the craving for stimulation the ADHD brain has.
Friends
Those with ADHD can miss social cues and have a hard time making friends. Also, ADHDers can sometimes forget about their friends because they get wrapped up in whatever else is going on in their life. Or, they can leave friends behind if those friendships were made while engaging in a hobby the ADHDer dropped to pick up yet another new hobby.
Romantic Relationships
When a new relationship begins, ADHDers can be super focused on the new relationship. However, when the newness fades, the non-ADHD partner can feel ignored because the same level of attention is gone. If the non-ADHD partner does not have an understanding of ADHD, it can cause additional stress when the ADHD-partner makes the same types of mistakes ADHDers are prone to making. The non-ADHD partner can also be prone to feeling more like a parent than a significant other.
Spirituality
If you cannot focus, praying is hard. It is also hard to study your faith and listen to sermons. Sitting in a pew for an hour can also clash with the hyperactive part of ADHD.
School
There are a multitude of difficulties for ADHDers in the classroom:
Boredom
Sitting still during class
The urge to blurt out answers rather than raising one’s hand
Focusing on a lecture
Reading comprehension
Memorizing needed information
Completing assignments
Socialization
…and more!
Work
There are a multitude of difficulties for ADHDers in the workplace:
Boredom
Sitting still during meetings
Focusing on what needs to be done right now
Reading comprehension
Memorizing needed information
Completing projects
Socialization
…and more!
Maintaining One’s Home
Cleaning and maintaining the upkeep of one’s living quarters can be a challenge when you are constantly behind in other areas such as school, work, social engagements, etc. Plus, neatness is not something that comes naturally to ADHDers.
Driving
Is it just me, or should roadside billboards be banned? The video billboards are especially distracting. Also, dogs. If I see a dog on the sidewalk, I will turn and look at it. I also don’t like people messing with the controls in my car. Any time someone pushes a button or makes some adjustment, I have to look at what they are doing. The distractions are minimized if I am the only one who can control things in the car. Those are just some of the distractions that can be troublesome for ADHDers while driving. There are more and will vary from ADHDer to ADHDer.