Thread by @The_Weed

One helpful thing I realized about #ADHD time-blindness/inaccurate time estimates is, yes, of course this means that we often WAY overestimate all the things we can get in during the “15 minutes before the meeting” time slot. BUT it actually goes the other way too! /1

In other words, when I have two hours ahead of me, I actually have little to no idea what *that* time slot means either, and for some reason I tend to UNDERestimate how much time that actually is!

This is very helpful to recognize because /2

the way we are socialized to interact with time seems to focus on the million instances of the“15 minute” time slot—where we’re hyper-focused and rushing to get things done—where time feels like a limited resource.

When my brain uses that same perception mechanism on large /3

time-blocks (time is scarce! I don’t have enough time! Hurry!) it makes those large blocks feel extremely scarce AND long, which leads to panic and fear, which leads to dissociation and avoidance. And then, ironically, the time really does speedily slip away in unintended ways /4

But when I consciously recognize “I am misgauging this time slot—it feels urgent and scarce but it is actually large and I do not need to rush, panic or optimize” I am then able to soothe my system and have more gentle volition/choice around how I spend that time /5

This allows me to be present, to feel calm in my body, and to be more aligned with my intentions as I enjoy the block of time more freely. It’s especially effective when I loosely track time by setting a timer to remind me to observe the slow passage of time as I do my things./6

I’ve found this can be hard to do (training the brain not to panic is tough—it’s literally trying to save our lives and finds learning new things to be terrifying). But as I push through the discomfort I find my relationship with time is slowly healing. /7

I find the words that came into my mind during meditation a couple years ago

“Time is not a bully. It is a gentle guide.”

as well as these words a year or so later

“It’s okay to use a timer” (I resist timers as an ableist intervention)

to be more and more true as I do this./8

I have to point out something hilarious.

You know how zen I seemed to feel as I wrote this thread about feeling calm in the passage of time? How soothing my words were, even to myself? (I really did feel soothed)

I “came to” at the end of writing this and /2.1

and I realized with that sick jolt of shame and panic that I’d hyper focused my way into being twenty minutes late to work, knowing a client would be waiting and the door to my office suite would probably be locked.

I had forgotten to set a timer to remind /2.2

myself to leave. And if I don’t put this phone down RIGHT NOW and hop into the shower I might just do it to myself again.

So for all the effective interventions, tools, and tips we discover, it’s important to remember that this *is* an actual disability, and that /2.3

we’re worthy, complete human beings no matter how much our brains make us “misfits” in this ableist, capitalistic society.

I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re all okay. And we’re all doing our very best.

And it is enough. ❤️

*hops into the shower and forgets his towel* /2.4