Thread by @kathleenlarae

Thread: I wrote this back in October for #ADHDawarenessmonth , and thought I’d share here with the new #NeurodiverseSquad I’ve found. I spent October looking for any inspiration I could find, as I was so frustrated with hating my disability and thinking so negatively about myself

I needed some inspiration after all the time spent researching the symptoms of my weirdly wired brain please share this moment with me. 🙃 Life with ADHD is a struggle in many ways, but it can also be a gift.

💡 Impulsivity can become spontaneity, sparking creativity and out-of-the-box solutions. It can also mean planning to go to Disney World for the weekend TONIGHT because you’re bored, and everything will be packed in 5 hours. I can go from 0-100 real quick when given motivation!

👭 Chattiness and friendliness combined with impulsivity leads to taking chances and making new friends unexpectedly. Sometimes this side of me comes out, but not if I sense someone is judging me. Then my rejection sensitivity switch turns on. But sometimes- we make friends!

🎁 Impatience leads to persistence and the drive to achieve the heart’s desire (key words being “heart’s desire”- if we want it, we will fight till we’ve got it). We believe ANYTHING is possible, and tend to research and hyper focus until we find solutions.

🥇Hyperactivity and persistence lead to unending energy which can be honed into athletic superiority and greatness, or a desire to take fast-paced, non-stop jobs, and the ability to move up to the top. I’m not blessed with this particular ADHD gift- inattentive type over here😂

❤️ Hyper-sensitive emotions which can lead to outbursts and “tantrums” can also lead to amazing compassion and empathy. People with ADHD often feel very deeply and fight for who and what they believe in! We look for outcasts and love them, probably because we’ve been them.

🧜‍♀️ 🧚🏽‍♂️Non-stop/out-of-the-box thoughts lead to a vivid imagination and amazing creative potential! We are lovers and dreamers. I only wish I could focus enough to put those dreams to use to make 💰 😂 many of us can and I admire you so much!

💁🏻‍♀️Here I am! People with ADHD tend to be genuine and open, because it’s exhausting for us to play social games. Even when I don’t intend to over-share, I over-share (thanks, impulsivity).

People with #ADHD are often very intuitive, and usually know if someone is “secretly” judging them. I’ve struggled with social anxiety due to ADHD, but I’m trying not to let it stop me. Life is too short and I’m too awkward.. let’s just be friends ok? 😅

One of the most amazing gifts of ADHD is hyper-focus: the unusual ability (possibly the wrong word, since it’s often involuntary) to drown out all other things, often to the frustration of everyone around us, but only when we’ve locked into something we truly love.

This can be both detrimental and time wasting (think of how you scroll Facebook for an hour and wish you hadn’t- we’ll raise you 4 more hours), but also incredibly beneficial for so many reasons. If we love painting or drawing, we paint or draw for an entire day.

We hyperfocus on literally whatever is seizing our attention at the moment- mine is usually research online. We can’t rip ourselves away until we’ve planned out the BEST family vacation, found the perfect job for a friend in need, read ALL the reviews of our favorite movie, etc.

Some may be more productive in their hyperfocus- nonstop cleaning machines with spotless houses, athletes and musicians and artists who train and create endlessly to achieve perfection- SO MANY famous artists have ADHD (my favorite is @brendonurie of @PanicAtTheDisco).

They’ve honed in on their strengths and creativity, and come up with ways to unlock their gifts of ADHD, whether through life coaching or medication or meditation or just impulsively taking a risk and throwing everything they have into whatever they love.

I don’t have a beautiful ending to this thread- only wanted to share ways I’ve learned slowly to look at my “disability” in more positive ways, even though sometimes it genuinely sucks and I feel behind everyone else all the time. We are all beautiful and unique.

God bless all my #NeurodiverseSquad! Photo from @UnpackingADHD for some visual inspiration ✨ and where I got some of my positive thoughts!

Also special thanks to @danidonovan for sparking a renewed positivity in me through all your ADHD graphics. So glad you helped form this #NeurodiverseSquad !