Thread by @ADHDelaide

When you have ADHD, there's this "We can do anything we set our minds to!" mentality going around. And I just realized that it rubs me the wrong way because... well, comes with an invisible addendum: "but you have to finish it or you're a failure". And that's the problem. 1/n

We might be capable of doing anything, but our energy is limited and unpredictable. Losing interest in projects for us is a big deal, because often that's the only thing that keeps us going. Doing things without interest is almost impossible for people with ADHD. 2/n

It doesn't mean we can't complete long term projects (like PhDs), but it requires a lot of effort and external structure. Strategies to keep it fresh, make it shiny and exciting again. It's a lot of work! And we also have trouble realizing this and anticipating it. 3/n

When we're hyperfocused in something, we lose the temporal perspective and in that moment, we don't realize we will get bored of it eventually, even it it has happened a million times before. That makes us start many projects that get abandoned, and the shame cycle begins. 4/n

We've dropped so many things in our lives and the shame is so big, that it makes us cling harder to those projects we currently have, to demonstrate we can do it. But is that worth it? Why keep something that's making us unhappy and stressed? 5/n

We often forget to ask ourselves... Is this something I still want? Is this something I'm enjoying? Why am I still doing this?

And the answer often is... "because I have to". But why?! That's the thing... we don't have to. We can let it go. 6/n

The "you can do anything" mentality makes it look like we can do things out of sheer will. And that's the thing; with ADHD, we often can't.

And that's okay! We just need our toolboxes. Plan, external support, anticipate future lack of interest, and specially, let shame go. 7/7