Thread by @litlnemo

So I read this article in @TheAtlantic, and I have a thing or two to say about it, and about what the author, @elcush, describes as "losing (her) mind." (Thread) (1/10) #ADHD #adhdtwitter

theatlantic.com/health/archive…

She writes, "...I can’t stop noticing all the things I’m forgetting. Sometimes I grasp at a word or a name. Sometimes I walk into the kitchen and find myself bewildered as to why I am there." At this point, I found myself bewildered as well. Because this is my DAILY LIFE. (2/10)

She also writes: "...a community-college teacher... told me she is losing her train of thought in the middle of a sentence more and more often. Meanwhile, her third grader, who is attending in-person school, keeps leaving his books, papers, and lunch at home." (3/10)

Again. This is my DAILY LIFE. It is my daily experience, because I have #ADHD.

I do not want to discount the anxiety, depression, and grief that neurotypical people are feeling right now, and those things were the point of the article. But I want to draw people's... (4/10)

...attention to the fact that a lot of people you know were *already* dealing with this long before COVID, and unlike the author, these people will continue to deal with this indefinitely. Some have medications that help to address it. Others (like me) do not. (5/10)

So this thing that @elcush calls "losing (one's) mind" or the "brutal fog of late pandemic" -- this is what #ADHD is. I wouldn't use either of those terms to describe it, myself, but if it feels like that to a neurotypical person, maybe -- just maybe -- NT people... (6/10)

...could sympathize with what #ADHD-havers deal with every. single. day. Maybe they could realize that something they think of as a "brutal" cognitive issue is difficult to fight through, and people who have to are not "lazy" or "stupid" or... any number of other things. (7/10)

You may think of #ADHD as something people make up to get Adderall, or something kids all grow out of, or something that can be easily cured with the right meds. But that is not what ADHD is. It actually overlaps with #autism in quite a few ways. (8/10)

So if you read @elcush's article and nodded your head, thinking "YES! That is how the pandemic is affecting me, and it's horrible!" please give a thought for those who already had those #ADHD symptoms and are dealing with pandemic issues on top of THAT. (9/10)

Because you may "get better" when... all THIS... is finally over, but we won't. And yet we will just keep carrying on with our lives as always, because we have to. So spare a thought for us. (10/10)