If you’ve ever opened 12 browser tabs and forgotten what you were looking for,
if you’ve ever started crying because you couldn’t make yourself open the right file,
if you’ve ever stared at a blinking cursor for 40 minutes because your brain refused to switch tasks...
Hi. I wrote this for us.
1. Time is not a line
People talk about time like it’s a schedule. Linear. Predictable. But for me, it’s fog.
I’ll think it’s 7:30pm and it’s actually 9:00. Or feel like I just sat down five minutes ago, only to find an hour vanished.
It’s not just “bad estimation”—it’s a total disconnection. I can’t feel time passing.
2. Hyperfocus is not flow
When I finally start something, I might not eat, drink, blink.
But unlike flow, I don’t feel my body. I don’t sense my needs. I emerge from it like I’ve been underwater, totally drained.
It’s not empowering. It’s dangerous when unmanaged.
3. Short-term memory is a black hole
I can write a to-do list and forget it exists ten minutes later.
I’ll say “I’ll respond to that email in a sec”—gone.
It’s like my RAM is 256MB and crashes if I open one more tab.
4. Dopamine is a tyrant
My brain doesn’t produce or regulate dopamine the same way.
So when I fall in love, or get obsessed with a hobby, it consumes me.
After breakups, I spiral.
After losing interest, even things I used to love feel dead.
I ping-pong between “I’m a genius” and “I can’t do anything right.” Both feel true.
5. I can’t see what’s right in front of me
Yes, literally. My phone can be on the desk in front of me. I’ll look at it and not see it.
ADHD isn’t just attention deficit—it’s perception distortion. Sometimes, my brain just doesn’t “register” something is there.
6. Starting is harder than finishing
The problem isn’t “I don’t want to.”
The problem is my brain won’t let me.
I want to play that game. I like that game. But I can’t start.
The launch icon mocks me.
Sometimes I just sit there, feeling gross, like I hate myself.
7. The future doesn’t feel real
Because of how my dopamine system works, “future rewards” don’t motivate me.
A paycheck next week? Meh.
A cookie right now? YES.
It’s not about willpower. It’s brain chemistry.
8. My emotions bypass logic
ADHD messes with both the prefrontal cortex (logic) and limbic system (emotion).
Especially the amygdala.
Which means tiny things—being misunderstood, small criticism—feel like being stabbed.
We don’t overreact on purpose. It feels that intense in our body.
9. I live in extremes
Before diagnosis, I ping-ponged between “I’m lazy and broken” and “I’m brilliant and misunderstood.”
Turns out both were symptoms.
Even now, I’ll go days thinking “I don’t really have ADHD.”
Then the fog hits, the freeze hits, and I remember.
Not everything fits the online checklist. That doesn’t mean it’s not real.
I’m not trying to explain this perfectly. I’m just trying to make space for the things that don’t get named.
If anything here resonated with you: You’re not imagining it.
You’re not lazy.
And you’re not alone.
If you're curious how I built tools to survive this brain (like the Dual-Task Pomodoro Timer or ChronoGrid), you might enjoy this story:
👉 Why the Dual-Task Pomodoro Is a Game-Changer for Distracted Minds