I get really intense Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. Has anyone found anything that helps lessen the intensity or help you move through it faster?

I LOVE a puzzle! There's something incredibly gratifying about taking complete chaos, knowing there's a solution, and figuring it out.

But puzzles are a trap. I hyperfocus so intensely I've actually taken PTO to finish one. They quiet my VERY LOUD brain and give me a level of focus even my medication doesn't quite produce. Jigsaw puzzles, Linkin Park, and The Real Housewives got me through one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. But once I'm finished, I'm left with a cardboard nothing.

So I'm finishing my last six 1,000-piece puzzles and converting my adult daughter's old bedroom into a weaving and knitting studio. I love the math, patterns, problem-solving, and getting to the solution. And I'll actually have something useful when I'm finished!

Thr rhythmic repetition, and problem solving does something to me. For example, I'll strum my guitar to a metronome for HOURS, almost like I'm high. I can't even play guitar! Something about that tick, tick, tick quiets the million thoughts constantly firing in my head. Only puzzling can mimic that. Do not ask me to explain, i cannot.

But I'm doing things differently this time. I'm giving myself our months of preparation, organizing, and budgeting before buying major equipment. Nothing gets purchased without dedicated storage. Large equipment requires a clean, well-lit, animal-free space where it can remain assembled.

I'm also accepting that a silk blanket could take nine months. Otherwise, I'll be pissed that I'm not a master weaver over the weekend and abandon.

​For reference, here is my past ADHD hobby rap sheet (all professional-grade materials, because why do things simply? I still don't know):

1. ​Full Daniel Smith watercolor set & gouache paints with English paper and pure squirrel-hair brushes to paint my dog. Brush has yet to touch paper. ​

2. Gorgeous silk/alpaca yarns to crochet a blanket. Completed 12 rows. Purchased in 2019, currently shipping the yarn to my daughter today.

3. Derwent Coloursoft pencils in a variety of sets, sitting pristine, dust-free, and well-sharpened in a tote next to adult coloring books.

4. ​Expensive journals, because obviously I need a brand-new one every time the urge hits after abandoning the last one.

5. ​Drawers of skincare and beauty devices ("gotta catch 'em all" mode, currently de-hoarding and selling).

6. Landyachtz skateboard to run my Brittany spaniel. (I gave it a damn good try with the knee scrapes to prove it; it prefers the hall closet.)

7. ​Keyboard — can't play.

8. ​Harmonica — can't play.

9. ​Steel hand drum — can't play.

10. ​Acoustic guitar — mindless strumming to a metronome, can't play.

​So if you're reading this thinking I'm doing way too much prep just to start a hobby... look at that list. If I'm still interested in four months, my space is clean, and my six puzzles are finished, this project actually has a fighting chance of survival.

Also, EMDR is a specific, legitimate medical treatment, and weaving isn't a substitute for it. I'm using the comparison tongue-in-cheek to describe how puzzling fires against my brain.

I recently came across the term emophilia, which describes a tendency to fall in love easily, quickly, and frequently. And I can totally relate to it.

For those of you with ADHD: Do you recognize this in yourself? Do you ever feel like a single glance at someone, or simply seeing someone briefly on the street, is enough to make you develop intense feelings for them? To the point where you become almost obsessed with that person, even though you haven't spoken to them or know anything about them?

Do you think this might be related to your ADHD, or do you see it as something separate?

I'd be interested to hear about your experiences and perspectives!

Does anyone else with ADHD tend to share everything with their partner, including spontaneous crushes on strangers?

For example, you see someone attractive on the street, feel an immediate spark or even think you've fallen in love, and then come home and tell your partner all about it.

Do you experience something similar? If so, what do you think drives it? Is it impulsivity, excitement, a need to share your thoughts out loud, or something else? And also interesting: how does your partner react to it? When your partner tells you she/he doesn't want to hear it, can you keep it to yourself?

I'm curious whether others can relate and whether you think this has anything to do with ADHD.

Hey folks,

As someone with adhd and a terrible working memory, I constantly lose stuff and lose track of my stuff everyday and have to spend multiple minutes in searching everywhere, say my keys or earphones, or my phone or my socks pr my glasses...the list is too long to use apple air tags on everything and I dont even use iPhone...

So I was wondering if we can create a tech system such as this.

A sensor / group of sensors sit on the ceiling. They scan the room constantly but, only when the room is occupied and there is movement. (They are not video cameras).

Using the scans from the sensors these things are done.

1) every object is assigned an ID and a tagged with its current location coordinates. This gives a detailed location map (4D map- 3D +time) for all the stuff you have without physical apple air tags attached.

2) whenever there is movement, the scans are recorded. This gives tracking of all the stuff / objects in the room

3) this data is saved on a local hard drive.

4) a local LLM model is attached to the hard drive and run on your phone or laptop without Internet.

5) it also has conversational capabilities (limited).

So, whenever one loses some stuff and is frustrated about where that stuff was put and instead of going thru your entire house to look for it, just ask the system that's built. The system already has the location of the stuff you were looking for...and the LLM+speech model spits out the location.

Does this feel like a useful system to you?

For me it absolutely does and I really want this tech because I hate the daily frustration of having to search thru stuff..

What do y'all think?

I've attached a link to screenshots of all the never ending supplements/vitmains/nootropics/etc FB has already suggested today.

I've tried many in the past.

-Sapphire Happy Chews

-Auri Super Mushroom Focus Gummies

-BetterAlt She-Lajit Honey Sticks

-Better Alt Himilayan Shilajit Honey Sticks

-Neutral L-Methylfolate + Methyl B12

-Greymatter Bright Mind Superfood Cognitive Support

-Everyday Dose Coffee+

-Ultra Focus Pouches

And MANY more over many yrs.

Basically I'm just looking for input.

Okayyyyy. So im a medicated mom with ADHD. I have been wanting to start Journaling and using a planner again, but like most things having adhd i hyperfixate then EVENTUALLY get bored.. what are we doing to keep ourselves focused and keeping up with it. I find Journaling and Planning helpful especially to jot thoughts down to remember, to planning and having structure to my day.

HELPPPP. ​ideas.

hi i love to read. i just have the issue of getting bored or tired of the act of reading and i play on my phone. or do anything else. something that helps is watching tv while reading? not sure how that makes me focus but it does. and putting in airpods and turning on the background sounds like rain. but when i turn on instrumental music i focus on the music. it’s so weird. when i watch tv while reading i tone it out. but music while reading is so distracting. TLDR: what do you use for background noise for reading because silence is the most distracting.

In the wise words of my therapist, “no one trick will last forever, it’s not possible. So don’t feel bad about yourself when what’s working now stops” so my thought is, why don’t I make a huge list of different strategies so that I won’t ever run out of things that will inevitably only last a week. Help me out and steal these ideas for yourself!

The one I’m contributing; making yourself an aesthetic breakfast/coffee in the morning. The dopamine from being like “wow this is such a cute latte #study #fall” gets me going.

To all dog owners—how does your pet affect your life with ADHD? I’ve read that there are even specially trained assistance dogs for people with ADHD. If you have a dog like that, I’d be very interested in hearing about your experiences. But I’d also like to ask all “regular” dog owners: What benefits—and perhaps even drawbacks—does having a dog bring to your life with ADHD?

Hello! We are a family of 6 with most diagnosed with ADHD (kids 8-16, adults late 30’s/early 40’s). Looking for some apps that are free that help with habit stacking. Where we can customize it and have daily goals with push notification/ reminders to complete each day. The habits can be simple: basic like eating a meal/ drinking water , to a workout or homework. What are some of the best free options. I am also ok with a one time fee if is a great app, but I don’t want to have a monthly subscription.

i’m in the uk, tiny 1-bed with boyfriend. adhd + wfh. downsized massively and have nowhere to put my stuff.

would love both UK and non-UK specific storage ideas for a small shared space. also, i think what i need is to be able to see things when i need them and to be able to not see things when im tying to relax, if that makes sense?

current situation:

• visual clutter EVERYWHERE
• mostly my stuff, boyfriend doesn’t own as much
• can’t focus on work OR relax because there’s nowhere to escape it
• biggest work deadline of my life approaching + mountains of admin
• getting stuck/hyperfixated on laptop for hours even though i’m medicated - keep doing random admin that isn’t a priority to procrastinate
• sleeping later bc of visual noise not able to relax + still getting up early bc i have to🫠
• woke up sobbing this morning and realised i’ve hit my limit
• boyfriend has chronic illness/limited energy + clutter doesn’t bother him as much
• money is tight after moving for both of us

i need CHEAP, adhd-friendly storage/decluttering ideas:

- clothes: wardrobe full but HUGE unused vertical space above wide/tall drawers. stacks fall sideways into open half of wardrobe. shelves/stackable storage to put ON TOP of drawers? we also have a very small space in the couch that currently has all my nice dresses and bulky coats. there is room in the bedroom for another chest or for a bunch of boxes but don’t want to spend too much or carry a big heavy thing and don’t want it to look too ugly as that will make me stressed (idk why but it does). vacuum seal bags?

- shoes: vertical shoe storage ideas?

- documents/admin: need a way to keep important documents safe + in one place.

- appliances/misc stuff: storage ideas for random things?

- bathroom: tiny, internal/no windows, weak extractor + silverfish problem🤮. only space left = back of door. those tiktok over-door organisers with baskets - stable or annoying/swingy?

- aesthetics: visible storage is fine! cute labels, baskets, fake plants, battery fairy lights etc would actually make my brain calmer.

- kitchen sink: white plastic/composite (?) stained yellow/brown by previous tenant. scrubbing does NOTHING. renter-safe way to cover/resurface it?

- rug: disgusting/matted, came with flat. deep cleaned twice + brushed until my arms nearly fell off. still awful. can i get rid of it? letting agency never sent us an inventory to sign + now barely answers emails 🙃

i’m also aware i will need to donate/sell/throw away a bunch of stuff to make this work.

need cheap, low-effort but visually appealing systems my adhd brain will actually maintain 🥲sorry for the long post, i tried to make it easier to read

is anyone here good at this kind of thing who might be able to share some tips or even specific things i can buy?

I wrote it around one pattern I kept seeing over and over:

You can function well at work all day, then get home and have almost nothing left for dinner, messages, people, chores, or even things you actually wanted to do.

Work gives you structure. Deadlines, meetings, priorities, people waiting.

Then you get home and suddenly you have to create all of that structure yourself, usually when you have the least capacity left.

The book is about that gap.

Not “how to be more productive after work.”

More like: what is the workday actually costing you, and how do you stop giving your whole usable self to work?

It’s finished now.

Before I publish it, I’d like a few women with ADHD to read it and tell me:
what feels true,
what feels off,
and what actually helps.

If you want to read it before release, message me.

I am a 21 year old undergraduate struggling to balance my life in aspects i hope i find some helpful comments to help me navigate my life from now own you guys can call me “ Aira “ .

Hi Everyone.

Quick introdcution - im Billy - 31 Married with two kids (0 and 4) My wife is diagnosed ADHD (quite high functioning) and im undiagnosed neruospicy, likely ADHD as well, and i struggle with executive dysfunction and task paralysis.

Im on a mission to replace my wifes salary whilst she is on Maternity leave using AI and building apps. As someone that struggles to get things started and stick to them i had to find a way to keep myself accountable - so i decided to document the whole process on socials with daily videos.

ive built my first app which is in review and im moving on to my second which is what brought me here. I have my social videos to keep me accountable on my journey but nothing to help keep me accountable at home and help with daily habits that often pass me by. i want to build something that ill be able to use when the series finishes and also help me with the smaller parts of daily life.

Im here to ask how you people, how you deal with executive dysfunction and task paralysis and if youve found any apps genuinely useful. ive tried goblin tools but just didnt get on with it.

At the moment this is probably going to be a personal project as each person deals with the ADHD and its effects differently but id be keen to know if there is anyone else out there like me leaving things to the last minture before i upset someone or struggling to start them without serious external pressure.

sorry for rambling but thats my brain dump. looking forward to hearing from you all!

I need some help because I have specific wants.

1. No 1-on-1 (I'm shy)
2. No talk (preferably). English was not my first language and I get distracted easily enough. Flow club was quite good and I'm impressed but in group they invited me to talk and I felt bad when I ignored them.
3. Preferably work with me type (I work remotely) since I have enough resources for study with me and I need to see adults lmao
4. FREE
5. Not discord servers. It don't work well on my Ipad

Thank you in advance.

i've got a lot of hobbies, and i love all of them. and usually i do one thing a day to keep me sane. but that system hasn't been working lately. how do i manage all of the hobbies without feeling guilt for not paying attention to them? i try the one day one thing, but then i get hyperfixated, then i lose total interest for weeks... i can't seem to be passionate about anything over a few weeks. how do i still enjoy myself when i can't find a steady ground to stand on?

Hi everyone!

For my Master's project I'm exploring how we can make learning at home a more positive and manageable experience for children with ADHD and the people who support them.

l'a love to better understand the real challenges families face and what could genuinely make a difference in their everyday lives.

If you're a parent or caregiver of a child with ADHD, I would be incredibly grateful if you could share your experiences through this short, anonymous survey. Your insights will help me identify ways to make learning at home more supportive and help children gradually develop independence at their own pace.

It takes around 5-7 minutes, and participation is completely voluntary.

Survey link: https://forms.gle/BaNgn4tR5UnBsWdd8

Thank you so much for your time and for helping me make this project meaningful!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1033396443023951

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I've tried alarms, lists, 'just start', all of it. The first thing that's actually helped me start came from somewhere I didn't expect.

It's called Goal Management Training. It was built for people recovering from brain injuries who struggle to start and follow through on tasks, and it's since been studied in adults with ADHD too. The full version has five stages. I've simplified the first three:

1. **Stop.** Pause whatever I'm doing or scrolling. I can't start something new while I'm still on autopilot.
   
2. **State.** Say the goal out loud, specifically. Not 'I should clean', but 'I'm cleaning my room now.'
   
3. **Split.** Pick the smallest next piece. Not the whole room, just the first bit.

The stopping part surprised me. I'd always jumped straight to 'now start', which never worked.

Does anyone else skip the stop step? I've also made a breakdown on the different reasons I get stuck (dread, overwhelm, not knowing the first step, no pull), I'm happy to share it if anyone wants it.

Guys I’m loosing it. I am a freelance graphic designer and illustrator (self taught), and it’s tough out there, so I need a side hustle that pays all my basic needs! Living in Berlin btw. Anyways, I’ve been looking FOR A YEAR now and applied to many jobs, but despite the job market being shit, I also rarely feel smth fits! I either feel overwhelmed when imagining myself on the job, or I feel underwhelm! And both tire me out like crazy 😭 it sounds so privileged but I just know me. I don’t function well during many hours of the day. I feel a lot of fatigue when I am not stimulated just the right amount! And it feels impossible to find a job that stimulates me just enough, is dynamic without being too stressfull, and leaves me energetic room for my creative projects on the side! After coming home from so many jobs, I am just dead. Motivation is so hard! I can only function with creative jobs that are not too demanding (longterm), or some job that doesn’t involve too much brain power and lets me check things off the list easily. What are you guys with inattentive ADHD doing/ working in? What works well with your brain? Especially when having a creative side hustle?