I haven’t ever been diagnosed with ADHD, but part of the program is my Bipolar. A ton of the symptoms fit within the same realm as Bipolar and doctors don’t like over diagnosing… I’ve been watching the ADHD TikTok a bunch lately and sometimes you just have those “ah ha” moments. Where things really just click and you have deja vu. I’ve taken ADHD medication before and it really helped, but sadly, I’ll never be able to get diagnosed since doctors assume you just want the meds to get high.
Some of my symptoms include:
- Appearing Bubbly or Quirky or Eccentric
- Reliving Every Convo & Regretting What I Said
- Dissociating/DayDreaming
- Bad Memory/Forgetfulness
- Insomnia (Needing a Nap in Midday)
- Hard Time Listening/Constantly Interrupting People
- Overwhelmed By Simple Everyday Tasks
- Hyperfixating
- Skin Picking
- Oversharing
- Poor Volume Control
- Disassociating While Driving
- Being “Too Sensitive or Emotional”
- New Hyperfixation Each Month
- Fatigue/Burn Out/Depressive Episodes
- Perfectionist Traits/Anal Retentive
- Impulsivity
- Chronic Migraines
- Constantly Losing/Misplacing Things
- Anger Outbursts
- Forgetting to Drink Water
- Having a Hard Time Staying Still & Focusing
- Jaw Pain & Teeth Grinding
- Poor Time Management (Super Early or Late)
- Low Self-Esteem (Body Dysmorphia)
- PROCRASTINATING
I could probably go down that list and add a star* next to all the ones that would be flagged as a Bipolar Symptom as well, but I don’t really think that’s necessary. Thankfully, even without medication, there’s a lot of things that DBT can do to help. Or other little “life hacks” that are useful.
- Write it down—I usually keep a small notebook in my purse to write things down or sticky notes. And I slap those EVERYWHERE. That way I can keep the thought and not spend the next day wondering what I might have forgotten.
- Make it eye-catching. I usually draw things on someone because images usually catch my attention way more than plain black ink.
- Buy bright and shiny objects. When it comes to personal effects — keys, wallet, pens, notebooks, umbrella — pick something loud and eye-catching … like the one above, but for objects.
- Know what you will forget. I forget a meeting time almost as soon as someone tells me. Knowing that, I make an appointment only when I can write it down on my calendar.
- Be redundant. I use a ton of alarms or reminders so I don’t forget something. Using digital apps are nice too, but it’s really easy for me to overlook those so I try to tackle it on multiple fronts.
I can’t take credit for these life hacks though, I tend to read a TON of ADHD stuff online. My SO suffers from ADD so I also try to keep myself aware of things for his sake as well. I’m never one to self-diagnose either, but being aware of some of your symptoms can be really helpful when you go in to get diagnosed. At this point, I’ve made my peace that I’m too old to get any professional help specifically for this problem.
I wasn’t even diagnosed with Bipolar until I was 29. Has anyone else ever had a problem with getting help from a health care professional? I’d love to hear your story if you have. Feel free to comment. As always, thank you for reading, guys! Until next time!
Atelier Whootique 