… I thought that was a vibrator until I zoomed in.

Rafiki whacks you on the head with his staff.

Go talk to a therapist!

I personify my ADHD symptoms as “the goblin”

The ADHD goblin steals memories, tells me to eat when in bored, tells me that every minor rejection is a major judgement against me, and all the other symptoms I can’t think of right now.

There is no paradox in the social contract.

Tolerance is mutual. Respect is mutual. Kindness is mutual.

I know. I was just seeing if you would notice. awkward laughter

(But thanks, I was trying to wing the conversion and started off with 3.3ft =1m and then did the numbers meme while my fingers typed gibberish.)

I have an FDM printer (Ender 3 clone) that is mostly 2020 aluminum extrusion as the frame. A few years ago I found some 2020 on sale and built a set of shelves for my wife’s plants out of it. (Now - I know. It’s not the most economical use of materials, but it was the middle of winter, and I didn’t want to go work in the garage. Plus the 2020 was on sale.) It’ll support a slew of plants over a 4-foot span (~1.2m) without any sagging or other concerns. It can be wobbly side to side, but that’s a matter of bracing and connectors.

It’s like a trap. Answerable facts of no consequence.
Why must our brains do this?! But we can’t stay interested in the stuff we need to stay interested in.

It’s not unheard of. The genetic factors for several types of conditions can overlap. Not a guarantee, and everyone is different, but… 🌈💫

But they’re jawa21! That’s got to count for something!

Many years ago, I discovered that my then-employer’s “home built” e-commerce system had all user and admin passwords displayed in plaintext at home/admin/passwords.

When I brought this to the attention of leadership, they called the “developer” in and he said “oh, well, that’s IP locked, so no one on the web can access it!” When I pulled it up on my phone, he insisted my phone was on the work WiFi, despite it being clearly verifiable that was not the case. (The same work WiFi that had an open public connection, which is the one my phone would have been on, if it were on it…)

He did fix that, but many other issues remained. Eventually a new COO hired someone competent as his ‘backup’, replaced our website and finally suggested he pursue other employment opportunities before he could no longer voluntarily pursue them. (There was concern he might sabotage.)

I worked very hard all day on very small things. I was pretty well rested and properly medicated.

At the end of the day, however, I had made progress forward, but also had discovered issues with my earlier work, setting me back an amount commensurate with my progress.

Tuesday will be more challenging, I have some things that are causing me anxiety, and I expect them to be worse Tuesday. Whee.

Unless something else happened, it has to do with the sign stealing scandal

The internalized sense of failure because you cannot maintain friendships with (most) neurotypical people is honestly kind of a cancer until you figure it out. It’s one of the most damaging things that happened to my psyche as a result of having ADHD.

It’s one of the reasons why I so strongly advocate for everyone getting tested if they have any suspicions. The knowledge that I wasn’t wrong, and the disconnection I felt from others was not (necessarily) a result of my own failings was really freeing and lifted a lot of weight from me. I hope getting tested can help others by either preventing them from internalizing similar feelings, or giving them a path forward to working through those feelings.

And also rejection sensitivity, plus the common “ride alongs” like anxiety and depression.

Quick test: Do you have friends with ADHD?

More than 1? Ask them if they think you have ADHD.
More than 50% of your friends? You have ADHD.

It’s a scarily accurate meme that ADHD folks flock together.

For a more considered approach, I’d recommend getting started here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/health/adhdattention-deficit-disorder-test

It’s non-comprehensive, but doesn’t require a login or email to see your results, and it gives you a starting point to talk to your doctor.

Depending on where you are in the world and how badly this is impacting you or the state of your local health system, you may want to investigate alternative diagnosis options.
In the U.S., it was a 6-month wait for a traditional psychiatrist. I resorted to an online option as my ADHD discovery coincided with long covid and depression (I needed a quick turnaround before it impacted me professionally), but there are now some chain psychiatry operations that, well, I don’t like their business model, but they offer fast turnaround if you’re willing to be a part of the enshitification of yet another profession.

Editing to add: That’s more a pointed comment at myself than anyone else. My regular doctor was not really getting my depression meds right to the point it was becoming an emergency, so I wound up with a company called LifeStance. They’re the McDonalds of mental health providers.

Yes!
My wife and I order breakfast once a week from this local place. They’ve undergone some changes and transitions over the years and in their current phase they partnered with another business (a coffee shop) where they use they kitchen space that came with the building and the coffee shop plays to their strengths.

We can’t make as much small talk as we used to with the owners of the restaurant when we go to pick up our food (ordered online 99% of the time), but there’s always a sense of connection in being recognized by the restaurant staff, who will pop out of the kitchen to hand me my order if the baristas are busy, or when the baristas see me and just grab my food from the order window and call my name before I’m halfway through the crowd of customers. I’m a big fish in a very small pond!

He’s a sweet guy. … Mostly. Very much in need of a lot of attention. Sometimes he just sits next to you on the couch and puts his paw on you if you’re not giving him enough attention.

Here he is posing with his sister as a prop:

This made me laugh so hard one of the dogs came to check in on me.

I was quite sure I didn’t have ADHD, too.

Not feeling a sense of accomplishment is not normal. You deserve better. Just check into it, okay?

Oh, snap, bringing me the magic I need, but didn’t know to look for.

I’ve been refusing to update because of video station. Looks like I’m saving your comment for later.