Help youself, use tools!

I believe that one doesn't have to indulge in "being mentally ill" or having a "disorder" as others around oneself claim or in articles written by people who often don't know how it really is.

I'm usually not into Newspeak, but I have seen too often, what the word "Disorder" does with people. They start believing, that something is wrong with them, they are not worthy, etc., and are not able to see the positive side because they are told too often that they don't function because they are not like the majority.

That, of course, can be utter bs!

I don't have the H of ADHD, in fact - like my dad - I don't have enough energy but being stubborn - I'm a Taurus or maybe just so - by nature, I don't give up on my tiredness, pain or constantly having dozens of thoughts at the same time in my mind. I use tools that help me!

As a kid I constantly heard I was not good enough, my mind was up in the clouds, and I was constantly incompetent and stupid. When I got older I was constantly told, I was depressive, because - like my dad - I liked sitting for hours, reading a book a day and I always thought "Nooooo, I'm not in that dark place. I like life, I enjoy going out and like meeting people and having fun!" My mother, born in the 1940s didn't know better and also didn't care. Also, doctors in my country in the 1980s and 1990s didn't know better.

When I moved to the US in the beginning of 2000 they finally found out that - tada! I have ADD and I got meds that helped me concentrate and have enough energy.

I took the meds (Ritalin in the US, Concerta afterward in my country) and used the chance to build up my life and become the assistant of a CEO of a construction company - without ever having finished high school!

A big role in accomplishing that were the AD(H)D traits hyperfocus, thinking out of the box for problem-solving, energy (muahahaha!), and being really able to multi-task!

But, as good as I was, I had one negative trait - forgetfulness!

Until my favorite boss, the CEO, said to me "You need to always carry a pen and paper with you!". I was surprised and thought "How many secretaries can remember everything when she's on the phone, talking, writing things down, and then the boss throws tasks at her while running by!" but started doing so and it indeed worked - I stopped forgetting.

Since then I write down every single task - no matter how big or small.

At home, I write down all appointments in my Google calendar on my phone as well as on a paper calendar that is hanging on a wall of my anteroom, so that I always see it when I come home or before I leave home. Like that, I can't forget appointments.

I also keep my shopping list on my phone because there is nothing more annoying than going to the supermarket and then coming home just to find out you have forgotten something you really want or need *facepalm*

Older generations are often clean and tidy. My mum either had a mild form of OCD next to ADHD and a personality disorder or was demon-possessed but nothing ever lay around, everything was neat and tidy like in a museum.

I am clean and hygienic, but I am not extreme like my mother at all. In private - not at the job - I have learned to live with my ADD trait of doing things, then starting something else, and then going back to the first thing I did. When I am too tired or lazy to do something I have planned, I don't stress myself and do it the next day. Being a hardcore single of course makes being that way easier!

Having cleaned several houses for other people I have noticed that others who have not been diagnosed with AD(H)D are not cleaner or tidier than me. They are just distracted by their TV instead of AD(H)D which doesn't make one or the other reason and person better or worse.

Anyway, using tools, that can help you be and stay organized can also improve the way you see AD(H)D, your personal traits, and with that also your whole life!

Being Neurodivergent - What Does It Mean?

Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.

The word neurodiversity refers to the diversity of all people, but it is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as other neurological or developmental conditions such as ADHD or learning disabilities.

You can read more about it on the Harvard website.

Neurodiversity is a non-medical umbrella term that includes the conditions autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and ADHD.

Teams with neurodivergent professionals can be 30% more productive than those without them. But there is a greater incidence of mental health difficulties like anxiety and depression among neurodiverse individuals.

You can read more about it on the website of the World Economic Forum.

Neurodivergent is a nonmedical term that describes people whose brains develop or work differently for some reason. This means the person has different strengths and struggles from people whose brains develop or work more typically. While some people who are neurodivergent have medical conditions, it also happens to people where a medical condition or diagnosis hasn’t been identified.

You can read more about it on the website of the Cleveland Clinic.

Everyone’s brain operates differently. For the average individual, brain functions, behaviors, and processing are expected to meet the milestones set by society for developmental growth. For those who veer either slightly, or significantly, outside of these parameters, their brain functions could be classified as neurodivergent.

Neurodivergent is a non-medical umbrella term that describes people with variation in their mental functions and can include conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other neurological or developmental conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

You can read more about it on the website of Forbes Magazine.