Mental Health

I Trick My ADHD Brain into Letting Me Do Chores and Save Money

The struggle to convince the world that I’m “normal” doesn’t always leave a lot of leftover energy

Photo of Author

I was formally diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but my parents didn’t believe in that stuff. Instead, I grew up believing the narrative that I was “misdiagnosed” and “saved from a lifetime of dangerous addictive medication” by an idea my mother had. After my brief experience carrying that label and its stigma around as a child, I genuinely don’t know whether it was better or worse for me to lose access to formal accommodations and medication that might have helped. I don’t have an alternate experience to compare mine to; I just make do with my own “quirks”. That said, I do know people who have said that ADHD medications helped them immensely. I trust that each of us are the experts on our own experience and always appreciate listening to others’ stories of coping.

At age 7, I had been put in Special Education and threatened with repeating the school year if I didn’t pass an End of Grade test. My Special Education experience in the 90’s consisted mostly of sitting next to a little boy who screamed non-stop while I struggled to focus on a card game a very patient teacher was trying unsuccessfully to get me…