More ad/hd "quirks"..... | ADHD Information
My ADHD holiday tips.
Find VERY large suitcase, suitable for permanent emigration.
Pack 1.5 pairs of underwear for every day of the trip, plus 20 extras in various colours, That way you don't have to worry about washing all the time or having nothing in the right style. You will probably leave half of them behind accidently anyway. Same goes for socks.
Pack 30 different outfits, because it's too hard to think about all the different activities you might do while away, and having just 3 flexible outfits for every occasion is far too constricting. Six pairs of shoes is the minimum for trips longer than 2 weeks.
Pack every item of toiletries and makeup you own, plus hairdryer, you never know when you might need them.
5 books, 10 cds, 3 boardgames and a German vocab book, just in case you suddenly feel like learning German while you are away should be sufficient.
Don't forget your address book, just in case you get around to buying, writing on, and sending postcards to friends and family. Also acceptable is buying nice postcards and giving them to people 6 months after you get back. (Saves stamps)
Don't forget swimming costume, towel, suncream, just in case you go near anywhere with a pool and feel like swimming.
Also camera and extra rolls of film, in case you remember to take any pictures.
Now take out 3/4 of the stuff you packed and probably won't need, and put the remainder into a small suitcase light enough to actually carry. Make sure there's absolutely no room in the small suitcase otherwise at the last minute you will try to squeeze in all the stuff you just took out. Now you're ready to go!
Don't forget the fishing rods...
Eliza, you are too funny!That's exactly how it goes, too.
You forgot to say "don't start packing until 2 hours before your flight leaves." Or is that just me?
Oh yes, don't start packing until 2 hours before flight leaves. Also don't check if you have to wash anything either. You can always take dirty stuff and clean it when you get there if you have too...Here's what I do for packing, at least concerning clothes and personal hygiene items:
I act out the entire thing, physically. I touch or point to my toes . . . shoes, socks. Then I "put on my pants" as a charade, or touch my leg . . . pants, belt. I put on my t-shirt, dress shirt, and tie, if it's a formal occasion. I act out being at the wedding if it's a wedding. I do this for my entire wardrobe. I envision getting up in the morning -- brush teeth, comb hair, etc.
My body becomes my shorthand, my vision of the space I'll be in, and what I'm doing, helps with the more extended things -- checking my watch, writing with my pen, typing on my computer.
Not to mention it's fun! I'm sure my wife thought I was crazy, the first time she saw me doing this (which I've been doing since high school).
hmm yep, I have a couple more..........
You walk into a room to get something, you get sidetracked by something, and then can't remember why you went there in the first place.
You call someone and leave a message on an answering machine, 10 minutes later they call you back and ask what you needed. Yet though you just left the message, you can't remember for the life of you what it was you wanted.
How about this one, a person comes up to you and asks you a question, you start a conversation about the answer. In the middle of the conversation someone else approaches in a rush and asks you a differnt question about something totally different but kind of an emergency. You quickly give them some advice, and they leave, All of a sudden you can't remember what you were just talking about just moments before with the first person, and have to ask shamefully what was it you were just talking about.
ack...LOL happens to me all the time. I hate the short term memory quriks with ADD myself
Gypsywomyn: Actually, that happened a few weeks ago when I was going out of town, to a special "dress up" occassion that lasted 2 days...bummer!! I had to figure out all of the stupid outfit set ups I was gonna wear...then, what am I gonna were after we get to the hotel for just for "leisure"?...and then, what about sleep wear?!! SIIIIIGGGHHH!!!!!!!
Dave: I can top that....have you ever been in mid conversation with somebody, and then catch a glimpse of something going by, perhaps mildly interesting (or less), and then loose track of what you were talking about in MID SENTENCE???....yes...(deep embarrassment inserted here) I have done this before....OR, you call a persons name, they say "what?" and then immediately you forgot what you were going to say, for NO KNOWN REASON? Just like that, the thought is gone.....
OH, and I worked in a shoe store once, and when I was NOT on meds, I think I must have walked an extra 60 miles around the store every day, going from the back ALLL THE WAY TO THE FRONT, and then forget why i'm up in the front, and then walK ALLLLL THE WAY BACK TO THE BACK, and remember what I needed, and walk ALLLL THE WAY back to the front again/////this happened SEVERAL TIMES A DAY!
OH, and PS...
I am going to be at a hospital, since this is my first child, but I am still going to have a midwife while I am there...
anyone out there have trouble packing? Like, say for instance, you are going on a trip, and you need to pack your bags....The last time I went on a trip, I thought I was going to go crazy trying to pack...Did I remember the underwear? How about the Toothbrush? And then, you have to think ahead enough (something I never do) to know WHAT you are going to wear, and WHERE it is, (is it clean??) and HOW are you going to wear your hair? where are the hair accessories for this? what about jewelry? and WHAT SHOES ARE YOU GOING TO WEAR WITH THIS??? the more days I have to pack for, the worse it gets, because I never think about what I am going to wear until maybe 15 minutes before I am scheduled to reach my destination!!...It is torture for me to have to think so many days in advance and wonder what is clean, and what isn't, and WHERE IS MY HAIR BRUSH????then My strength withers out (5 minutes into packing) and I don't feel like looking for all of this stuff anymore...
ALSO-------
Does anyone get zoned out in the store? Like you go in, and then get MESMERIZED by MERCHANDISE?? And the stores are set up to distract ad/hders, i believe.....I tend to go in there, and get lost OR automatically drawn to the craft section (my favorite section) regardless of what I came in there for and how much time I have....I get distracted by all the things between where I am and where I need to be, and then I get frustrated, because I don't feel like walking all the way where I need to go, and end up leaving, forgetting half of the things I need....And then the minute I get back home, and step foot through the door, my mind comes back and I start kicking myself because I forgot the main thing I needed.
And the lists don't work guys...I get so mesmerized by other things, that I forget I even have the list...
[Quote=Sonya_h]Does anyone get zoned out in the store? Like you go in, and then get MESMERIZED by MERCHANDISE?? And the stores are set up to distract ad/hders, i believe.....[/quote]
Oh, those merchandizers and stores know what they're doing.
It's no mistake they set things up the way they do. And make it almost impossible to get out of....I get lost a lot. They want you to. Or they constantly change where things are, especially in the grocery stores. And just when you thought you had it all down to memory. Ha! Even the employees have to re-learn where the stock is.
Hey, Sonya, you're packing all THAT just to go have a baby?
You mentioned a midwife, didn't you...planning on delivering at home?This something I really wonder about...this forgetting in mid-sentence or going to get a pen to write something down so I won't forget it...and by time I get the pen, I've forgotten! Urrgh! Or I call a friend for a specific reason, and by the time they answer the phone, I forget why I called. What I wonder is do meds help this at all???? I know non-adhders have moments of forgetfulness, but not all the time, constantly, like we do. It's more than frustrating. 
[QUOTE=sonya_h] anyone out there have trouble packing? Like, say for instance, you are going on a trip [/QUOTE]
Two years ago my main summer holiday was going to be a two week surf fishing trip.
I arrived only to discover I hadn't packed my fishing rods.
Mark -
ANOTHER QUIRK:
how many of you, I would say "women" but this could also apply to the men also....Stay away from real jewelry???
this might be one of those things that only I do, but I don't see what the purpose of spending, say or more on real gold, when I can get something pretty similar for less than half the price...I mean, i'm not gonna do nothing but eventually end up losing it anyway
! I would be kicking myself harder for loosing something real than for loosing something "fake"....This takes all the guilt off of me, when i DO end up losing it...i'm like, oh, it didn't cost all the much anyway..i will just go and buy another one later...
and although I appreciate nice gifts, the people who REALLY know me, do not spend all their money buying me real jewelry, they know I won't wear it because I'm afraid I will lose it,.....or if I do wear it, I wear it only once before it ends up lost, and they never see me in it again......They know that it is a waste of money to buy me these things....the people who REALLY know me know to buy me something animal/pet related, video game related, or art related.....the ART RELATED gifts are REALLY nice, because I end up thanking them by creating beautiful peices of artwork, that is a really nice reward for the ones who bout the materials for me....
ok, i'm rambling again now...
///once I had to explain this to an ex-boyfriend, who barely knew me...he bought a 0 bracelet for me!.....he barely knew me enough to spend 0 on me!! had he known me enough to spend that amount of money, he WOULD NOT HAVE SPENT IT ON JEWELRY, because that is a waste of money and time!!....
And if they screw up in ringing up my purchases, it's MY fault for distracting THEM. Why can't I keep my mouth shut? However, if the cashier does something to me, like that not so funny "we don't take debit cards" remark, Sonya, I would get one of those suggestion cards and report them. Or, better yet, tell them "I'm mentally disabled, please don't make jokes like that. It really scared me." Bet that would put her in her place! (I know, I know, we're not really mental disabled, but the cashier doesn't know that.I keep planning to make up a packing-to-go-on-a-trip checklist, but keep forgetting. And, I'm guessing that since I've forgotten repeatedly over the past 15 years, it ain't gonna ever happen!!!Oh, and I hate stores for that. For some reason TJ Maxx is one of the worst for me- all that wierd and unexpected stuff at such low prices. I find myself being lured into each department like a fish on a reel- oooh, I never knew how beautiful multicolored socks could be..... [QUOTE=GypsyWomyn] This something I really wonder about...this forgetting in mid-sentence or going to get a pen to write something down so I won't forget it...and by time I get the pen, I've forgotten! Urrgh! Or I call a friend for a specific reason, and by the time they answer the phone, I forget why I called. What I wonder is do meds help this at all???? I know non-adhders have moments of forgetfulness, but not all the time, constantly, like we do. It's more than frustrating. [/QUOTE]
I do this crap all the time. It's one of the reasons I went for meds. I can't tell you how many times I've asked a question and forgotten to listen to the answer.
OK, here's another one...
How many of you out there hate those "jokesters"? You know, the ones that are employees at a store, and see fit to hound the customers with little "harmless" jokes....
I HATE THOSE GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO TAKE A JOKE! OK, first of all, as mentioned above, i am all confused and disoriented when I walk into the store anyway! And when I walk up to the cash register with my basket, or whatever, inside of my mind is like..------ok, how much did this cost? and what was the price of that? and where is my wallet? oh, here it is..ok, i had how much money??and OOOO I WANT A REESES CUP!!..no, wait, i don't have enough change for that...ok, now, did I have enough on my debit card?..and wait, i DID have enough left to get the popsicles...did I forget something??....----
and then the "jokester" is like "WE DON'T TAKE DEBIT CARDS!"
....and like, in my mind my world comes crashing down around me...and I am pickup the broken peices in my mind, trying to figure out what to do next, and then the jokester is like.."JUST KIDDING!" and so my mind is like, --ok, so everthing is back on track??--and I start going through the mental questions ALL OVER AGAIN! it is so frustrating!! It throws me off and further confuses me when they do this!
IF I DON'T KNOW YOU, CUT THE CRAP, AND JUST RING UP MY 
STUFF!!!
I get zoned on the internet! When I first got on it in 1995 no one could get me off of the computer. I swear I was addicted. It took several months for me to settle down because I would get this really great feeling when I signed on. It was like opening a really huge door to the world. It was exciting and I was totally engaged. But then I couldn't stop surfing. I'd go to a page, then saw something else completely different and could not get focused on what I wanted to do. I was zigging and zagging all over the place. Eventually, I had to just sign off and get away from the home pc a while. I had to think about controlling what I was doing when I was signed on and then I limited how much time to allot myself. Now I'm okay, but for awhile there it was close.
[QUOTE=foxp] I do this crap all the time. It's one of the reasons I went for meds. I can't tell you how many times I've asked a question and forgotten to listen to the answer. [/QUOTE]You do or did this all the time? Do you still on meds?
I have asked my husband a question, and then he answered me....
and then 5 minutes later, I will ask him.."did I just ask you something?"...and he's like, yeah, and i tell him to tell me what I just asked him, and he will tell me, cause I just TOTALLY FORGOT what it was that I asked him...
i have bad short term memory issues.