3 ms·

Diagnosed with ADHD 10+ years ago in my 20s. Can be very impulsive in behavior and hyperactive when it's bad. Since about 28 or 29, I flipped from being a night

Diagnosed with ADHD 10+ years ago in my 20s. Can be very impulsive in behavior and hyperactive when it's bad. Since about 28 or 29, I flipped from being a night owl to being a morning person. I usually wake up between 5 and 6, depending on when I went to bed the night before. Haven't used an alarm in about 8 or 9 years. I just wake up when I'm done sleeping. I started lifting weights 2-3 times a week and I changed my diet from being carb-based to being protein based. In my 20s, I'd eat a bowl or two of spaghetti, or a pizza for a meal. Now, a meal is generally a protein source, a carb source, and a lot of vegetables (e.g. chicken and rice and a lot of kale, or steak and potatoes and a lot of broccoli). I think the most significant change was the diet, because in periods when I was injured or couldn't lift weights, I still sleep well. I also started getting a bit more on a schedule. Eating breakfast between 7:30 and 8:30, lunch between 12:00 and 1:30, and dinner around 7:30, etc. has really helped my focus and attention and poise. It feels like the volume is turned down on the ADHD and it's much easier to remain calm and in control throughout the day. Edit: I think I also have a mindset about this. I refuse to give myself permission to use ADHD as an excuse for not being the person I want to be. I think the thing I'm most scared of is looking back on my life with regret at the things I failed to do because I used some diagnosis as an excuse to not put in the work necessary to be the person I wanted to.

brailsafe 6y ago
Great to hear you managed to put yourself in a good place. I'm 28 now, diagnosed last year (in so much as I was prescribed medication based on an official evaluation). These are pretty common sentiments from people who have managed to wrangle their lives, and I'd say that I've already adopted them for the most part. A big contributor to why I lost my job was that I didn't have anything else to do, and I couldn't just get up and do the job that wasn't that stimulating and have that be the day. I'm a skateboarder, I go to the gym, I hike, and do some calisthenics, my diet is mostly fruits and proteins, but aside from not eating 1kg of pasta in one sitting, I haven't seen any profound changes. These are all things that everyone should do, but most people also wake up on time for work. So while these are important aspects of your life now, what was the path you adopted that helped you get there?

brailsafe 6y ago

Great to hear you managed to put yourself in a good place. I'm 28 now, diagnosed last year (in so much as I was prescribed medication based on an official evaluation). These are pretty common sentiments from people who have managed to wrangle their lives, and I'd say that I've already adopted them for the most part. A big contributor to why I lost my job was that I didn't have anything else to do, and I couldn't just get up and do the job that wasn't that stimulating and have that be the day. I'm a skateboarder, I go to the gym, I hike, and do some calisthenics, my diet is mostly fruits and proteins, but aside from not eating 1kg of pasta in one sitting, I haven't seen any profound changes. These are all things that everyone should do, but most people also wake up on time for work. So while these are important aspects of your life now, what was the path you adopted that helped you get there?