6 ms·

ADHD is sometimes wittily described as time dyslexia, and while I haven't met anyone who has described symptoms as bad as this and also know friends with ADHD w

ADHD is sometimes wittily described as time dyslexia, and while I haven't met anyone who has described symptoms as bad as this and also know friends with ADHD who play music seemingly effortlessly, this article was still very interesting to me. I have understood and it also observed that meditation can help somewhat, and I wonder what else can help for people otherwise function well who struggle with time?

LoganDark 3y ago
> ADHD is sometimes wittily described as time dyslexia As someone with ADHD, this wildly misrepresents the actual disorder. ADHD itself has nothing to do with time, it has to do with executive function. Someone with ADHD can try to will themselves into doing something and simply not be able to. They'll try to make a command, and their body or brain will not listen to them. It will completely refuse to do what they tell it to. This isn't supposed to happen; you're supposed to have control over what you do. You are supposed to be able to decide to do something, get up and simply do it. But with ADHD, it's not that simple. Even things that require no physical action are difficult, because it's not the actual movement that's hard, it's the decision-making itself. Hence "executive dysfunction". Any "time dyslexia" effect, wrt scheduling and deadlines and etcetara, is just a symptom of it. The reason why people with ADHD procrastinate is not: - because they don't know what time it is. - because they don't know when their deadline is. - because they don't know how much time they have. - because they don't know how much time they need. - because they don't know how easy or hard the task is. It is because their brain wants to do something else more, and it's not urgent yet. They absolutely cannot work on the task no matter how hard they try. They have not forgotten. They are not slacking off. They literally just can't do it. Their brain refuses to think about it, their body refuses to move for it. They don't have the willpower or the motivation for it. They are trapped. They are completely unable to make any progress because their brain will not let them. That's what ADHD is. Not everyone has it this bad, but ADHD is typically characterized by this happening for at least some things. It could be "showering more than once a week", it could be "doing the dishes before 20 of them have piled up in a big stack", it could be "preparing for a road trip days in advance". It doesn't have to be everything, and it doesn't have to be completely insurmountable, but if you have to have a complicated coping mechanism in order to manage to do something that you otherwise can't just decide to do, that's the disorder.
- throwaway47bs6 3y ago
  Ahem. That's what yours is. Mine is straight-up time defiance. I stopped caring about clocks and deadlines. You speak for yourself: attentional difference is a cluster, not a fixed set of symptoms and behaviours. Another example, I'm not short of motivation. It's just there are so many interesting things to work on.
  - LoganDark 3y ago
    > That's what yours is. No, it's not just what mine is. It agrees with the clinical definition of ADHD, with the experiences of all who I have spoken to about it, including many friends, with multiple[0] articles[1] describing[2] the disorder[3], and so on. Your time defiance is a symptom of a deeper problem. While I can't guarantee it's the exact same problem that I have, your disorder is certainly not just "time defiance", and if it truly is ADHD, the root of it will be executive dysfunction, as that is what defines the disorder. [0]: https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html [1]: https://cohost.org/cathoderaydude/post/862603-when-writing-about-t https://cohost.org/cathoderaydude/post/862603-when-writing-a... [2]: https://invisibleup.com/articles/27/ https://invisibleup.com/articles/27/ [3]: https://www.autostraddle.com/you-need-help-your-adhd-is-fcking-up-your-focus-272786/ https://www.autostraddle.com/you-need-help-your-adhd-is-fcki... > For example, I'm not short of motivation. It's just there are so many interesting things to work on. I could say the same thing. But I can't choose which thing I work on. I want to draw. I want to code. I have hundreds of unfinished projects I could have finished. I have hundreds of abandoned hobbies I could have stayed with. Sure I have "motivation", but it's motivation to do whatever catches my interest at the moment, not motivation to do any of the things that I actually want to do.
    - throwaway47bs6 3y ago
      [flagged]
      - LoganDark 3y ago
        [flagged]
corobo 3y ago
Having my watch nudge me on the hour has improved my perception of time immensely
- reitanqild 3y ago
  Thanks! Will try something along the lines. When I am in flow state however something more drastic might be needed : )
  - corobo 3y ago
    Hah, I also make heavy usage of Todoist and notifications. Got an old tablet on a cheapy plastic arm held above my monitor dedicated to my task list when working. It's set up to get my attention as and when tasks need starting. Bit of a balancing act between having it make enough noise/vibrate to get my attention and not vibrating itself off its perch and making me jump out of my skin :)
deleted 3y ago
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perilunar 3y ago
> time dyslexia AKA "time blindness", though I think "dyschronia" would be a better term, to match with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and dysgraphia. (I think I also have it, though undiagnosed. Three of my last four web projects have been a clock, another clock, and a timeline. I still have a terrible problem with procrastination.)

LoganDark 3y ago

> ADHD is sometimes wittily described as time dyslexia As someone with ADHD, this wildly misrepresents the actual disorder. ADHD itself has nothing to do with time, it has to do with executive function. Someone with ADHD can try to will themselves into doing something and simply not be able to. They'll try to make a command, and their body or brain will not listen to them. It will completely refuse to do what they tell it to. This isn't supposed to happen; you're supposed to have control over what you do. You are supposed to be able to decide to do something, get up and simply do it. But with ADHD, it's not that simple. Even things that require no physical action are difficult, because it's not the actual movement that's hard, it's the decision-making itself. Hence "executive dysfunction". Any "time dyslexia" effect, wrt scheduling and deadlines and etcetara, is just a symptom of it. The reason why people with ADHD procrastinate is not: - because they don't know what time it is. - because they don't know when their deadline is. - because they don't know how much time they have. - because they don't know how much time they need. - because they don't know how easy or hard the task is. It is because their brain wants to do something else more, and it's not urgent yet. They absolutely cannot work on the task no matter how hard they try. They have not forgotten. They are not slacking off. They literally just can't do it. Their brain refuses to think about it, their body refuses to move for it. They don't have the willpower or the motivation for it. They are trapped. They are completely unable to make any progress because their brain will not let them. That's what ADHD is. Not everyone has it this bad, but ADHD is typically characterized by this happening for at least some things. It could be "showering more than once a week", it could be "doing the dishes before 20 of them have piled up in a big stack", it could be "preparing for a road trip days in advance". It doesn't have to be everything, and it doesn't have to be completely insurmountable, but if you have to have a complicated coping mechanism in order to manage to do something that you otherwise can't just decide to do, that's the disorder.

throwaway47bs6 3y ago
Ahem. That's what yours is. Mine is straight-up time defiance. I stopped caring about clocks and deadlines. You speak for yourself: attentional difference is a cluster, not a fixed set of symptoms and behaviours. Another example, I'm not short of motivation. It's just there are so many interesting things to work on.
- LoganDark 3y ago
  > That's what yours is. No, it's not just what mine is. It agrees with the clinical definition of ADHD, with the experiences of all who I have spoken to about it, including many friends, with multiple[0] articles[1] describing[2] the disorder[3], and so on. Your time defiance is a symptom of a deeper problem. While I can't guarantee it's the exact same problem that I have, your disorder is certainly not just "time defiance", and if it truly is ADHD, the root of it will be executive dysfunction, as that is what defines the disorder. [0]: https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html [1]: https://cohost.org/cathoderaydude/post/862603-when-writing-about-t https://cohost.org/cathoderaydude/post/862603-when-writing-a... [2]: https://invisibleup.com/articles/27/ https://invisibleup.com/articles/27/ [3]: https://www.autostraddle.com/you-need-help-your-adhd-is-fcking-up-your-focus-272786/ https://www.autostraddle.com/you-need-help-your-adhd-is-fcki... > For example, I'm not short of motivation. It's just there are so many interesting things to work on. I could say the same thing. But I can't choose which thing I work on. I want to draw. I want to code. I have hundreds of unfinished projects I could have finished. I have hundreds of abandoned hobbies I could have stayed with. Sure I have "motivation", but it's motivation to do whatever catches my interest at the moment, not motivation to do any of the things that I actually want to do.
  - throwaway47bs6 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - LoganDark 3y ago
      [flagged]

corobo 3y ago

Having my watch nudge me on the hour has improved my perception of time immensely

reitanqild 3y ago
Thanks! Will try something along the lines. When I am in flow state however something more drastic might be needed : )
- corobo 3y ago
  Hah, I also make heavy usage of Todoist and notifications. Got an old tablet on a cheapy plastic arm held above my monitor dedicated to my task list when working. It's set up to get my attention as and when tasks need starting. Bit of a balancing act between having it make enough noise/vibrate to get my attention and not vibrating itself off its perch and making me jump out of my skin :)

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

perilunar 3y ago

> time dyslexia AKA "time blindness", though I think "dyschronia" would be a better term, to match with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and dysgraphia. (I think I also have it, though undiagnosed. Three of my last four web projects have been a clock, another clock, and a timeline. I still have a terrible problem with procrastination.)