… You lost your child’s homework. Or can’t find the phone you’re talking on. Or left your keys in the freezer. Read these funny (and frustrating…and embarrassing) anecdotes submitted by other adults with ADHD — and know you’re not alone.
A student’s drawing of ADHD after finding out that he has been diagnosed with it.
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But Wait, There's More!
We received such a great response when asking readers to complete the sentence "You Know You Have Adult ADHD When...", that we decided to create a Part 2! Read on to see if you can relate to these ADHDisms.
A mom with ADHD helps her son with his homework.
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Homework Lost
"You lost the kids' homework after helping them with it. It's so embarrassing to have to admit that to their teachers..."
A woman with ADHD cleans the kitchen.
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Cleaning, Interrupted
"You naively decide to clean the house. You start by vacuuming the living room, then stop in the middle to dust the kitchen, then you stop that to scrub the toilet.... By the end of the day you have a house filled with partially cleaned rooms!"
"You are talking on the phone and start to panic because you can't find your phone."
A roll of paper towels that an adult with ADHD left on the counter
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Misplaced Dinner
"You accidentally put a roll of paper towels in the fridge and leftovers in the cabinet. You only realize your mistake when you go to dry your hands with last night's lasagna!"
A person with ADHD holds three paintbrushes in front of a paint-spattered smock
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DIY Disaster
"You have a lifetime's worth of unfinished projects lying around, making your home look like a DIY graveyard. Your bedroom is where abandoned Pinterest projects go to die."
A woman with ADHD puts the contents of her purse on a table: keys, a cellphone, chapstick, and sunglasses
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3-Part Pat Down
You do not walk out the front door without doing the 3-part pat down.
Touch face: Glasses? Check.
Touch right coat pocket: Keys? Check.
Touch left hip pocket: Phone? Check. Okay, now you may leave.
A red coffee cup sits on an office desk, where a person with ADHD set it down and forgot it.
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Coffee Caper
"Coworkers automatically assume a found coffee mug is yours. You have a bad reputation for losing your morning cup of coffee."
A pharmacist refills a prescription for ADHD medication for a patient
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Unfocused
"You've run out of your ADHD medication and need to order more, but can't focus enough to renew your prescription. It's a vicious cycle."
A man with ADHD looks at a presciption bottle, and tries to remember if he took today’s dose.
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Muddled Memory
"You go to take your ADHD medication, but get distracted. Then you stand there holding the bottle, trying to figure out whether or not you've already taken it."
A man with ADHD eats a burger while talking on the phone
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Disappearing Snack
"You somehow lose your sandwich while in the middle of eating it."
A man with ADHD cuts vegetables and puts them in a pot to make dinner.
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Dinner Duty
"You forget about dinner until almost 5 p.m. Oh yeah, I should probably think about dinner. My family will probably want to eat something..."
A man with ADHD washes the dishes
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Dish Diss
"You'd rather tile the kitchen, paint the house, or alphabetize your spice rack than do the dishes. Anything is better than doing the dishes, right?"
A woman with ADHD has post-It reminders all over her desk and face
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A therapist comforts her patient with ADHD on a couch
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Repeat Offender
"You are in a therapy session discussing focus tactics, when you lose focus and have to ask your therapist to repeat herself. Twice."
A girl with ADHD makes a funny face because she forgot what she was going to say.
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Wait, What?
"You answer all your kids' questions with 'Uh huh.... Wait, what did you say?'"
A group of people talk about how to tell if you have ADHD
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Chronic Interrupter
"You have a bad habit of interrupting people. You don't do it to be rude, you just don't want to forget what you wanted to say. In fact, the person who you interrupt the most is yourself!"
A happy man with ADHD gives a thumbs up
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Everything Makes Sense
"You finally understand everything that happened to you before you received your diagnosis."
