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  • I think with ADHD, the problem is that you sort of...

  • And I try to rephrase this cuz I'm sort of going off on a tangent.

  • What just happened?

  • What was I saying?

  • [According to the National Institute of Mental Health...]

  • ["...inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the key behaviors of ADHD."]

  • [Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.]

  • [What it's like to have ADHD.]

  • [How did you behave at school?]

  • I misbehaved a lot as a kid, but I didn't mean to. [Diagnosed at age 11.]

  • The natural environment of a classroom is very nonconducive to somebody with ADHD. -[Diagnosed at age six.]

  • You know, just like this quiet room, you're sitting at this table, a bunch of other kids are all doing their work.

  • It was almost like a "sensory overload."

  • Like everything is coming at you all at once.

  • I would be trying to focus on this teacher and then all of a sudden, I would like, snap to it again, and I had missed half of what the teacher had talked about. -[Diagnosed at age five.]

  • It's like you're high or something, like, it's like, it's kind of similar to being high.

  • [How does ADHD affect your daily life?]

  • One of the side effects of ADHD is a sort of inability, or at least a tough time staying still, concentrating, focusing on day-to-day tasks.

  • I feel like my thoughts are sort of on like, a carousel in my brain, and it's going in circles, and each thought stops for like two seconds in front of my eyes.

  • I can barely grasp it, and then it's gone.

  • The third day I was at Buzzfeed, I was taking some like, safety test with my friend, fellow producer here, Caitlin.

  • And I'm like already lost on the packet, I look over and Caitlin's answered the first 10 questions already.

  • And it's just that that's like the story of my life, is like, looking over to my friend, and being like, "How the hell did you just do that?"

  • [How do you treat your ADHD?]

  • I have been on some form of medication ever since I was 13.

  • I stopped taking medication.

  • For me, because I just didn't like the way it made me feel.

  • They curbed my appetite, I was losing weight.

  • But the medication provides me with clarity.

  • When I'm not on my medicine, it feels like the smallest tasks are really overwhelming.

  • -Because I can't visualize and focus on the simple process.

  • I have to plan things out, I have to write everything down or else I forget.

  • [What's something you wish people understood about ADHD?]

  • I don't advocate that everyone go off their meds, if they don't need to, it's just for me that was something that I felt I wanted to do.

  • It looks different in everybody.

  • I would just wish people were a little more sensitive with like, the verbal assumptions they make.

  • I just wish people believed it was real.

  • My ADHD is like the realest thing in my life.

  • Like, I can't reach out and touch it, but I can feel it.

I think with ADHD, the problem is that you sort of...

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