r/AutisticWithADHD • • Mar 13 '26

🛡️ mod post Promotional posts are against the rules and will result in a permanent ban.

97 Upvotes

We've made it quite clear in our rules, yet still we're seeing an influx in posts that are essentially "hey, I did this thing, buy it!"

This includes things you are advertising that are free, like articles you wrote or free apps you made.

While we don't doubt that most of you are well-meaning, please understand that if we allow yours, we have to allow everyone's, and soon this community will be flooded with mostly these posts, and nobody wants that.

These posts are considered promotional materials and are not welcome in this sub. Especially if spamming these posts to our sub and a dozen others is your first interaction with our community, we will be issuing instant and permanent bans. No exceptions.

This is not a new rule, just a friendly reminder. As always, feel free to reply to this post or reach out through mod mail if you have any questions.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • Jul 13 '25

🛡️ mod post Updated and simplified rules, please re-read them!

100 Upvotes

Hi, until earlier today, we had 15 rules that had some overlap and weren't really structurised as they were added whenever something happened that made us realise we needed to add something to the rules.

We have updated our rules and consolidated/simplified these 15 rules into 5 main buckets:

  1. Be kind, respectful and polite.
  2. Use and respect post flairs and trigger warnings.
  3. We are a community FOR neurodivergent people, not ABOUT them.
  4. We are NOT professionals.
  5. Other posts that DON’T belong here (see below).

We feel this covers all the content we do not want to see in our community.

Feel free to let us know if anything isn't clear or if you have any other thoughts or feedback to share with us, either in the comments below or through modmail.

Please find a more detailed rundown of the rules below. You can always find this in the sidebar of the subreddit as well.

➖ 🧠 🦋 ➖

1 Be kind, respectful and polite.

No racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other forms of discrimination and bigotry.

This includes but isn’t limited to:

  • • any kind of name-calling
  • • general hating on neurotypicals
  • • accusing someone of "faking it for attention"
  • • trolling
  • • …

Swearing at a situation or about something is okay, swearing at someone never is. Civil discourse and debate is invited. Do not let disagreements become fights.

2 Use and respect post flairs and trigger warnings.

We use post flair to show what a post is about and how the OP wants people to respond, so that people can avoid topics that trigger them. If you make a post, select the post flair that best describes your post and how you want others to respond. If you are talking about heavy topics, put a trigger warning (TW) at the top of your post and use the trigger warning flair. If you are commenting on a post, make sure to check the post flair, e.g. do not give unsollicited advice on ‘no advice’ posts.

3 We are a community FOR neurodivergent people, not ABOUT them.

That means everyone who considers themselves neurodivergent - whether you’re questioning if you might be neurodivergent, self-diagnosing, have a formal diagnosis or are awaiting one - is welcome.

Posts about your own neurodivergence are fine, posts about someone else's are not.

For example:

  • "because of my autism, I have an issue with my coworker humming aloud, how do I address this with them?" is fine.
  • "my classmate has ADHD, how do I get him to stop being annoying?" isn't.

Posts by neurotypicals asking or complaining about neurodivergent people in their lives are never welcome. Try r/AskNeurodivergent instead.

4 We are NOT professionals.

We are not professionals in any field, we are just neurodivergent people, just like you. We’re not doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, pharmacists, lawyers or any other type of professionals.

Do not ask for medical advice, free therapy, diagnosis, legal counsel or anything else that you really should talk to a professional about. We can share personal experiences and listen, but we can’t diagnose, suggest or prescribe medication, provide therapy, give legal advice, or provide any other service.

5 No promotion, advertisement or research.

We are a community, not a billboard. We don't allow any advertisements or research questionnaires.

This includes:

  • any advertisement, for any paid or free products or services;
  • self promo for your YouTube or Twitch channel;
  • advertisement for your Discord community;
  • research questionnaires for your school project or thesis;
  • market research for something you've created or want to create;
  • seeking beta testers for your app;
  • anything else within the realm of "I don't want to join the community, I just want to spam my link here."

We see too many posts of this kind every day, so our patience is running thin. Breaking this rule will result in an instant ban. No appeals.

6 Other posts that DON’T belong here:

  • NSFW posts. Our community is PG13.
  • Research questionnaires. Please post to r/audhd instead.
  • Posts about someone else’s neurodivergence. Seeking advice for yourself is fine, asking about how to handle your neurodivergent partner / child / family member / neighbour / coworker is not. Try r/AskNeurodivergent instead.
  • Any posts made by neurotypicals, see rule #3.
  • Promotional materials. If you’re here to advertise a product, another community, an event, etc. please go elsewhere.
  • Low-effort (cross)posts or posts that have been copy-pasted to a dozen subreddits.
  • Posts finding a date and/or platonic meetup. We’re not a dating app, and we don’t want our (sometimes as young as 13 years old) members to doxx themselves.
  • Complaints and gossip about other communities, subreddits or their moderators. We aspire to be good neighbours,
  • Politics. We recognise that sometimes, political developments are relevant to the audhd experience, but we aren’t r/politics. Political discussion is limited.
  • Active self-harm, suicidal ideation and graphical descriptions of it. For the safety of our community, detailed descriptions of self-harm, suicide, or methods are not allowed. General mentions (e.g. “I struggle with suicidal thoughts”) are okay, but posts expressing active intent or plans (e.g. “I am going to kill myself” or “I want to die”) will be removed, and may result in a permanent ban. If you’re in crisis, please reach out to local support services or a trusted resource, starting with r/SuicideWatch.

➖ 🧠 🦋 ➖

What has changed?

The rules have remained mostly the same - just organised and grouped a little neater.

The biggest change, or rather, something we didn't allow before either but hadn't written into our rules this explicitly, is Rule #3.

We want to be a community for neurodivergent people. That means you are all invited to hang out, share your happy thoughts and your questions, show us your special interests, drop your infodumps, be your authentic selves.

What we don't want, however, are posts that are about (other) neurodivergent people.

Questions that relate to your own neuodivergence, your own experiences or struggles and your own situation are absolutely welcome. Posts that are about handling another neurodivergent person aren't.

Let's make it more clear with some examples:

✔️ "I have trouble falling asleep at night. Do you have any tips?"

✔️ "I need my headphones on to focus at work, but my coworker always interrupts me. How do I communicate this to them?"

❌ "My son is autistic. How do I get him to stop having meltdowns?"

❌ "My coworker has ADHD, how can I make him stop fidgeting?"

As always, please report any rule-breaking you come across so we can take action as soon as possible.

Thank you for being part of this community, I can't believe we've grown to more than 76 000 people already!

We hope to continue maintaining this safe space for you and us for a very long time, so keep posting and commenting, it wouldn't be a community without you. ♥

- love, Amy and the mod team


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 1h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information ADHD and potential autism makes me feel worthless

• Upvotes

28 years old and recently diagnosed with ADHD. The pyschatrist suspects autism aswell and wants me to see a specialist. She says she is 99.9% sure.

October is my favorite time of year and I haven't felt a goddamn thing. I've been watching scary movies, eating candy, nothing puts me in the spirit.

If it was just ADHD that'd be one thing, but autism? That's a great shock and right now I feel utterly lost. I'm so far behind my peers and I don't think I can ever catch up.

I don't have a credit card. I don't know how to drive. I wear slip on shoes because I can't tie my shoes properly. I still live with my parents. I'm a virgin and I've never had a girlfriend.

I want to go to college and be *something.* I want to write fiction. But now I don't know if that's possible.

I was prescribed clonodine for my ADHD but I haven't taken it yet. I'm afraid taking it will lead me into some existential crisis about what "could have been" though I suppose I'm already in the midst of that.

I'm scared that I may be intellectually disabled. I can't see how any woman could want someone like me.

TL;DR 28 M late diagnosed with ADHD, probably autistic, feeling lost and depressed.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 9h ago

🎨 art / creativity What would be your ULTIMATE sensory experience if you could control every aspect of reality?

26 Upvotes

(couldn’t find a perfect flair sorry!)

For example, personally i’ve always thought about if i could place myself in a floating, clear, indestructible orb situated still and floating right at the sea surface maybe somewhere rough like drakes passage. imagine having a bed and fridge and everything you need but you could just relax and chill out while chaos ensues around you. To further that, maybe have a controller that would allow you to go up and down well under the surface or right above it. This is just one of many that i’ve thought about or come up with. one more is i’d love to have like a small apartment right above a busy intersection or something so i could car and people watch. am i weird for stuff like this or has anyone else thought of this?


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 2h ago

💬 general discussion What are your sensory sensitivities (if you have any)?

8 Upvotes

I'm just curious what everyone's sensory sensitivities are and how you manage them.

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and ASD and I'm trying to pay more attention to my body cues and sensitivities that I haven't always acknowledged.

For me, loud overlapping noises cause my brain to almost short circuit and I can't concentrate on anything. During the day, I wear loop earplugs while working or out at restaurants, etc. I also struggle with some touch stuff, like I really really hate when my hands get dirty, messy, or especially sticky, so I will obsessively try to clean them when I'm eating a messy food or if I have to pick up something that's dirty/gross.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 6h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information Inattentive type AUDHD YouTubers?

14 Upvotes

I'm trying to find some AUDHD content creators but it seems like the majority fall under the brackets of hyperactive ADHD or strictly autistic. Which isn't inherently bad by the way, I get these all affect everyone differently, I just tend to find them (or me) very unrelatable in my circumstances. I fall almost exclusively under the inattentive type and information on that seems even more limited. Are there any YouTubers that are on the inattentive side that are good to watch? Bonus if they are autistic as well, but I feel like that's a tall order at this point.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 6h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information I can't read, I can't game, my mind is fried and I don't know what to do.

8 Upvotes

Hi, I am 22, I am diagnosed in both and recently got medicated in ADHD, I finally was able to get Independence so I had extremely high hopes to be able to read and game a lot, 2 things which I enjoy doing very much, but Idk why I just can't, my mind if fried from doomscrolling and even though I just don't enjoy it like I used to and it's making me super depressed, my mind wonders every time I read and I just straight up don't enjoy gaming at all, I know it looks like the obvious answer is for me to just stop scrolling (something which I really struggled with in the past) but even if I don't scroll, my mind still wonders and I am not able to concentrate, I just start making arguments in my brain or thinking of random bullshit, maybe playing a song I haven't heard in months, and other stuff, even if I try to get bored like other people suggest it's like my mind doesn't allow me to do so, not only do I get a huge urge to reach for my phone which makes me extremely mentally and physically unwell but as I said my mind just makes me stay stimulated as well so there isnt much of a difference, I genuinely don't know what to do, I have asked my doctor to up the dosage but I think I can only increase it once more and I am not entirely sure it's gonna make a huge difference, genuinely what more can I do? Anything helps, thank you


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 2h ago

✨ special interest / infodump Pathetic kinda day

5 Upvotes

I did my thing today. Helped people, went to tweens ft all game, protested no kongs, grocery shopped, got home... Footbalson, video games on, no one is happy to see me

I mean no one was really happy to see me all day. I go pumkins, my roommate/family here agreed yesterday we would carve. No one wanted to. I asked a chick I've volunteered with if she wanted to join me. She said after I left last time they decided to have a Halloween gathering and dress like they did when they drank guiness and drink guiness and s t u f f . Well I feel pretty shitty and ught most unlikable. I had just disclosed that I can't drink I'm an alcoholic not Ong before leaving last time

I know I've become uglier older etc but also crazier since.menoause finding it no one .my entire family cant stand me, fine with me, they are pretty cruel people if u ask me.

Usually - surprisingly, it doesn't bother me that much but lately ....I'm getting to a pretty dark place. I don't think I'll be able to fight this shit long term. I am feeling hopeless. Sure, what is the best thing that could possibly happen, it Could happen, but not likely. I just feel so alone. I guess it's late enough to go to bed, thank fucking God! GN


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 12h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information What is the most helpful neurodivergent affirming info you’ve ever learned or advice you’ve received

16 Upvotes

Hi all, 32yo female diagnosed this year with AuDHD and I am finally feeling well/ motivated enough after initial grief to start learning about myself and loving myself as I am. I am looking for advice and what has been dependable for you personally when rejoining and facing neurotypical society? I spent over half of a year exhausted at the thought of trying to learn more after a lifetime of masking.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 4h ago

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING (keywords in post) Hello, 26 M Autistic/ADHD/OCD/Severe depression/Social Anxiety, and etc. On my diagnostic list! I feel like I just realized what life is all about?

3 Upvotes

Long story short, I had a good childhood, everything seemed fine until age 15. I guess hormones/puberty/brain development. I had support as a kid. But when I was 15 everything changed. Even before I started drugs, I self-harmed by cutting thighs and arms. My dad left when I was 12. Never contacted us again. Alcoholism. Me and mom and my sister had to fend for ourselves. I slept in class and couldn't sit still ever unless it was interesting. I missed like 60 days of school every year. I started DXM and Marijuana first. The weed helped me feel like music was good again but I got addicted to the dxm stuff hardcore. I loved it. It was easy to get, and it helped me float away from my problems. I have abused dxm so much that my tolerance is crazy high... I dont trip out or "feel the magic" anymore. It just calms my mood. I started drinking HEAVILY AT 20 AND THAT LASTED 5 YEARS. MIXED WITH THE DXM, AND ALSO I WAS USING METH WHEN I COULD... OR JUST ANYTHING. XANAX IS NOT MY FRIEND. THAT HAD ME MISS 3 DAYS OF MY LIFE.. ANYWAYS,

I have stopped drinking for 1 year and a few months!!! This is my biggest change i have ever made. I have been to jail & prison for about 2 years in total served time because of alcoholism and interactions with the police in public. I have to cram this story together because I have an appointment on Monday to see a new psychiatrist. My mom cussed out the one I had since I was 15 and reported her for not helping me. All my psychiatrist gave me is SEROQUEL AND PROZAC. (SHE ALSO HAD ME FIRST STARTED ON ZOLOFT/PAXIL/WELBUTRIN/) AND NONE OF THOSE HELPED IN FACT MADE ME WORSE) BUT all she has given me is seroquel and Prozac. Which I appreciate, but I am 26 now and I am still self-medicating with dxm and Amphetamines (whether it be meth or friends Adderall) I am proud that I stopped drinking. But I want to quit the dxm for good. Or at least taper or take low dose.

MAIN POINT IS I have an appointment Monday to discuss all my entire freaking life story to a new psychiatrist/therapist and my hope is that they put me on a stimulant like vyvanse or Adderall or whatever.. and I can fully stop the meth and dxm... I have sounded like a broken record for years to people and my doctors didnt help me at all. I have been hospitalized 15+ times for suicidal thoughts and self harm. Disability has denied me like 6 times. I have tried to hold a job but it only lasted 1 day anytime I tried! Telemarketing had me having a panic attack cause people cussed me out over the phone, Dairy Queen had me looking like a fool cause the blizzard exploded everywhere and I couldn't keep up with customers orders, I tried factory work but I didnt even last 5 minutes cause the machines were too fast for me ):

Continuing, (with horrible grammar) I KNOW, I am also gay and I was never bullied but people say homophobic shit and it really ruins my entire day and I cant stand politics right now. I STAY AWAY FROM THE NEWS. RENNNE GOODS SHOOTING TRAUMATIZED ME, I CANT HANDLE HOW MANY SCHOOL SHOOTINGS HAVE HAPPEND IN THIS COUNTRY, I AM THANKFUL I LIVE IN A SLIGHTLY BLUE STATE (VIRGINIA) I STILL LIVE WITH MY MOM. MY SISTER DIED IN THE ROOM NEXT TO ME CAUSE OF DIABETES AND I HAVE PTSD CAUSE I WAS THE ONE THAT FOUND HER DEAD. I HAVE BEEN IN TRAUMATIZING CAR WRECKS. I HAVE SEEN CARTEL VIDEOS THAT SCARED ME FOR LIFE. I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE GET STABBED IN PRISON. I HAVE BEEN IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AND IT TRAUMATIZED ME.

MY QUESTION is what should I say to my doctor on Monday? Should I tell he/she all this??? Do I actually need Adderall or a stimulant to survive day to day life??? I feel like I do. I want to quit everything else. I am frustrated and angry that NOBODY CAUGHT MY AUTISM AND ADHD AND HELPED ME BEFORE I STARYED DRINKING AND DOING OTHER DRUGS... I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM AT 21. BUT EVERYTHING ELSE I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BEFORE.. SO WHAT SHOULD I EVEN THINK AT THIS POINT OR DO???

I have been able to do community college classes online. I am pursuing psychology (IRONOIC I KNOW) I have like 12 classes done. But IM 26 AND I FEEL LIKE A LARD LIVING WITH MY MOM STILL. PLEASE HELP. HOW DO I BECOME AN ADULT AND LIVE IN THIS HORRID WORLD???

ALSO I'm a scorpio, I like cats, I like spongebob, I hate animal abusers, I wish the world was a better place. Im terrified of nuclear war, Nazis, natural disasters, plagues and JUST LIFE GIVES ME ANXIETY. I AM TRYING TO BE A MAN ACCORDING TO SOCIETY BUT MY BRAIN FEELS SCATTERED. HELP ME PLEASE. ADVICE/TIPS PLEASE. THANK YOU KIND HUMANS!


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 5h ago

😤 rant / vent - advice allowed I still don’t have a diagnosis and I have really bad imposter syndrome.

3 Upvotes

I don’t know if I’m even suitable anymore. I feel like I’ve spoken and lived through these exact feelings so many times so I’ll just put it out there briefly. I’m 18F, I knew something was up since I was 12-13. Went to get assessed for ADHD for the first time when I was 15-16. The diagnosis took a year, in which year I got really bad and they couldn’t diagnose me properly so they slapped a vague „depressive-anxiety disorder” thing on me and gave me meds and therapy which traumatized me further and I can’t even hear the word psychologist or disorder without stressing my ass off from overthinking.

Depression is mostly gone, ADHD-like symptoms persist. But then again woah, I could just be making those up. Pavlovian response, or something.

My friend which I had in highschool was a literal picture of ADHD but she seemed to get only the obvious parts. Hyperfocus, hyperactivity, „yapping”, jumping from one thing to another, emotional dysregulation. She did SO much stuff. I always wondered how she even does it. It made me feel like a fraud for ever considering the damn disorder. I feel like my mind is constantly like a phone that only has a GB of storage left and I’m just stuffing shit in there. Even if I WANT to do something it’s just not going in.

I can’t remember any thoughts or struggles I truly had before the age 11 which makes things marginally harder. Apparently I was a good, quiet, shy kid. Sensitive, creative, liked books. The only suspicious thing that I can think of is constant stimming (biting pencils and drawing everywhere) or compulsive skin picking that I’ve been dealing with ever since I can remember. Maybe I rly do fit autism better? I don’t know. Shit’s hard.

Anyways I’m still struggling a lot with executive dysfunction everyday and constant earworm and being constantly over/understimulated on and off. Can’t start SHIT. It’s slowly killing me. I don’t know what to do with myself truly :,) Did anyone experience anything similiar?

Wow.
That was SO brief.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 5h ago

😤 rant / vent - advice allowed Whats been my problem of an everyday life

3 Upvotes

Hi

I just want to ask yall questions and want to know if you had some similar experiences or at least some of you know how can I help myselfe.

(Sorry for any mistakes in spelling etc. English is my second language)

So lets start shall we:

Ive been diagnosed with adhd and autism not so long ago

And Ive been living without a proper diagnosis for my whole life (21 years). I want to share some of my experiences with you more on the not so fun side of the "side effects" of having a brain that is connected differently then the other brains are.

1.Constant forgeting/ braing fog - It feels like Im having an issue with sinply learning anything and forgetting things that I did or said minutes ago. The problem is that a lot of the times it makes others thunk of me as lazy, forgetfull or just you know a person that doesnt kniw how to get their things together.

  1. Feeling all of the emotions at once with high impulsivity and huge issues coming with it or zero emotions and a feeling of being empty- Its like I am just swinging by two different modes ant nothing in between. Either I am very emotiinal or not and I need feel like I need to act surprised etc.

  2. Feeling like my head is in a hydraulic press but with no pain- You know that videos when they put things into a hydraulic press? Yeah that one but no pain just pressure in my head. Its something like a lots of pressure in my head and a feeling of not living? Kind of like an autopilot or watching what Im doing but not 100% being there.

  3. Huge issues with eating- There are three most commonly occuring states. Not eating for a whole day, looking for a specofic textyre or taste in food so I can eat it or straight up devouring whats in front of me. Ocassionally checking my fridge five times to check if something spawned in occures.

5.My brain going haywire- Sudden billions of thoughts and sometimes they are just awfull and feels like my brain is showing me every wrong scenario in between the chaos and awesome scenarios. Its like my brain is a writer that constantly jumps between parts of his ten book series.

  1. Relationship issues- Most of my life I thought that Im just looking for the perfect one that I will spend the rest of my life with. Looking back on it after the diagnosis I feel like I was just scared that if I go on with the relationship I will lose my friends or she will eventually dump me and I am not good enough for her so I just stoppwd it before it could ever happen. Also there are jumps between me being totally up to become the most romantic person ever and a person that is so confused and scared that he doesnt know how to react to affection.

  2. Feeling of grief and how many things could have been different- I mean. I feel like most of the wrongs Ive been doing in my life and most of the people and relationships that I have lost is because I was undiagnosed for so long and since Ive had an unstable situation in my house and years later wnet into a self medication road with alcohol it made me commit to even more mistakes that I would never do in my life even if someone would pay me Trillions ofr that to happen.

Yeah so if anyone had any of those situation or have any advice of course other then therapy that I will start soon, go on and write whats on your mind.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 20h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information Diagnosed ADHD, having the 'aha' moment with Autism...

35 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I apologise if this isn't the right place to have my middle age AuDHD crisis.

Life has been a struggle since I went past 35yo. I'm almost 40 now, reshuffling my life towards a new career that aligns more with my ADHD (my office job was totally killing me). However, new challenges are surfacing.

Some of the things I struggle with:

-I feel very competent socially in general in certain environments: like minded people or who have similar interests, other neurodiverse folks, people a similar age. I'm a chatty Cathy and I love connection. Take me out of these environments and I feel like I am useless, I can sense something isn't clicking, and I can see I might be a little bit too much for people to grasp.

-I find it hard to understand if people like me or dislike me and this creates incredible anxiety for me. I can read something isn't quite right, and I try to run the cogs in my head and look into my mental file of human reactions to find out what I did or say. Did I share something too personal? did I put my foot in my mouth and said something offensive without realising? (to me, oversharing just isn't a thing, I love people who are open, honest and direct because they are comforting, as I don't have to read them).

-I struggle with auditory processing. My ears will hear the sounds, but my brain just takes a little bit longer to make sense of what they've said. Verbal lists of instructions are my nightmare, I just can't process them or remember them if you don't pause and repeat them to me a few times. Give me a written list of instructions and I'll follow them like clockwork.

-I struggle to pick up on what people want me to do when they're training me at work. I follow them around like a little anxious duckling and sometimes I don't get the "please leave me alone 5 minutes" memo very well. A little bit, but not always. Pair that with auditory processing and following instructions... 💀💀💀

-One thing I really struggle with is when you're socialising at home, or someone's home, and someone decides it's time to go home. You all get up to say goodbye. Then people start talking standing by the door for like half an hour. My logic is, we were all more comfortable sitting down. Why standing by the door talking. Do you actually want to stay? do you want to leave but feel too awkward to just go straight out the door? Can anyone explain this phenomenon to me 😭

Anyway, I am aware nobody on Reddit can diagnose me, but It would be helpful to know if people struggle with similar things?


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 5h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information Como lidar com um monólogo interno constante?

2 Upvotes

Oii, pessoal!
Há alguns meses fui diagnosticado com TDAH predominantemente desatento (TDAH-PI) e me identifico muito com os relatos desta comunidade. Por isso, suspeito que talvez possa ter TEA também.

Tenho um monólogo interno constante que simplesmente não para, não importa o que eu faça. No meu caso, é uma única voz interna que fica o tempo todo narrando ou analisando as coisas. Penso profundamente sobre um assunto e depois passo para outro, tenha ele alguma ligação com o anterior ou não, e assim sucessivamente.

O problema é que tenho muita dificuldade em sair desse fluxo de pensamentos e direcionar a atenção para o que está a acontecer no momento presente.

Nas aulas não consigo prestar atenção porque a minha mente está constantemente ocupada com pensamentos, desde analisar as expressões faciais de outras pessoas até refletir sobre assuntos que me interessaram no momento.
Isso também acontece nas conversas: às vezes, fico a repetir ou analisar mentalmente o que a pessoa está a dizer e acabo por perder partes do que ela fala.

Isso acontece mesmo quando estou sozinho em casa. Sinto-me mentalmente esgotado por passar o dia inteiro pensando, como se a minha mente nunca descansasse. Já tentei meditação, que me ajuda a ficar um pouco mais calmo, mas nunca consigo interromper esse fluxo de pensamentos.

Alguém aqui passa ou já passou por algo semelhante? O que vos ajudou a lidar com isso?


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 17h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information I didn’t get to the wedding, and all the work I did was for nothing, I’m incredibly sad.

12 Upvotes

I posted two days ago seeking advice about coping while being away. I sadly didn’t make it to the wedding as my body decided to just go heavy and as I already have a physical disability it just became too much. I’m actually wondering whether or not this might be a link as I know people can experience weakness when overwhelmed and as I’m naturally weaker it just took everything?

I did everything right, worked closely with neurodivergent coaches for a year to give me the tools needed to be present, attended pre wedding events but as soon as it came to staying away my body went into meltdown and then shut down. I even sent graphics explaining how I was feeling and what to do but was met with anger and “there is nothing wrong with you” which made things worse.

I’m actually so upset because I truly believed I could do this. Now I’m just sat with peoples true emotions weighing on me too.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 5h ago

🤔 is this a thing? Endless Loop of feeling extremely lonely but kept forgetting recent hangouts + getting curious about philosophy

1 Upvotes

Hi yall
I’m 24 Non binary. I have been stuck in this endless loop of being alone, feeling extremely lonely ( could be because I am not close with my family, no partner, just me myself in a foreign country). I have friends, actually a lot of friends, but they have their own partners/ family/ life/ other besties.

But when I remember that I just hangout with friends the night before / hours before, I suddenly feel a bit better, but not much better. Am I just overthinking/overreacting/attention seeker/……?

I’ve been writing down a lot of stuff and send to AI to chat with me. AI got me interested in philosophy since a lot of my feelings/ beliefs matches with some philosophers.

Basically one thing is that I feel like if there’s no one watching me/ observing me, then I don’t exist since me myself don’t rlly care abt my own existence. So when I’m all alone and doing work/study, I feel like wind/air/gas that’s just floating there doing nothing. Plus I have VERY BAD memory, which makes it harder for me to remember who I am and what I have done. I have tried starting reading books for philosophy, which I started on the myth of Sisyphus, but I feel like I cannot continue reading it unless I understand all the references, which is everywhere in the book. Now I am reading a pig that wants to be eaten, but I’m slow.

Overall, maybe I’m just venting but I am stuck here and would like any constructive /helpful input or simply something make me feel less alone here.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 1d ago

🙋‍♂️ does anybody else? Is anyone else struggling to follow media with a million characters (The Witcher, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Game of Thrones)

37 Upvotes

It's hard to tell if this is caused by ADHD or autism; it feels like it's partly because I'm not giving 100% of my attention (ADHD), and it's also difficult to parse information that is implied (autism).

For example, I will be playing a game like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and then I suddenly realize that people are mentioning names that I've either never heard before or I have heard and just forgot. I tried the first Game of Thrones on audiobook and felt completely hopeless.

It's really difficult to tell if (a.) it's an important character that I have failed to remember, (b.) it's a new character that I need to be trying to memorize in this moment, or (c.) it's not an important character at all and I should not be trying to remember/memorize them. I imagine the correct option is being implied somehow but I don't have the kind of brain that will automatically filter out unnecessary information based on implications. It's simply too much information for me to parse manually in real time.

It doesn't help that everyone looks identical to me too. I'm fairly certain that I'm at least partially face blind and the graphics of video games only makes this worse.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 18h ago

💬 general discussion Direct Communication?

8 Upvotes

Does anyone else feel like society is becoming less direct and relying more on subtle hints and cues and presumed knowledge of what is okay or not? Right or wrong? Etc?
I feel like it is, and as an AuDHD with really literal thinking and a need for direct communication (and even confrontation!) I am struggling immensely to navigate my work and social spaces but when I try to explain misunderstandings I’m told I’m making excuses or not taking accountability / responsibility.
I’m newly diagnosed.
I’m exhausted.

EDIT: Could this be due to collective regression of emotional maturity?


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 1d ago

🤔 is this a thing? Exhaustion

91 Upvotes

Was told by my therapist that my chronic exhaustion can come for the audhd, so I wondered, who else feels tired all the time, and needs breaks after most tasks?

I really wanna get so much done but I need so many breaks to just get troughthe day


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 1d ago

🙋‍♂️ does anybody else? Someone, anyone, just tell me I exist and I matter

57 Upvotes

Because the thought of another lonely birthday, or lonely holiday, or feeling lonely while smack in the middle of a group of people I'm 'supposed to' fit in with... I just can't take much more. I've tried to connect with human beings - but I can't. So I feel invisible. Just like when I was a little girl whose needs were ignored or resented. Yes, I've been to therapy. Inpatient. Outpatient. I'm on antidepressants. It's not about that. It's about my brain. There's no pill-popping or therapeutic talking my way out of my brain. I just don't belong to this world of productive, happy, successful, interactive people - and I'm starting to think about leaving it.

EDIT: Thank you for making me feel visible and reminding me I'm worthy. I really really needed this and you all came through for me. I appreciate you so much.


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 16h ago

😤 rant / vent - advice allowed DAE get really anxious about breaking social norms? (post devolved into a people pleasing rant)

3 Upvotes

When I was young (I'm F23) I felt like I understand social norms, but could never act them out correctly, so I was generally shy. As I've gotten older I learned how to "perform" them and I've internalised them to the point I get really anxious when someone breaks convention - like when they don't smile at me, don't reply in a way I would etc., or just isn't afraid to not act pleasant all the time. And I HATE it about myself because that kind of a person is someone I typically feel drawn to the most, but I can't get over this sense of discomfort around them, and can't be myself. I don't LIKE performing conformity all the time, but one (even perceived) bad look, especially from a close friend but even a stranger or somebody I don't like makes me spiral, think I'm such a dork and maybe nobody likes me all that much, and secretly make fun of me behind my back (this happened a lot in my childhood tbf). It doesn't help that I feel most comfortable around very nice people who probably wouldn't say anything horrible to my face, BECAUSE THEY'RE LIKE ME!!! I can't/find it extremely hard to say something negative to someone I care about, I always feel this overwhelming empathy for them especially looking in their eyes and I imagine how I could hurt them with my words, this is especially a big problem when I want to end a relationship because somebody is treating me badly, not so much with friends because well I don't feel the need to say anything potentially hurtful 99% of the time, but I dread a situation in which they did something I would find in high conflict with my values, and I couldn't confront them, and would instead just start ignoring them or even venting to other people instead of talking to them directly. I think such behaviour is really shitty, but I can't make myself confront anyone head on 😭 I'm also worried about this for my future job I'm in uni for.

Idk if this is RSD, social phobia, lack of confidence or if I'm just sensitive or something, but I'm just so sick of my emotional volatility and people pleasing tendencies. Now, it's getting better and I'm able to disagree in a gentle manner with their opinions for example, but close relationships and 1 on 1 contact with somebody whose verbal and non verbal expressions I haven't fully figured out still scare the fuck out of me (I realised it after going on some dating app dates especially). So to feel truly comfortable around a person I typically need years, and because I'm uncomfortable talking to them before then, the whole process of making new close friends or finding a partner seems not worthwhile. I guess I'm starting to worry if I don't do something about it I'll end up alone, even if I have a lot of lovely people around me now, once I finish uni start working it might be too much for me.

Not even mentioning how having ADHD complicates it even more because I do mess up more often and make a fool of myself in public sometimes, so it's even harder to have confidence.

Sorry if this post is messy and hard to read, the words just kinda poured out of me, and does anyone else struggle with something(s) similar?


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 16h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information Lingering

3 Upvotes

Hopefully this makes sense...Say you have an argument with somebody and the feeling you feel in that instant be it anger/guilt/sadness etc Does anybody struggle with getting it out of their mind? I don't mean you actively think about it... More you feel it until your brains processed it out which for me can take a week..it's like my brain can't process it out straight away so the feeling of it will linger so in the meantime because that feeling is still there I will look at the person who I had the argument/disagreement with differently because that feeling is there...Once my brains processed it out only then can I kind of back to normal with them...Hope this makes sense and if it does is this a typical autistic trait or just a normal human trait...I have been diagnosed with both autism and adhd Fwiw..


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 1d ago

💊 medication / drugs / supplements Taking Vyvanse for the first time while in autistic burnout

93 Upvotes

I’m taking Vyvanse for the 2nd day in a row and I’m kind of curious on how other AuDHD’ers are reacting to stimulants, especially if it is Vyvanse and they are/were in a long term autistic burnout.

I’ve been in burnout for quite some time now, off of work for 8 months but multiple recurring burnouts my whole life, and progressively worse and worse.

I recently heard there is a link between estrogen and dopamine levels. I was originally taking the contraceptive pill continuously since the age of 14 until I stopped 4 years ago due to migraines and then decided to have a child. I’ve never gone back on it. Kid is now 2.5yo and I’ve been having more issues with executive functioning almost since his birth.

Now, Vyvanse seems to get rid of that barrier where tasks feel daunting for me but I’m still very scatter brained and hopping from task to task. I’m almost more prone to errors of inattention? I feel almost more ADHD in terms of not being able to complete a task once starting and my brain is like a freight train… but a strangely calm one? But I feel like my channel of attention is narrow and like I can’t really comfortably make myself watch a TV show to relax without my brain bouncing to things like writing this reddit post. I’ve been doing way too much admin stuff because it gives me the illusion that I’m not doing a lot if it’s not physical I guess.

I however feel like I may be given the illusion of having energy despite not having any. I’m scared of this medication making me crash harder. I am trying to pace myself by taking forced breaks and not do everything I have to do around the house.

What’s your experience?

Edit: since a few are wondering, I’m taking 10mg right now which is the lowest dose


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 1d ago

🍽️ food and drink AuDHD at its finest

Post image
141 Upvotes

current AuDHD specific dilemma: i can only eat with this specific spoon, but i can’t be bothered to wash the dishes cause of executive dysfunction nor am i interested in dealing with the sensory issues associated with washing the dishes 😵‍💫😭

as a result, i can’t eat and will probably only suck it up and wash the dishes once they start overflowing cause…..duh


r/AutisticWithADHD • • 15h ago

💁‍♀️ seeking advice / support / information Study advice for working a 9-5 and studying for finals?

2 Upvotes

Okay, so I'm finishing up an apprenticeship, which means I've had blocks of school and I'm otherwise working a 9-5 (it's a dual system). I am only kind of busy at work and I'm allowed to use that free time to study.

It's four 90 minute written finals on two days in less than two months.

I haven't been able to put in more than an hour a day and I'm afraid of failing but not afraid enough to actually put in the hours.

Tldr: anyone have any advice for studying in an office setting without feeling like I'm held hostage?