AuDHD
A place for those that got both Autism and ADHD, those confirmed as one and are suspecting they got the other as well, and also everyone who is neither and just genuinely curious.
Since the combo comes with its own set of challenges, this shall be a place to ask for advice, vent, infodump about special interests and/or just vibe and meme.
Please be respectful. General niceness guidelines apply - formal rules will be added later if necessary.
In regards to medication and medical advice: Please take under consideration that this is only an online support community. Offered advice is always an expression of individual opinions or experiences and shall never be taken as substitute for a professional in-person assessment!
This is a SFW community. Sensitive topics are allowed, but must be properly labeled.
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Hello, it is me with burnout. It's hard to keep up with everything. But I think I have been in a similar place.
What do you mean no career prospects? I'm the type of autistic that misses social queues but is really good at systemizing, so I'm a great person at making sure stuff "behind the scenes" gets done. (Sure, I talk to other team members but I make minimal appearances to clients.) Do you have any ideas as to how your strengths can work well in a role?
And for hobbies, that's my shit right there. I don't have to be good at it, I just have to like it. That's the point imo. To be fair, it is sometimes hard to get into a hobby of mine because I don't have to focus on doing it at the time. Or I might want to "step it up" but my ADHD makes it difficult to follow through.
It's constant hurt if you're in a place where you don't fit in. Believe me, I know. We can't change the world overnight, but is there something you can focus on that you can change? Can you streamline something in your own home to be less hostile to your brain, like putting up curtains or organizing your clothes so getting dressed in the morning is easier? Can you make any decisions on how you interact with the world outside of your home that will make things easier?
I try to even play my own strengths to defeat my weaknesses. My ADHD makes it hard for me to get started on a task. It also makes it hard to stay on the task if I hit a snag. What helps is structure... Which I am great at giving myself because of autism. My bathroom is really well organized, so I am on top of making sure I never run out of anything and it's easy to find anything I need (because it all has a place).
I would also give yourself some breaks. Even just a small break will help your brain out so so much.
Lastly, this growth will take time. It's ok to make mistakes. It's ok to need some time to learn and perfect something. It's ok to need to take a break.
I went through school under-achieving due to hostile environments and lack of support. Masking half a life-time left me traumatized and chronically tired. I can't fathom how anyone with these cards can muster up the will and courage to put the mask back on to have an edge at the job-market. Even the thought of a job interview paralyzes me.
I have no idea where such a magical land would be, where a burnt out, under-achieving AuDHD person would fit it.
Due to decades of nearly 100% negative interactions, I've almost completely isolated myself. I know it's not good, but just don't see how to interact without submitting myself to more harrassment and misunderstandings.
Yeah, I've found ways to get things done, just the motivation and reward is completely lost at this point.