ADHD is one of the -worst- named neurodevelopmental disorders there is or has ever been. Lemme list some of the actual problems ADHD is comprised of:
1) Executive Dysfunction
It causes issues with the regulation of executive actions. "I have to do this thing, today" isn't a statement meaning "This will get done, today" it's a self-flagellating acknowledgement of your own failings. You know it -needs- doing, but you can't guarantee your brain will release the right chemicals to make you do it and forcing yourself to do it is as difficult as making yourself put your hand into fire. Can it be done? Yes. But your brain resists it completely.
But there's also this wall of awareness, sometimes. Like. I'm hungry. I get up. I walk to the kitchen. I look for something to eat. I forget what I was doing and go back to my chair. An hour later I remember I'm hungry. I get up and do it again. An hour later I manage to grab something microwaveable and toss it in before sitting back down. An hour later I remember I'm hungry and there's now cold hot pockets in the microwave. So I reheat them. 20 minutes later I remember there's hot pockets in the microwave so I reheat them while standing in front of the microwave so I'll get them out. I take them to my desk. 20 minutes later I remember they're there and give up on heating them up and just eat them cold.
As a corollary aspect of Executive Dysfunction is a tendency toward depression due to guilt and failing to meet other people's expectations. If you know a kid with ADHD please don't ever, -ever-, tell them about how much potential they have, if only they'd apply themself. They're -trying-. Their brain literally won't let them.
2) Time Blindness
5 minutes and an hour can feel like the same thing for neurotypical people when certain conditions are met. For people with ADHD it's exaggerated to an absurd degree where there are times I can't tell if something happened yesterday or a week ago. Great example: Our dog brought fleas into the house. I bought a carpet spray and we bathed him and did flea treatment stuff to keep him clean. You have to do the carpet thing twice with a 14 day break between. I could -swear- we'd just done the bath and the carpet treatment a couple days ago. We checked Amazon to see when the carpet spray was delivered and it was the 9th.
This also has the problem/benefit of permanent object impermanence. If you're someone I care about and you are out of my vision and awareness I am probably not going to think about you at any point of my day unless something specifically reminds me about you. But the moment you're back in my life it's like not a day has passed, for -me-. I can't tell you what a strain that has put on various relationships I've had over the years, but my Twin and I rarely if ever call each other and giggle like kids as we infodump the last 2 years major events on each other like we're gossipping in class. It's awesome. Like no time whatsoever has passed.
3) Circadian Delay
Your circadian rhythm tells you when to wake up, when to go to sleep, and helps you stay asleep while you're in bed. ADHD people have a delayed circadian rhythm. Which doesn't sound so bad, right? We're all night owls! Except it doesn't work like that, entirely, either. Yeah, we're more likely to be up late. We're also more likely to be disturbed in our sleep cycle, and more likely to have trouble getting to sleep. The whole "Racing Thoughts" thing that ADHD people experience is a doozy, lemme tell you.
This causes a -wide- variety of problems in health, comfort, and emotional regulation. Speaking of:
4) Emotional Dysregulation
This one breaks out into two pieces, really.
4a) Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
People with ADHD are vastly more likely to latch on to rejection and rebuke of even the gentlest variety and assume people hate them or are infinitely more angry than they actually are. This is exasperated by breaks in circadian rhythm and also exasperates circadian delay. I had someone angry at me, sincerely angry, and I couldn't sleep for 2 days because my brain got hung up on that anger and kept trying to dissect it and force me to relive it over and over and over, again, even though it is a largely irrelevant thing in my overall life.
4b) Mood Swings
This one sounds kinda 'meh' but it can be massive. I can be having the happiest of days, briefly think about something stupid from when I was 15 that absolutely no one else in the entire world remembers, and my entire day is -CRUSHED-. Similarly, I can be deep in grief after losing a parent and suddenly turn into a giggling ball of silliness and excitement over something entirely banal and annoying to other people. Which, by the way, has gotten me in trouble twice, now.
Of course being annoying to others causes the shame spiral because of the RSD so they get the morose me they were hoping for moments later.
5) Sex Drive and Attentiveness
Just as swingy as the mood swings. And the Executive Dysfunction hits, here, too, sometimes.
6) Nutritional Deficiency
Because our brains don't release the happy chemicals on queue, we tend to try and force it through sugary foods, snacks, and the like. Things that made us happy as kids. Sometimes this means gaining weight, sometimes this means not getting the nutrition you need. And the side effects of that, of course, exacerbate several other problems on this list. Moods, sleep, etc.
For some people, self-medication through caffeine works to some degree... but then you wind up crashing and there goes what precious sleep schedule you'd managed to build up. But there's a reason ADHD and Coffee or Energy Drinks are strongly correlated in people's minds. And it's not actually "Don't give ADHD people coffee or they'll be bouncing off the walls!" our brains don't actually work like that.
7) Hyperfocus
The one good thing about ADHD is a mixed bag at best. When the Executive Dysfunction hits -just- right, we can go into a zone unlike anything most other people experience. I've had marathon writing periods of 10,000+ words in a sitting over 8 hours. That's 5 Gate Pass Gazette Articles in a sitting! Of course I forgot to eat, drink, or use the bathroom during that time which made it -super- uncomfortable and had me trying to make up for lost time on binge eating triggering number 6, again.
But let's call it "Can't Sit Still and Pay Attention Disorder". Because it's named not after our experiences, but by how we inconvenience others!
