Signs You Have ADHD, Not “Dumb”

We have all experienced moments in life where people called us ‘stupid’, ‘dumb’, or other harsh words. Sometimes people may say it so often that you end up believing them even though deep down you know that you are far from ‘stupid’. Sadly, this negative stereotype has been used to describe those who struggled with undiagnosed ADHD. To help you reduce this stigma, here are a few signs of ADHD, not being ”dumb”…

We also made a video on the signs of ADHD, not laziness:

Writer: Ananya Sawarkar
Script Editor: Vanessa Tao
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
Voice: Amanda Silvera www.youtube.com/amandasilvera
Animator: Kami Animation
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

References
Reed Brice (July 18, 2019). A User’s Guide: 4 Signs That It’s ADHD, Not ‘Quirkiness’. Retrieved from www.healthline.com/health/adhd/4-signs-adhd-or-quirky
Hope Gillette (June 23, 2021). Tips on How to Focus With ADHD. Retrieved from psychcentral.com/adhd/adhd-tips-to-fire-up-your-focus#why-i-cant-focus
Kathryn Watson on (August 14, 2021). ADHD and Memory: What to Know. Retrieved from www.healthline.com/health/adhd/adhd-memory#adhd-and-memory
Philip Shaw, Argyris Stringaris, Joel Nigg, and Ellen Leibenluft. Emotional dysregulation and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4282137/
Healthline Editorial Team and Rena Goldman (February 9, 2021). 14 Adult ADHD Symptoms. Retrieved from www.healthline.com/health/adhd/adult-adhd

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Simple Solutions That Help You Cope With Stress

This is stress, wreaking havoc on your mental and physical state of being. Use these tips to battle your stress.

If you procrastinate, you run the risk of increasing your stress levels without even realizing it. Even though most of us agree that we work best under pressure, the opposite is actually true. Are you actually doing your best when doing it at the last minute? The stress of having the extra pressure on your shoulders from the impending duty that you keep putting off automatically increases your stress level. Rather than procrastinating, complete your work as soon as you receive it in order to reduce your stress level.

Admit your stress. Each of us have our own stress signal, whether is it teeth gritting, neck pain, shoulder pain, shallow breathing, or loss of temper. Take time to figure out what yours is and then say out loud, “I am feeling stressed” once you start to feel that way. Saying it and realizing you are starting to feel stressed will help slow down the negative emotions.

Make sure that if you are staring at a computer at work for the majority of the day, to get up and stretch your body. Stretching is really important, as remaining stagnant for the greater part of the day can increase stress levels. Move around and chat with co-workers to improve how you feel.

Try to get as much sleep as you possibly can during the course of the day, regardless of how much you have to work. Lack of sleep will result in increased stress levels, which can limit your productivity and hurt the way that you feel. Aim for 8 hours of sleep a night to feel your best.

Stress is a natural part of our lives. How stress affects our ability to interact with the world, however, can be anything but positive. One way to reduce your body’s negative reactions to stress is to make sure you get an adequate amount of sleep. When we are tired, stress has a greater potential to impact us in negative ways. Minimize the impacts of a potentially stressful day by getting an adequate night’s sleep the night before.

If you feel like you are chronically stressed out or upset than you should consider introducing exercise into your routine. Many people swear by running for stress relief but any kind of heavy exercise will help you to free your mind and will also increase your fitness level at the same time!

Many of the people who are living with stress believe that it is perfectly normal. If you feel this way you should start comparing your stress levels to that of people around you. You should quickly see that your stress is much higher and is having detrimental effects on you.

If you are doing unhealthy things to deal with your stress, find other ways to do it. Getting some exercise is a better way of dealing with stress than overeating. When you replace a bad habit with a good one and stay healthy, you will see that the stress in your every day life is significantly lowered.

Cooking is a great form of stress relief as you will be focusing on the recipe and the quality of the meal that you are creating. Follow a recipe and bake something that you always wanted to, which will help to ease any tensions you may be facing in your life.

If you have tried other hobbies but found them unable to reduce your stress, then you may want to consider a handcraft. Even if you are a man, you can try out cross-stitching or scrap booking. The people who do these activities say that they begin to enter a trance and ultimately, feel better.

Sleep is a great way to reduce the stress levels in your life. By getting at least eight hours of sleep a day, you are setting yourself up to have a much more productive, and less stressful day. When you are lacking sleep, everything seems to be much more difficult, and therefore, more stressful. Strive to get the maximum amount of sleep each night for more productive, and less stressful days.

If you’re stressed out, make an extra effort to be friendly to everyone you meet. Lashing out and being rude, will only make other people react in kind, which will make everyone more stressed out than they were. If you put in the effort to smile, people will smile back and you might find your stress melting away.

One of the easiest ways to reduce stress in your life is by shutting off the evening news. Today’s news broadcasts are typically filled with nothing but doom and gloom, making them anything but uplifting. In fact, they can leave you feeling downright stressed out and worried. Instead, try skimming the news headlines online to stay informed. Just don’t allow yourself to get bogged down in all the details.

To avoid encountering stressful mishaps, prepare ahead of time for things that might go wrong. Make sure you have a spare key stored somewhere safe, keep a simple meal on-hand at work, and have a backup babysitting plan, just in case. If you have pre-prepared solutions for your problems, you’ll be able to solve them in an instant.

Try to limit the amount of chatter or gossip that you participate in during the course of the day. When you are talking about other people, at times you may stress and get worked up about their problems. This is extra stress that you do not need to deal with.

Every night before you go to sleep, make a list of that day’s most stressful events. Identify the long-term issues that you can do nothing about and eliminate them from the list. Next prioritize those that are left by writing the solution to each item. Begin with the little things and concentrate on solving at least one item on the list the following day. Soon you will see your daily cares melting away instead of growing into mountains by being proactive and focused.

Most of us in life will be stressed out from time to time. Whether it’s from being overworked, inundated with debt with too many bills to pay or up to our necks in screaming kids, stress can come from a multitude of places. Dealing with this stress should be the primary goal and the tips you’ve read here, can help you cope.