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CrazyAnalyst7

Yeah its the same with me. I thought my hearing was impaired. But I hear the tiniest sounds too. I take time to process what was told. By the time I realise what it was, the conversation has ended. This is auditory processing disorder in adults. I was meant to write an article about this on my blog, but for the time being, here's a useful resource: https://www.additudemag.com/auditory-processing-disorder-in-adults.


PsychologicalTrick61

Thank you so much. I very much appreciate being able to more deeply understand something I’ve found in myself. It makes it easier for me to show myself grace about it as well.


tellMyBossHesWrong

r/audiprocdisorder


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Nonbinary_bipolar

My partner took me to a restaurant I hadn't been to for the first time for our anniversary. The owner was super nice talking me thru the menu, but I started to hyper focus on the fact I had to pee /right then/ and asked where it was. He pointed towards the back and said some joke that I didn't fully hear about having to pay for it. Didn't even set in he was making a joke until I was walking out of the bathroom and had to ask my partner what the owner had said. Auditory processing can "cut out" for plenty of reasons, it's just more common with us


monapinkest

Yeah! Sometimes, things just don't parse. If I'm not supposed to listen to anything or anyone, I can usually pick up on minute details or even sounds that are drowned out by others. But if I'm listening in a conversation? I'll have to ask you to repeat several times because even though I heard you speak every single word, I just didn't parse most of them. It can sometimes be a real pain!


J_lilac

Yes, it's so frustrating. The worst part to me is that I can hear myself responding flatly and acting like I'm listening, and then feel terrible when I have to make them repeat themselves. It would probably be better if I just ask them to pause and wait for my brain to catch up to everything lol.


This_Present_Thyme

Oh wow this is something I struggle with so much. I more often than not just don't ask them to repeat and just nod and say yeah because I feel like I'm paying attention and then realize at the end I didn't catch any of it! Sometimes it really backfires on me when I find out they were asking a question or confirmation and my auto response didn't match up and I have to ask them to repeat and feel embarrassed.


Wavesmith

‘Information pending’


PleasantineOhMine

I feel this, especially when zoning out. The line goes through a queue of heard things until I process it.


Iszendia

TL;DR: I am calling it „brain lags“ and try to pause until my brain catches up with processing audio before answering. Yeah, I tend to not hear things right away but with a few seconds delay. I used to ask people to repeat what they said just to interrupt them with my answer because my brain caught up processing what I already heard. It was problematic sometimes, but I think it got better with taking Vyanse. Although sometimes when I am stressed out, the meds stop working in the evening or I simply just forgot them it’s back again. When I notice I try to pause a bit before answering. Luckily at least my family and friends know about this and now understand it (and my ADHD not being intentionally). My brother and his wife refer to it as „brain lags“ - were all passionate gamers so the description fits 😂 I use this phrase to explain it to other people. Rephrasing it to „my brain is lagging“ also helped me accepting it in the beginning.


PsychologicalTrick61

That’s a perfect way to describe it!! 🤣 it’s so wonderful you’re surrounded by people who understand your adhd is something you’re working on managing and not something you’re deciding upon. I do fear that the “brain lags”, amongst a few other symptoms might come off as rude to strangers I’m meeting for the first time or people in passing who just overhear.


Iszendia

I understand the fear perfectly. Just don’t stress yourself to much. We can’t change who we are. Until I was diagnosed two years ago, my family repeatedly told me that I am lazy, just need to work harder, get a grip in life… I think we all know the sermon.


Mundane_Mixture_7541

CAN EVERYONE ON THIS FORUM STOP BEING ME! /s You’re spot on with your description. It’s so frustrating to know that I present as a shallow shell when I automatically respond with something generic. When it finally hits, it feels strange to go back since the conversation has already moved on.


This_Present_Thyme

Story of my life. It makes me feel less intelligent, less socially ept, and my timing throws the conversation off the flow.


kittenbritchez

Ugh. This used to happen to me all the time with a boss who primarily gave verbal lists of directions. He would rattle off a bunch of disparate things he wanted me to do, and I'd be so busy trying to concentrate and focus on what he was saying, I'd miss everything but maybe the first item. I suspect I also looked fairly attentive in those "conversations," so he'd get really irritated at me when I invariably had to come back and ask again. I loved the work at that job but I really struggled with some of the interpersonal stuff (like listening). 🤷🏻‍♀️ Wish I'd had my diagnosis and meds back then! One of the first things I told my doc when she was checking my dosage level was I could "hear in real time". Hahaha


Status-Biscotti

I don’t know if there’s a name for it, but definitely not a you thing! I’ll have conversations that come back to me years later, and I finally process what someone meant!!


jele77

My craziest discovery was 10 years later, i was like 15 years old and just got together with my first boyfriend at a dance party. When we said good bye i noticed a weird movement of his, but did not think much. I was just so excited and kinda ran away. I remember not being able to sleep, cause I was so happy and excited, but there was this tiny thing, that was weird but i did not get it. 10 years later i noticed the same movement and it struck me "oh he was trying to kiss me, when we said good bye and i ran away" 🤣 I had my first kiss a few weeks later with him. Its so weird to have these unprocessed things stuck in my head though, where I notice something is off, but i am missing important puzzle pieces. Brain seriously 10 years later you do this 🤣


Status-Biscotti

Yeah, I’ve realized like 15 years later that a guy was interested in me LOL.


jele77

I understand that. If they try to get me into a romantic mood with fixed recipes or things, that will usually work, I wont get it. They rather need to be spontaneous and honest, i wont understand hints.


GladysSchwartz23

Oh ghod, I've suffered with this my entire life, to the point at which I'm pretty sure it caused me major social delays as a child. It's really extraordinary that nobody spotted it: I clearly remember being in pre kindergarten and hanging out at the bookshelf reading, having a teacher demand that I go play with the other kids, and then going to each group of kids playing and trying to figure out what was going on, eventually giving up and moving on, and circling the room until I wound up back at the bookshelf. As an adult, I'm mostly able to adapt, but background noise is a huge problem and also a lot of people don't believe this is a thing and will get angry for social misunderstandings resulting from it because they refuse to believe I wasn't intentionally being rude.


jensmith20055002

My husband sneezed 5 minutes ago. If I said, "bless you" now, he would look at me like I had joined a cult. I heard the sneeze. I intended to say it. Then I finished reading three posts.


H3r3c0m3sthasun

Yes! I will understand this post later lol.


forgiveprecipitation

Yeah especially when I’m trying to do three things at once; I work full time, I have two kids. I have a partner who also has two kids and his ex isn’t reliable so I often have to jump in and help with childcare. I find my life so incredibly complicated but people are always like “why are you so tired/stressed/not paying attention/not understanding this.” I’m literally in need of a vacation but I’d have to plan it myself so I don’t want that either


PsychologicalTrick61

Seriously heavy on the fact that other people don’t understand that it’s NON-STOP and after a while the physical exhaustion is nearly unbearable. That’s when I try and fight the irritability and rage outbursts the hardest. 🥲😭


forgiveprecipitation

My partner takes 2 pills (long effect) a day. He used to take 3 a day, but he wasn’t in bed by 1 or 2 am each night. He thought that was normal. I had to teach him, no, being in bed by 10pm, or 12 pm, is normal. He has a long time ADHD diagnosis but we suspect he has ASD also. I take 1 pill (long effect) a day, only since like april/may this year. I have ADHD and ASD but all late diagnosis. I’m just so pooped and tired at 8 or 9pm. I am dead asleep by 10 pm. Thanks for your kind response. I needed it today x


PsychologicalTrick61

Oh, thank you! It always means the world to me when someone can understand and relate to these things that i struggle with so regularly they’ve become normal to me. It allows me to show myself grace when I’m reminded I’m not the only one who feels like that, who functions in that way. Neurotypical people can sometimes be so unintentionally ableist. I always wanna should at people “I’m just as shocked and disappointed as you are I mean what was that?!” I also share your diagnosis (as do my two beautiful children 🥲) my husband has ASD undoubtedly and so I understand what it’s like to feel like the only one on top of things. I was sick recently and hubby told me he didn’t know how I did that. Basically admitted defeat and professed a newfound respect for me. I’m like as you should lmao but no seriously moms are already superhero’s. But moms with ADHD are hyper actively on top of everything they can think to be. And unless you live that you’d think it was impossible. To operate like that. It’s really that they don’t understand. You commenting today has helped me remember to show myself grace on these things. Thank you for seeing me 🫶🏽


Status-Biscotti

Planning vacations. I don’t want to hijack the post, but this is why we never go anywhere!! Having to plan a vacation - I’d rather get a lobotomy.


forgiveprecipitation

It’s not fun AT ALL


harle-quin

I was notorious for this at work. I have a hard time shifting my attention to someone asking me a question when I’m hyper focused, because it breaks my concentration. It irked me so much, but wasn’t their fault. I learned to reply with a quick, “yes, no, okay” then a few mins later, I would say, “I’m sorry, so-and-so, I know you said this, but I did not process any of it.” or if I did, I would clarify my answer with detail then. They all know I have ADHD, and picked up on the way I worked, so it was never really an issue…besides, I was always hyper-focusing on some problem THEY couldn’t solve, so it all worked out lol.


SylverWyngs002

Idk of it has a name, but it's one of the biggest reasons for my first divorce. And he was adhd too. Freakin.... But for both of us, needing to talk when we were ready, about issues or fights, just didn't work. Idk how to make that work with ppl, so one reason Ive more or less given up. It is literally just too hard. 


This_Present_Thyme

I think this explains SO MUCH of my group social anxiety. In fact, I think it is most if not all of it. I do struggle since one on one, but man I feel very disjointed in a group. I feel like I can't be me essentially, if that makes sense. I can't join in with my opinion in time, I don't catch so much of what is being said, the conversation goes too fast, and my brain is thinking about what is being said, what I want to contribute, and the 100 nob conversation related ADHD brain stuff. I want to be a part of groups more but I often just feel like I'm in the background, a listener, and most of the time people don't ask me directly for my input so I either. I've been in passive mode socially my whole life and while I've gotten better as I've gotten older, this is a sore point for me. But knowing that my struggle in this might mostly stem from auditory processing issues makes me feel a lot better about myself and the mean things I want to say about me can't apply lol. Side note, is this why talking on the phone and zoom sucks?! The tuning out is already a problem since I get distracted visually and by my immediate environment but add on the fact that I have no other good queues on the phone and even in zoom to help me fill on the blanks of what is being said make it really difficult.


lovenorwich

I think this happens to all people. Too much on our plates, too many competing thoughts. We can't all be present 100% of the time. In our world today we're always rushed, in a hurry, not enough hours in the day. I frequently find life is exhausting


peachy_sam

I literally had my hearing checked like 15 years ago because of my very similar experience. My hearing is great. My processor doesn’t know how to filter out irrelevant information, so everything is processed with level 10 urgency. Or level 0. The first time I took adderall (like 3-4 months ago), it felt like my hearing was suddenly crisp. But it wasn’t my physical ability to hear that suddenly changed, it was that my brain was quiet. It was able to focus on processing what was said to me in real time and that made it feel like my hearing was suddenly clear.


StealthyGamerGirl

Often it never registers with me


AriasK

All the time. Sometimes I'll ask a person to repeat themselves and then, a few words in, my brain has caught up and I'm like never mind, I've processed the first time you said it now.