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fact.But I don’t drink coffee to wake up or have more energy. That has never been the case for me. On the contrary, coffee can sometimes make me feel sleepy.It wasn’t until recently that I found out that neurodivergent brains thrive on caffeine – it calms us down. Caffeine is a key ingredient in ADHD treatments. No wonder my first taste of coffee was so life-changing to me. No wonder I kept sneakily downing my parents’ last sips all throughout my childhood. My brain craved the comfort of caffeine.And that’s exactly how it feels. When I’m particularly jittery or distracted, a cup of coffee will do wonders for me. It helps me see things clearly, take tasks step by step, and takes me out of paralysis.<h1 id="6514">Needing Several Drinks at Once</h1>This ties in with the point above. Aside from finding immense comfort in caffeinated drinks, I also need several different drinks around me, especially when I need to focus on something.Water, because if it’s not in front of me, I forget to drink it, a warm drink, and either a glass of fruit juice, iced tea, or a fizzy drink, are always around me.One of the things everyone in my life jokes about is how I leave a trail of cups, glasses or bottles around the house. And it took years for me to understand that this wasn’t just a sign of me being great at staying hydrated. It was my brain’s way of making sure everything I need is there when it knows my focus can’t be broken or else I’ll just fail to complete a task.<h1 id="f0aa">Zoomies</h1>This isn’t a medical term. But it perfectly describes how this strange behaviour works. When I have a series of tasks to perform – like house chores for instance – I end up walking aimlessly back and forth and all around, like a dog when it has the zoomies.This happens due to two main reasons:<ul><li>I must not sit down when I have things to do, otherwise, I’ll crash and stop entirely — this is caused by energy dysregulation, another common thing in people with ADHD</li><li>My brain won’t stop thinking about the most efficient ways to do things, which, ironically, ends up taking longer</li></ul>Let me explain.If I want to start cleaning the whole house, I will begin in the bedroom because it’s the first room in the house. My first step is always to look around me to see if I have anything to take into the bedroom and put away.I pick up said things, plus a few more to leave in the kitchen or bathroom. But what would be a natural, straight direction, with two stops along the way, ends up becoming a back-and-forth race fo

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r efficiency.I’ll stop in the hallway to put a book on the shelf, then notice the poster is falling off, so I’ll go pick up the blue tack to stick the poster back on, but while I’m distracted with the poster, I leave the things I was supposed to take into the bedroom on the bookshelf.So now the bookshelf is cluttered and I feel overwhelmed. Naturally, I’ll start reorganising the bookshelf. Then I see it needs to be dusted, so while I dust the bookshelf, I realise I might as well dust the whole house.Can you guess what happens next? You got it, I’m dusting the entire flat, completely forgetting where I started and where I’m going next. It’s all a zigzag.I could go on. But I think you get the idea. A simple, one-way direction, ends up being a labyrinth in my constantly distracted mind.Hence, the zoomies.This is a huge struggle and one I can hardly ever control. Something that would take a non-ADHD-er an hour, ends up taking me three, and chances are, the job is never fully done by the time I crash in exhaustion. It can lead to disappointment, shame, if others are involved, and hopelessness. Can I really never do basic chores right?I’ve mostly come to terms with this, though. As I began understanding that there’s no point in trying to fight it, I started implementing some ADHD-friendly solutions. One that helps a lot is maintaining cleanliness as much as possible, every day.By putting away the blankets after a night of TV, or washing the dishes before I sit down to eat, I’ve created a discipline that takes some of the pressure off me on days when I need to deep-clean.The don’t put it down, put it away tip also works wonders. Whenever I pick something up, I fight the urge to put it down in a random place while I slip into distraction. I don’t allow myself to pick anything else up until what I’m already holding is back in its place. Sometimes I fail, but more often than not, I do it successfully.If this sounds silly to you, imagine having to live with a condition that doesn’t allow you to do otherwise. A lot of my ADHD habits sound silly to me too. But I can’t stop doing them. All I can do is implement little maintenance solutions that help me function by neurotypical standards.Eliza Lita is a freelance writer based in the UK. She covers books and reading, health, fitness, lifestyle, and personal development. For more of her stories, please consider signing up for a Medium membership through her <a href="https://eliza-lita.medium.com/membership">referral link</a>.</article></body>

More Weird ADHD Habits That Non-ADHD-ers Will Never Understand

Everyone loved hearing about my strange ADHD behaviours, so here are a few more

I never expected that my most successful article to date would be about my strange ADHD behaviours.

A few weeks ago, I published a piece sharing some questionable things I do that make sense to my ADHD brain. Questionable, of course, by neurotypical standards. Because my article also explains why people with ADHD, or on the autism spectrum, tend to do these things.

10 Weird Behaviours That Make Sense to My ADHD Brain

Neurotypicals, don’t judge

medium.com

I’ve been shocked to see that article blow up. Every day since it went live, I get comments from (mostly) people who can relate and share the same experiences.

So, for the sake of relatability, I decided to do a follow-up. Here’s a list of more weird behaviours that make sense to my ADHD brain.

Finding Comfort in Caffeine

I’ve been hopelessly addicted to coffee since I was 17. My parents are both huge coffee drinkers and I had my first taste of this magical, forbidden thing, at the mere age of 5. Ever since then, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Of course, I wanted to grow up for many other reasons, but being able to drink coffee was up there with, say, staying up late or moving away from home.

My parents were adamant that, until I turned 18, I wouldn’t be allowed. But I sneakily started drinking coffee earlier than that without them knowing.

Ever since coffee has been a huge part of my life. Of course, caffeine, especially consumed in the quantities that I do (2 cups of coffee and at least one cup of tea every day), gets us addicted. It’s a biological fact.

But I don’t drink coffee to wake up or have more energy. That has never been the case for me. On the contrary, coffee can sometimes make me feel sleepy.

It wasn’t until recently that I found out that neurodivergent brains thrive on caffeine – it calms us down. Caffeine is a key ingredient in ADHD treatments. No wonder my first taste of coffee was so life-changing to me. No wonder I kept sneakily downing my parents’ last sips all throughout my childhood. My brain craved the comfort of caffeine.

And that’s exactly how it feels. When I’m particularly jittery or distracted, a cup of coffee will do wonders for me. It helps me see things clearly, take tasks step by step, and takes me out of paralysis.

Needing Several Drinks at Once

This ties in with the point above. Aside from finding immense comfort in caffeinated drinks, I also need several different drinks around me, especially when I need to focus on something.

Water, because if it’s not in front of me, I forget to drink it, a warm drink, and either a glass of fruit juice, iced tea, or a fizzy drink, are always around me.

One of the things everyone in my life jokes about is how I leave a trail of cups, glasses or bottles around the house. And it took years for me to understand that this wasn’t just a sign of me being great at staying hydrated. It was my brain’s way of making sure everything I need is there when it knows my focus can’t be broken or else I’ll just fail to complete a task.

Zoomies

This isn’t a medical term. But it perfectly describes how this strange behaviour works. When I have a series of tasks to perform – like house chores for instance – I end up walking aimlessly back and forth and all around, like a dog when it has the zoomies.

This happens due to two main reasons:

I must not sit down when I have things to do, otherwise, I’ll crash and stop entirely — this is caused by energy dysregulation, another common thing in people with ADHD
My brain won’t stop thinking about the most efficient ways to do things, which, ironically, ends up taking longer

Let me explain.

If I want to start cleaning the whole house, I will begin in the bedroom because it’s the first room in the house. My first step is always to look around me to see if I have anything to take into the bedroom and put away.

I pick up said things, plus a few more to leave in the kitchen or bathroom. But what would be a natural, straight direction, with two stops along the way, ends up becoming a back-and-forth race for efficiency.

I’ll stop in the hallway to put a book on the shelf, then notice the poster is falling off, so I’ll go pick up the blue tack to stick the poster back on, but while I’m distracted with the poster, I leave the things I was supposed to take into the bedroom on the bookshelf.

So now the bookshelf is cluttered and I feel overwhelmed. Naturally, I’ll start reorganising the bookshelf. Then I see it needs to be dusted, so while I dust the bookshelf, I realise I might as well dust the whole house.

Can you guess what happens next? You got it, I’m dusting the entire flat, completely forgetting where I started and where I’m going next. It’s all a zigzag.

I could go on. But I think you get the idea. A simple, one-way direction, ends up being a labyrinth in my constantly distracted mind.

Hence, the zoomies.

This is a huge struggle and one I can hardly ever control. Something that would take a non-ADHD-er an hour, ends up taking me three, and chances are, the job is never fully done by the time I crash in exhaustion. It can lead to disappointment, shame, if others are involved, and hopelessness. Can I really never do basic chores right?

I’ve mostly come to terms with this, though. As I began understanding that there’s no point in trying to fight it, I started implementing some ADHD-friendly solutions. One that helps a lot is maintaining cleanliness as much as possible, every day.

By putting away the blankets after a night of TV, or washing the dishes before I sit down to eat, I’ve created a discipline that takes some of the pressure off me on days when I need to deep-clean.

The don’t put it down, put it away tip also works wonders. Whenever I pick something up, I fight the urge to put it down in a random place while I slip into distraction. I don’t allow myself to pick anything else up until what I’m already holding is back in its place. Sometimes I fail, but more often than not, I do it successfully.

If this sounds silly to you, imagine having to live with a condition that doesn’t allow you to do otherwise. A lot of my ADHD habits sound silly to me too. But I can’t stop doing them. All I can do is implement little maintenance solutions that help me function by neurotypical standards.

Eliza Lita is a freelance writer based in the UK. She covers books and reading, health, fitness, lifestyle, and personal development. For more of her stories, please consider signing up for a Medium membership through her referral link.