The Most ADHD Things of Nov/Dec '24

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Well actually, it's far from it for us; which is why now is the perfect time to lift our spirits with some fun! It's time for the ultimate shame eradicator! Raising ADHD awareness and uniting the community by sharing @adhdafpodcast followers and Patreon Community members 'Most ADHD Things' to laugh at the things that would usually make us cry, break the stigma and drop the shame!

If you want to hear why it's been such a horrible time, I talk about it at the start of the PREVIOUS EPISODE - but don't worry, I always end on a happy note! Us dopamine deficient need all the bloody joy we can get!

TW:  accidental injury, relationship struggles, anxiety, depression, grief, emotional outbursts, menty b's, loud laughter and too-muchness.

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Hope to chat to you over Zoom and Discord with the Leopard Print Army!
Thanks so much for listening, commenting, sharing and contributing to this episode as all help raise crucial ADHD Awareness and eradicate shame!
BIG LOVE
Laura x

This was recorded at the INCREDIBLE Ferny House in Blackpool, where the cover photo was taken. 

Transcript

 Happy New Year! Happy New Year! It isn't really. Just New Year. Yeah, just New Year. This episode is The Light Relief. To raise ADHD awareness, or unintentionally. Yeah. They're not, the most ADHD things aren't necessarily meant to be funny. And this is a big mammoth thing. Bumper episode because of everything that's been going on, which again, I'm not going to go into, but if you want to find out more, you can find out what horrors have been going on with us in the previous episode.

But what it's meant is that we're behind. So this is Best of November and December. Here we are on the 1st of January, 2025 and on the first, well it was the 31st of December, 2023. Yeah. We sat in bed in a hotel room. Yeah. And recorded the most A DHD things. And that's what kicked off this year. And we've done it almost every month.

Yeah. We have since of the last year, so we're only a day late. We are. We're still in bed in a hotel. Yeah.  Different bed, different hotel. Different bed, different hotel. We're in the Fernie. And we're dressed this time. We're dressed and we're not hungover at all because we didn't go out last night. Nope. Um, we watched Sophie Ellis Baxter.

Well, Robbie brought the house down. Robbie brought the house down. Honestly, I felt like I was his mum. I'm so proud of him. Yeah, same. It was really good. Yeah. And the London fireworks, which was spectacular anyway. They played Unwritten, Natty B, to some pink fireworks as if it was made for us, the Leopard Print Army.

I felt very emotional about that. I just want to say, if you have never heard ADHD AF podcast before, as explained, this is like a monthly special. So, each week on socials, I ask followers to comment their most ADHD experiences. thing. And I do that so that we can laugh at the things that normally make us cry, normalize the weird and sometimes wonderful situations that the symptoms of our condition can get us in, and really to just connect people.

I'm all about connecting ADHD adults. It's life changing stuff. So we can support each other. We can understand that we're not alone in our struggles. And The main aim is to eradicate the shame. And just have a giggle. Because you've got to. Times are hard. Let's have a laugh, darling. Yes, let's.  Oh, also, this is my husband, Big.

He's not on every episode. He's just on these ones. Oh, hi. His name is Big because he's ridiculously tall.  And just one more thing before we dive in, ADHD presents differently in every single individual. Although we share common traits and symptoms, how they present in each person can be very different, so it's all quite subjective.

So if you hear something and you think, well that doesn't sound like my ADHD, or that's not what I think ADHD is, please don't let that invalidate your ADHD and how you experience the condition. And also it is the most ADHD thing to that person. And that's what's important. And what else is important is that self diagnosis is valid.

And in a system so broken, you could be waiting the best part of a decade for life changing and what was definitely in my case, life saving assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. It bloody well has to be. And actually, before we dive in, I just want to say I am so F ing excited about Task Force, the NHS Task Force, and what they do this year.

Anyway, just a thank you to everybody who has submitted their most ADHD things. They've been an absolute ton over the last two months. So if we don't read yours, please don't think we don't appreciate it. Don't let those really shit daydreams tell you that it wasn't good enough and that you shouldn't submit again.

It's just we are limited with time. And with that in mind, let's crack on. Let's go. So mazpoke  on Instagram says Put petrol in my diesel car and broke down in the McDonald's drive thru. Had to run to the petrol station three times with my jerrycan as I was told to fill the rest with diesel. Screaming, crying, sweating and swearing, I finally got it going and still never ate my double cheeseburger.

I'm still trying to recover. That's one of my weird, weird, weird fears. Every single time, even though I know the car's petrol or I know it's diesel. And I look at it back and forward and I look at the thing I'm using and I know it's unleaded or whatever. I'll keep looking just to make sure that I'm not putting the wrong fuel in.

It's bizarre. And that, my undiagnosed darling, is called hypervigilance. And my greatest fear realised is wasting a double Chesney. Yeah. So there you go. Yeah. For those who are uninitiated, a double Chesney equals a double cheeseburger. A Cheser! Harrison illustration, booked flights halfway around the world to visit my brother for dates he is not going to be there.

Oh no, this is so our family. Oh  god, that's horrific. Life of Zandy. Decided on a career change funded by yours truly, despite the fact I couldn't even afford my debts as it is and needed debt management. Yeah. Oh, I feel that. But you know what? This could be the one. Could be the one. ADHD coaching with Olivia, put my house keys in the recycling for no apparent reason, and in the same 12 hours lost another earring back off my favourite earrings.

No. No. Lauren K left and re entered the house three times to collect various things I had forgotten to take with me. That's frustrating. It is. Kim Pierpoint, UK. Ah, Kim. Not Kim Pierpoint, US. No, not, not to be confused with Kim Pierpoint, no, let's not do it. Stop it, right, get with it. Sorry, Kim. All the Kim Pierpoints of the world.

Sorry, Kim. I love you, Kim.  Agreed to run a collaboration workshop, booked a venue, designed graphics, set price, ready to launch. Launch. Launch. I went to write something in my calendar as a reminder on the day to only realise for the first time that I'm in Rome, not even the country on the day. Oh no! It's another mixed up country date.

It is, and all I've got in my head now is get ready for the launch, do do do do do do. Yeah, yeah. So, Marge Allen nearly fell off a ladder in my office. Impulsively putting my Christmas lights up to drum and bass because my meds had worn off and the task I was supposed to be doing was dog shit boring.

Thank God for top up meds. Yes. Thank God indeed. NDAF embracing life. Went shopping when I was hungry and my ADHD self saw all the things. Now I can't eat them because my autistic self refused to eat the Carbfest in my cupboard. Oh gosh. Oh no. Spirited mama. That moment on my landing when my son and I looked at each other and he said, Why am I here?

And I said, I don't know. Why am I here? Then we had an ADHD high five and went back downstairs and remembered that we went to get the hoover. Oh, okay I thought that's great, but I almost read that like an existential crisis my words. Why are we here? Why are we here? I ask myself that every day Alison J.

Donnelly found the 250 I put in a safe place around six months ago. ADHD Tax Rebate! Tax Rebate! That's amazing. Eleanor Amy Wilkinson nearly had a meltdown in front of my clients because I was overstimulated with their constant chatter and my brain couldn't keep up. That's okay if I didn't keep myself together.

Things happen and it's a good conversation opener for clients. And myself for representation? Yes, hun. Danielle Moody. Danielle Mood, yoga.  Danielle. Moody Yoga. Moody Yoga. Sorry,  Danielle. Sorry. Danielle  . I don't yet.  I'm gonna leave it there. You're not a Moody Yoga  . You're in. You don't need to go any further. 

Sorry, Danielle. Mood Yoga. Finally got one of those phone cases with a string to put around my neck so I stopped misplacing my phone but keep forgetting and looking for my phone and also getting tangled up with a black strap and necklace.  Hannah Hall Pike. I'm a school teacher and I showed up to school the other morning in cow slippers because I'd forgotten to change.

Amazing. Ricky Lee. sprayed myself in the face of air freshener slash sanitiser instead of my facial mist, oh no, and left the back of my car open overnight in the rain, oh shit. I bet those were very fresh. Very fresh. I get that problem being, as you mentioned at the start of the episode, how tall I am. 

Most toilets, they have those automatic air spray, uh, air fresheners on the wall.  So I can be standing there, you know, washing my hands or whatever. And all of a sudden I hear this little  and I'm like, no, and it's going to my eyes or my ear. Cause I'm, I'm hyped. I'm ear level with these sprayers. At least your eyes are nice.

Indigo blue arts multiple times this week. I have started saying different thoughts and mid sentence shift gears and a new thought I did just starts coming out. Just to try to go back and finish the first one really confuses my NT friends. I do that quite a lot with you. I'll be, I will just say, I will have basically thought of a thing, kind of it's become almost a conversation in my head and then I'm finishing the conversation with you out loud that we've never had.

When you say kind though.  Definitely, definitely is. You've said, I'd say it's often you said 75 percent of the conversation and you just sort of give me the finish line  as if, as if we've had a full conversation about it and I, and I'm expected to understand and I sometimes can, but I. I  almost choose not to sometimes. 

What were you saying before then? Because this could mean anything.  Audi HD pandemonium. My lips get pretty chapped. Especially in winter. So I end up using quite a lot of lip moisturising cream. That I constantly lose of course.  Bought the new tube, bought a new tube the other day and just smeared a nice big dollop all over my lips.

I was thinking it was feeling a bit more tingly than usual. Checked the tube and it was actually numbing dental gel. Ha ha ha! So now, so now, sorry, so now I'm just sat here feeling like I've been attacked by an incompetent dentist. Waiting for the numbness to wear off and I still have no idea where my new tube of lip cream is.

No!  I hope the dentist isn't using it.  Mickey W 81 Arm. Mickey says I had an important appointment at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, which I tried my hardest to get to on time, but on brand. I left the house too late and missed the train. I was 10 minutes late. I apologized for being late. The receptionist told me my appoint.

It was actually at 9. 30am. I had purposely put it in my calendar half an hour early and forgotten that I'd done it. ADHD win. I then had to sit and wait which was weird and uncomfortable. That is an absolute win, but mine would probably be that I've just got such bad, um, dyscalculia that I'd put it in at the wrong time.

NDAF Embracing Life again, spent 10 to 15 minutes on three separate occasions looking for my slippers before suddenly remembering that I'd thrown them away because the sole had split. VJW1987 lost one of my earphones on a walk, retraced the route twice, ADHD tax I thought, but also balanced it out with, I'll wait a few days, you never know, it might turn up.

And it did! Get in. Life of Zand, committed to about five new and different things at work without thinking it The boredom is torture part of me is loving it. But they're easily overwhelmed and prone to insomnia part of me is definitely not. Yeah, that's uh, yeah. The brewess  wandered around the grocery store muttering milk and bananas to myself.

Milk and bananas, milk and bananas. But did you get them? Good point.  Lightfoot and food. Couldn't find the questions that I needed to complete a piece of work. Looked through all my files, nothing. Couldn't find them, so had a go and did it completely wrong anyway. Sat down the day it was due in the actual meeting and realized Last week, me had printed the questions and left them on the desk for this week, me.

This week, me fucked it all up. There's a small win in this story. Hooray! There's another one of pre planning. Becky Davies at home, dashed to a meeting with a very important client and only realised after getting home that my jumper was back to front the whole time. Brilliant. It would have been fine, it would have been fine.

If it was the same on both sides, but the front has very obvious pockets on it. And the back has a seam all the way down the center. I should have clocked that it was back to front after the many times I went to put my hands in the pockets and my hands just slid down. I thought I must be doing something wrong rather than realizing my jumper was very obviously on back to front.

Gecko interiors picked up a friend on my way to her. I forgot all about her and made my way to the concert without her.  Life of Zand.  Overcommitted to a ton of Christmas craft ideas because my brain fires at a stupid rate. I actually hate arts and crafts.  Uh, Jill Charlton, celebrant. Ah, Jill. Ah, Jill. Put my spoonful of instant coffee onto the little teabag holder by my kettle instead of my mug before nearly pouring the hot water on it too.

I had to stare hard, I had to stare hard at it to process what was wrong.  Your Lady Jessica Vega I had just filled my fuel tank, got on the thruway, thought oh my god I forgot to get fuel, I don't know if I can make it to the next station, looked at my fuel gauge, then went oh yeah, cool.  Red Hot Llama Comedy Cooking my dinner in the oven, waited ages, when I was due to take it out I realised I didn't even put the food in the oven.

LouiseClark. art Forgot to charge my phone, sounds familiar.  Went out without my purse, Shit. Because I mostly just use Apple Pay. Got an Uber into town, phone died, and I had to walk an hour back and couldn't tell anyone I was late. Oh no. The amount of times. My kind of normal.  Move house the week before Christmas with an autistic child who is losing it and absolutely no help whatsoever.

Bless you Maz. Hope the move went well. Yeah. Diverse Skincare UK said yes, yes, yes to everyone and everything and now burnt out and can barely speak. Not a funny one, but a very important one for ADHD awareness. Ingrid Devlin, 83. I've been going swimming almost every Friday morning at 7am since January. I asked my mum to join me to make sure I actually go, and that's not only been a good motivator, as intended, but also lots of fun.

This week, after almost a year, it finally happened. I forgot to pack my bathing suit, and of course, I didn't notice until I was stuck naked in the changing booth. Big, big facepalm moment. I got dressed again and told the bloke at reception I'd be back ASAP. I also asked him to tell my mum what had happened so that she wouldn't worry about me taking way longer than expected.

He said he would. So after I'd raced back home, got my bathing suit, raced back, got changed and showered, everyone in the pool knew what had happened. Fortunately, I didn't feel any shame to laugh along with them. Good. You eradicated that shame. Yes! Emma Lola Bella. Oh my goodness, I went to stay at my brother's and I only took my left trainer.

My mum was picking me up and taking me, so I wore slippers in the car and accidentally dropped a trainer under the car seat. I only noticed when my brother and I went to go for a country walk, and I had one left shoe. My right shoe is currently five hour driveway in Devon. I would like to say this hasn't happened before. 

Alas it has.  Alison J Donnelly. Alcohol induced online shopping resulting in purchases of a jewellery plating kit, roller blades, a vintage fountain pen, a box of random second hand buttons and sewing trims. I was supposed to be buying Christmas presents for my family. Wow. Well, hopefully they'd love a vintage fountain pen. 

Who wouldn't? Red Punk Social. Choosing from the Secret Santa shopping list cards for Humanity card game. Declaring loudly how I'd never played it and how it'd be such a great game to play for Christmas day. I got really excited in front of everyone about receiving this as my present, declaring openly, Yay, I've always wanted to play this game.

So then playing the game and after having everyone explain the rules while playing Cards of Humanity realized 20 minutes in that in fact I had played this game before.  Banana Marana recognized my overstimulation at large family gatherings and took breaks accordingly without feeling guilty all thanks to ADHDF.

com Well, there you go. Isn't that lovely? That's Aw, the Christmas tour worked! It did. Aw, that's lovely. Your words make sense. I'm so pleased, that's really made me happy. Steph ex carter tried to tax my car, having received a fine for not taxing my car. Looked everywhere for the owner's document, called my mum to accuse her of having taken it. 

Finally found it in the recycling bag. Oh, on the pavement waiting for collection. Shit still found it before it was gone forever. Oh my god. Yeah, that's so funny. Where have you put it? Where have you put it? What have you done with this? This is important Bethany 6. My partner's much younger cousins were playing a game they made up and it was really fun So spent a few hours hyper focusing with them creating their game on Canva and over planning the production Marketing and sales pitch ignoring all adult conversation. 

We can't wait to play. Yeah  Kim Pierpoint UK game. Cried, sulked, hated my husband all day, Christmas Day. Just because he hadn't lived up to my expectations for Christmas Day morning. Despite me only realising I've never shared with him what I think I want on the day. Aww. That's sad. I hope he, I hope he had a nice  rest of Christmas Day after the morning.

Yeah. But it's hard isn't it, that you forget that you might not have communicated something. Yes. And that people aren't mind readers. You might have had a large conversation in your own mind. In your own mind! Sort of finished it off with a few words at the end.  Abi Gibbs Hid the presents in my room so my family couldn't see where I got them.

God's Christmas. Could I find where I put them? No. Did they get any presents? No.  0505 Julie I was really proud of how quick and stress free cooking Christmas dinner had been until my son asked me where the mash was. I had to tell my daughter I'd also forgotten about the vegan pigs in blankets and realized the stuffing was still cooking.

To make up for it I did it all over again on Boxing Day. Prep all done by 9am. It was a tasty one this time though and I never forgot a thing. Well done. It's stressful isn't it? Zombie Boy Joe, our Joe Charlin.  If you've not listened to Joe's amazing episode of the podcast you must give it a listen. He was one of the First interviews as I recall.

One of the OGs. OGs. Uh, took the wrong route home making a four hour journey, 6. 5 hours, seethed for about six of those. I can feel your pain.  Lily Redwood Poet left my husband's present in the shop I popped into after buying his present. I only realised when I got home and the shops were closed it was Christmas Eve. 

That's so sad. Dr Rena Mack became overwhelmed with people and hid in my room. Absolutely.  We are pretty prickled out right now. Yeah. But um, yeah, say the V. ADHD coaching with Olivia. Managed several hours cooking a turkey before remembering to remove the packaging which the Christmas 2023 note reminded us to do in future and then couldn't understand how many intervals of cooking time we were left.

Took a very patient family member a few attempts to explain to me. Oh no. I swear to God, Olivia, as well as being a saint for doing everything she does in the community, is also, it's like, every time she writes something, it's my most relatable content.  Because, uh, we're ADHD dyspraxic girls, and how  many times has that happened?

I'll be like, right, tell me again, it goes in at what time, and how many per pound, how many hours, and I just can't do it. It's just, yeah. Diverse Skincare, UK. Forgot to pay EE after several email reminders. Broadband was cut off on Christmas Day. Oh no! EE closed till 27th. Oh no! TV is connected to the Wi Fi.

No TV, no Xbox. Cost me 80 quid to get reconnected. Oh no, I pretended I didn't receive a reminder to everyone in the household. Oh bless  you! What a boy!  Yeah, what a nightmare. Eleanor Amy Wilkinson again, left wrapping presents to the last minute, forgot to write Christmas cards to friends and then gave my friend a present that wasn't wrapped and felt super guilty over it.

Very relatable content. I didn't send a single Christmas card because of everything that's been going on with us. But I did make a donation to the charity. So, anybody want to do that? adhdfplus. org. uk Yes, yeah, absolutely.  NDAF embracing life forgot to save some Christmas cards for close family members So made it last made a last minute dash to the supermarket on Christmas Eve  To find only a few super expensive.

Oh, no super expensive I thought it's gonna go the other way like really terrible Wow super expensive cars left I also totally forgot to buy one gift and left Raiding the alcohol stash for an unopened bottle of something expensive. Did you find one? Did you find one? What was it?  Passionate writer coaching.

Procrastinated on decorating the house until Christmas Eve. Wow. Yeah. Well, I suppose it does make it all the more special. Super festive. Yeah. Fresh for Santa. Yeah. Oh, I love this one. Georgie Gale, 93. Took the fire stick remote to the shopping centre with me.  Very good.  Okay, so these are from Facebook. 

Donna Donny Good, put my blue bin out instead of my black one, but for once wasn't embarrassed taking the wrong bin back in during daylight hours in front of my neighbor's eyes, lol. My anxiety is so much lesser these last few months, so it's still a win for me. Hurrah for that! Annie Kemsley. Watching Lioness.

TV show. Me. Gosh, that man sounds like Morgan Freeman. Partner, that's because it is Morgan Freeman. Me. Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. Me every time we watch Lioness. Gosh, that man sounds like Morgan Freeman.  Rolls on the floor laughing. Does a ruffle.  Partner. Insert eye roll. Yep. Oh, there we go. Sorry. I didn't finish it off.

Well, yes. Kerith Harris went all the way to the next town to get some cash out from the bank. Needed more than I could get from a cash machine. I forgot to take my bank card. Details, details, eh? Yeah.  Now this is, again, very relatable content for me. Faye Banwell Wood followed the blue Google Maps dot from Green Park to Hanover Square.

Thought I was capable of parking my direction of blindness. and repeating the fairly easy route back again. Never make that mistake. Spent an hour going in one big circle for what should have been a 10 minute walk and couldn't google map myself out of it because I Of course I allowed my phone battery to run out because I'd forgotten to charge it reminds me why I'm safer working from home Hashtag  commuter hell.

Yeah Yeah, honest to God Gracewood. I stayed up till 2 a. m. Researching the whole monocular timeline for a week Oh, Aethelstan, which would have been sort of, I think, maybe Saxon times? I like how you pronounce monarch, by the way. Monarch? Monarch. I mean, it's Monarch, but I think it's Monarch? I'd say Monarch, Yes, I don't want to start again.

I don't think I've ever said it like that before. It's because I was saying Monarchial. That's why I was trying so hard to say that. Don't edit this out. Keep it in. It's amusing.  Monarch?  I've never said it like that in my life. Not? Okay, well, I don't We never really say the word Monarch, do we? Let's face it.

Sorry, we'll be finished with that. Okay. Sorry. I've sort of ruined it. I didn't mean to ruin it. What she said was I should have been sleeping obviously and funny enough I'm up now at a similar time this time looking for jobs. Okay in the monarchy  If you were an air steward, you could work for Monarch Airlines Or if you know anything about Godzilla, you could work for the secret organization, which is I think called Monarch  Jasmin Fenwick or Fenwick got in the front passenger side of the car I was alone and the one meant to be driving.

I've done that a couple of times actually, it's really,  and what I do is I go fuck I've got into the wrong side of the car and I open my glove box and pretend I'm searching for something  just in case someone saw me.  Daniel Shanker didn't study because last week I was ahead. Now I'm behind. Now I'm behind. 

Marianne Kelly Forgot I had three dogs that would need looked after if we went on a trip to London, so decided to drive and take everyone with me, and then drive all the way back up tomorrow night without stopping in the middle of Storm Burt, whose name I love, and do believe to be my next dog's name, in order to go to a first birthday party tomorrow, at which point I've no idea where I'm going to leave said three dogs, chilling in the hotel room now, that's future Marianne's problem.

Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. Donna Glodzinska Doctor's appointment for 11. 15 and set the reminder 10. 57, not sure why but glad I did. I did a mad dash to get ready and out the door as I was still procrastinating in my PJs. Wow. Specific time. I'm going to wake up at 10. 57 today. Taking precisely.  Faye Banwell Wood forgetting my youngest son's school Christmas carol concert despite phone reminders and packing said kid off with Crimbo Jumper.

Thankfully happened to check my WhatsApp five minutes after I was supposed to walk through school gate to a message from my friend saying she had left. My ticket with the lady at the door. Flew out the front door like a banshee. Ran all the way to his school. Arrived a hot sweat mum mess. And coughing like a loony from asthma.

Oh dear. Tis the season to be sweaty. It is the season. Tis the season to be sweaty. Fa la la la la la la la. So these are from the ADHDF online peer support community. On the Discord feed we've got a whole channel for most ADHD things. So these will be anonymous. Anonymous. Bought some leopard print laces for my boots.

For what? ADHD AF Day back in October and couldn't find them anywhere. Whilst hiding in the kitchen found them in the bowl with the apples because of course that's where they go. Oh well at least I'm prepared for next year. Yes indeed and all be prepared for next year because next year is going to be a big special one.

Yeah. Yes. Just broke my toe. Oh god. Stubbing it on a random chair in our hall because I was paying attention to my husband and son rather than where I was walking. Then wondered why there was blood everywhere. Apparently I managed to split the skin too because it's blood. Oh God, it's been weeks since I've actually moisturised anything.

Obviously, I remember the existence of foot cream approximately once a month. Oh bless. Oh my God, that's horrific. I hope you're feeling better now.  Visiting my friend in Germany for two days, somehow managed to lose my passport. So now I'm here for at least another three days, missing important work things, and an extra several hundred pounds down the drain.

At least it's carnival. Yeah. Every cloud has Every class. I hope you had a great time. You're obviously meant to go to that. Yes. Went for my smear test at 1. 30. Receptionist looked confused when she informed me no nursing today. Smear is tomorrow. Owed it well. And then it's been answered, too eager for Cyril Smear.

So a Cyril Smear test. Book yours now. Book yours, get it in. 

After doing two night shifts this week and hitting exhaustion at two in the morning, I stupidly looked at Vinted. More leopard print leggings on the way. Yes, Han. I've been smug about getting HRT patches and managing them for two months. When I did Big Tidy, I must have decided to organise them but couldn't figure where I'd put them.

After a day of looking, I found them in the middle of the box of fiber gel in the kitchen. Yeah, I suppose they are like little sachets, aren't they? Yeah, I appear to have lost my AirPod for the fourth day running. Have you tried walking? That's a really bad joke. For the fourth day running.  Don't cut it.

This is all gold.  This is what people are listening for.  You think? Yeah, this level of abject, torturous humour.  Went to work, did outreach and then went to see a distressed client and had a very emotional session. Came out only to be informed my trousers were inside out.  Wished my friend a happy birthday thanks to a useful Facebook reminder telling me that it was their birthday.

How else does anybody remember birthdays? I don't. Uh, I proceeded to forget that my other friend was in fact their twin, and it was their birthday on that day as well. Wished other friend a happy belated birthday a day late.  Very good.  Arguing with my partner every week about bin day also being recycling day, so I just did it myself today.

and in fact they were correct, laugh my arse off, had to drag the recycling back into the house. Also didn't take my glasses to be fixed because I left work late because I was and then they've crossed out marking mock exam papers and replaced it with making a poster for my new anime club for school. I am a teacher. 

Left heating on all day again because obviously just do not press the boost button. You will not remember to de boost.  Looked for my makeup bag out in the car, left makeup bag at home, resulting in terrifying face for poor children to look at. Put soup in flask to take, left flask at home, set several alarms to complete various tasks, but looked at one while I was in the shop where the task would be completed, and switched it off.

Like my fucking life. Sharon and Mer.  Last week, I love this one. Last week I hyper focused on baking illusion cakes for the work Bake Off. Bought new baking trays, food colouring and a lot of eggs. Spent six plus hours baking as the first attempt didn't really work. And for some reason I took a bite out of each one so couldn't even use them as backup.

And then I forgot them with me on the day. Oh dear. After almost tripping on the same box in the corridor like 10 times, 11th time I ended up falling on my knee, I have now moved the box. Hurrah!  Well done. Just driven 200 miles, only remembered my car has cruise control 10 miles from our destination.  As I was going into Asda, called my husband to ask if we needed anything.

He said bread, got home and he was confused to find that I had bought four Danish pastries, wine, well, it was the Strictly Semi Final, and bubble bath, but no bread. Good. Finally received a wish list for one of my grandkids, so promptly went on Amazon and bought a few items off the list. Pleased that I'd completed all the present buying.

Woke up this morning and remembered, I'd already bought his presents last week, thinking that the list would not come. Did they get double presents? Double presents.  Rushed to parents evening a bit late, standard, on the way I carb loaded and ate crisps in the car. Realized after the meeting with the science teacher there were several crisps stuck in my scarf.

My husband thought it was hilarious, my son was mortified.  Same number later. ADHD and advent calendars? Recipe for disaster. I don't think I've ever waited until the 24th to finish the chocolate and then somebody has chimed in. Oh, I have the opposite ADHD thing. I forget I had an advent calendar until you said this and now I have loads to Loads of chocs to eat from the past week.

Win? And they've replied, little tiny chocolate wins. Little chocolate. Yes. Deciding to decorate my eight year old's bedroom at 3pm on December 21st in the hope that he will be in for Christmas. He was in, but it left the whole house completely upside down and needing cleaning on Christmas Eve, which left me spiraling at a time when I'm already dysregulated. 

My daughter got out of the car and couldn't find her phone, checked everywhere. I was calling it, could hear it ringing, but couldn't find it. It was under the celebrations lid that she had opened as we walked in the house. Very good.  Okay, so we've got our most ADHD things to share and we've also got the winners from all platforms.

But before we do, I'm going to revisit something that I haven't done for a while, which is Auditory Processing Corner  to raise a little bit of awareness about APD. So I know  that this isn't this person's name, but I still hear it every single time. So if you watch Strictly The guy's name is Craig Revel Howard, is that right?

Horwood. Horwood, right? Craig Revel Horwood. And every single time, all I hear is, Green Gryffindor! Yes, you do. Yeah, you do. And you shout it out whenever they call his name. Strictly. Green Gryffindor, what? Why? Oh, Craig Revel Horwood, yes. It's not even enough syllables! No, no, it's not. It doesn't sound anything like it.

It sounds exactly like that in my ears every time.  We both struggle with this thing. I thought you said, I said, Oh look, the sky, because the sky has been so cloudy and grey. And I was like, oh my gosh, look, I can see the sky. And you said, what I thought was, the sky. And I looked at you and went, yeah, yes, the sky.

And you went, the sky. I said, no, what's it? Yeah, the sky. And you went, no, please describe.  I said, well, it's blue.  Sorry, yeah. And the other ones that I thought of that I haven't shared for ages, but I might've shared this one, is the TubeStops  St. Pancreas.  There is nothing  that anybody can say to convince me that that is not what they are saying.

Saint Pancreas and Marley bone. Yeah, right. That's all I can hear. Right. I mean, but I have to say, Green Gryffindor does take the Green Gryffindor. Green Gryffindor! Stuffing up Marley bone and Panc Saint Pancreas. Pancreas! Pancreas.  Okay, so.  Almost ADHD things. So I'm going to start with a less fun one, but I think it's good for ADHD awareness.

So  I set myself some goals for the end of the year  and I really haven't achieved them and it's really bothering me. But the reason why I haven't achieved them, for example, getting discord finished, sorted, all of that, how many hours have I put into that? Like literally all of the hours. And the reason why I haven't got everything done that I wanted to is because life got in the way, as explained, won't go into it, but also thank you very much for all of your kind wishes.

And it reminded me that it's exactly what CJ DeVara talked about in their episode where they said, you know, when you have such a hyperactive mind and you need to do all of these things and all of these ideas, and that's literally how you operate, like I've said before, the more I do, the more I can do.

And Alex Partridge even talked about how he needs the variety. He needs to do all these different things at once. It can't just be one thing till it's done. And as CJ said, That's all well and good because that's how quickly you operate or how little you sleep, but not when life throws something at you.

Yeah. Because then you can't get it done. Yeah. So it's been a really frustrating end to the year, but obviously not important with what what's been going on. But I just thought it was really important to know. And that's why in coaching, they use pacing systems. Megan Burks is always talking about pacing systems because  if everything, if life throws something terrible at you.

You can shuffle things around and it's more managed than suddenly you've got all of these things to do all at once. But yeah, it's incredibly difficult to find that balance. But thank you again to everyone for your kind wishes. I'm going to move on to a funnier one. Go for it. Oh, actually it's still related to this because I just had bad news.

And I, I've gone out for a walk, I bought this skirt and it's like a wraparound skirt but in the adverts for it they tie it all these weird and wonderful ways and my god that's great I could wear that loads of ways whatever. Anyway because I am dyspraxic sometimes I don't quite get the mechanics of things for a little while and I'd only just bought it so I didn't know how to wear it and I'm walking along feeling very sorry for myself and my skirt you  Drops to my ankles literally in the middle of the street.

Yeah, and I just like Because it's such a day. I was just like, oh fuck it So she picked it up in my hands and walked the rest of the way home just in my jacket and tights What do I care?  And yours Um, yeah, we were driving back weren't we?  And, um, in liver Liverpool. So we were, we were in Liverpool driving back from visiting my mom and it was dark and wet and rainy and all, and not just hard times.

Hard times. And I was trying to follow the maps in this car. And sideways rain, sideways rain, got round the bit. I sort of got a long way anyway, got this roundabout, went around it and it was like, come off here. So I did.  and then end up in this tunnel. But you know, once you're in a lane, you sort of stick to that lane.

So I'm like, well, I must stay in my lane and then just carried on. I couldn't see where, and then before I realized we were going down. And then I thought, I looked at the map and saw this big blue bar appearing on the, on the top of the map, getting bigger and bigger. I was like, Oh shit, this is the River Mersey.

We're going under water. We're going under water. This is definitely not where your parents live. I know that.  And we kept carried on going. I thought, ah, it'll be alright. It'll be like the Blackwall Tunnel or something, you know, in London. You just drive through, you'll get round. No, when we got to the end of it, there was a toll gate.

And I had to pay 2. 80 or something. We turned around and went back the other way. I had to pay another 2. 80 to get back the other side.  So yeah, we paid and went on a magical mystery tour to end up exactly where we started. Exactly where we started, yeah.  So before we announce the winners, one of the themes that has been going on a lot on Discord these last couple of months is how many tabs do you have open?

So having ADHD is often described as having too many tabs open and there's that meme like I've got too many tabs open and there's some music coming from somewhere I can't find. But on top of that, we also. Seemingly all seem to have too many tabs actually open. Yeah, so I ask you all do a tab check How many tabs have you got open because unless i've read it wrong, I think I won on 478 

What why 478 tabs, but i'm also sharing this Because this ongoing conversation in the community led one member to re find a very important and urgent task that they'd been distracted halfway through doing. And because they'd gone to do it, their mind had told them they'd done it. But they hadn't actually done it.

So the moral of the story is, check your tabs, peeps. Check your chabs. Chabs. Check your tabs. Check your tabs. Because there might be something really important that you've forgotten. I have the opposite. I can't, I just don't want any tabs ever. Yeah. I always, all my time, I get rid, go away, like all, if I've got apps on my phone, just, I, cause I've got the Google shit, you can just press clear all, just get rid of everything.

Yeah. I mean, the thing is, I always fall down rabbit holes. So one thought leads to another, leads to another, leads to another, leads to another. So it's like, It's, it's all linking together and you sort of don't realize that in just looking at your phone for a few minutes, you've actually opened 10 or 15. 

Anyway, right, let's go back to the winners. So this first one has been shared anonymously. On a night out, I had quite a few beers and had a great time. I really needed the toilet, but kept putting it off because I was having a great conversation. After a while, I completely forgot that I was desperate to go.

I walked home. As is always the way, the second I got the front door, my brain said, Oh God, yeah, you need the toilet and you need to go right now. I ran up the stairs, but time wasn't on my side. I got in the bathroom. It was too late. I'd jump on the toilet seat out of desperation. I sat there pissing through my jeans. 

I didn't have time to take off. I didn't want to wake my partner. So I snuck downstairs, took my soaked jeans and pants off, and chucked them out the door into the garden to hide them.  I totally forgot about them till the next evening. I had to wait until my partner was in the shower, ran out to the garden.

Collect the evidence and hide them in the washing machine. I still haven't turned the washing machine on. Oh my God, that's amazing. Well, it's not, it's horrendous, but If anybody is wondering, that that is to do with  interoception, the message between mind and body and not getting the cues, not noticing them and forgetting that you need the toilet.

I absolutely love that story. Okay, so this one  Bought my mum a calendar for her kitchen. Oh, this is from Bee Divergent on Instagram. Bought my mum a calendar for her kitchen and remembered to wrap it about five minutes before leaving for our family gathering. Got it out of the envelope and my wife says Did you mean to buy a couple's calendar?

I had bought a calendar for two for my mum who has been single since 1985 and who lives alone. She's not had a partner in almost 40 years. So this one, I don't have an actual explanation but it's an absolutely hilarious video which I'm going to put a link in the show notes because you have to go and watch it because It's so funny, but this is from Charlotte Martin, charmartmusic on Instagram, who basically went to go and put a cup in the microwave.

She's got a cup in one hand, her phone in the other hand, and you can guess what happened. She microwaved her phone. Wow. Yeah. And it just all happened in a split second. I somehow managed to microwave my phone. I'm here to tell you that in two seconds, your phone will smell like burnt chicken and it will explode.

Wow that's, yeah,  oh my god. And the winner, just because I have a really really silly sense of humour and it's just the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, almost walked into a hearse.  Luckily it was empty and stationary. Oh god,  stationary as well, yeah. So that's that. That's enough of our ridiculousness.

I hope that it has brightened up your New Year's Day or New Year's Week or whenever you're listening to this. Because it's brightened up ours. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. Thank you to all of the ADHDF online peer support community for supporting each other, but also supporting the ongoing production of this podcast. 

and keeping me going at this difficult time. One of the many balls that I have just dropped is the ADHD AF plus charity fundraiser. So the ADHD AF winter warriors combating SAD, seasonal affective disorder, with movement for mental health. So I did say when we launched the fundraiser that it needed to work for how so many of us  The spanner in the works that ADHD can, can put, can throw at us.

So it's okay that I haven't been tracking my glimmers for the last couple of weeks that because I can dip back in and it's a combined effort. It's a communal challenge. So.  I'm looking forward to diving back in because although times are still uncertain and difficult, well, that means I need the movement for my mind now more than ever, doesn't it?

Yeah, absolutely, yeah. And I really want to raise some funds for the Chazza because my goodness, I've got big plans for this year. Yeah. So ADHD AF plus charity is to connect and empower ADHD adults of marginalized genders. Its creation was inspired by This podcast and all that's gone on in the online peer support community.

So.  Although it's an entirely separate entity, it came off the back of doing this work and I really can't wait to get out into the community in real life and and get support groups up and running and much more. So I would absolutely love you to donate to the fundraiser. I'll put a link in the blurb of the episode, but also now that it's January and I'm not here for that new year, new me bullshit, I'm not up for that.

But what I am saying is that so many of us. struggle with seasonal affective disorder, that depression that can come due to darker days, our circadian rhythm all messed up, cold weather making us stay indoors, all the rest of it. But especially after Christmas, some of us do just feel so, so, so flat. So if that is you, join our team.

Yeah. Join our team. It's not too late. The fundraiser is going to run right up until the end of February to get us through those dark winter months. And it's just about. Movement for mental health that can be anything from stretching. It's not like you have to run. There's no set distance There's no set amount of times.

We just tot up what you've done We turn it into glimmers to illuminate the way for the charity next year. So have a look  link in in show notes and join us or sponsor we can all motivate each other and we can all raise funds to get the chaser going yes and i think that's enough isn't it i think so so happy new year happy new year many thanks again yeah and if it's not a happy new year  Which it isn't really for us.

Lean into the community. Find your people. Try and have some glimmers and some fun times despite the difficulties. And always remember that you are not alone. So reach out for support. There is another link in the show notes to a list of resources for free and immediate support. Yeah, that's it. Monarch.

Monarch. 

I'm gonna eat the rest of this chocolate santa now. Okay, I ate mine already. Yeah. Bye. Bye.