forum Tips on writing ADHD characters

Started January 22, 2021 by @squiddicus language

tune

Hi, two of my characters have ADHD and I'd like some tips on how to write them and what it's like to have ADHD. Thanks to anyone who can provide info 🙂

Do any of your characters stim?
I have ADD, not ADHD, but I hope I can help.

Do any of your characters stim?
I have ADD, not ADHD, but I hope I can help.

Only very mildly (like foot tapping, bouncing on the balls of her feet etc)

Hmm.

For me, ADHD gives me too much energy that I can't get rid of, even if I'm super tired. It makes me kick my legs or something a lot. Sometimes that also makes it hard to sleep. I also have hyperfixation sometimes which can help me get stuff done, or make me spend too long on things. It also makes it really hard for me to sit still or pay attention to stuff.

I don't take adhd pills at all, I've heard they really don't help and make you feel sick. I also heard that coffee helps but I haven't tried that

(I'm not sure if I necessarily have this but I experience similar things and have heard about it)
I hear every single little noise going on around me, and it kind of pokes into my brain. Also, it's not necessarily that I have a lack of focus, but some things are really easy to get into "the zone" with while others aren't.
I could spend tons of time drawing or practicing my instrument, but I'll stare at my homework for an hour just re-reading it because nothing is sticking/ making sense. I also procrastinate a lot, and deadlines stress me out (which induces more procrastination).
I don't have a great sense of time when it comes to projects, and what feels like it would take only 10 minutes can quickly turn into an hour.

So, the thing with ADHD is that you have so much energy all the time that you can't stay still for very long. Even when I'm writing this, I'm tapping my foot while I type. Also, you may notice that it's very late and I'm responding to a lot of different forum posts. This is because even though I take supplements to help with sleep, I still have too much energy. I'm constantly thinking, constantly moving. Writing a good ADHD character requires understanding the small stuff, so I'll give a very basic list: constantly moving (i.e. foot tapping, finger tapping, wiggling leg(s) up and down, clicking pens, looking around constantly… etc.), too much to say, never sleeps enough because of excess energy then crashes in class/elsewhere, time moving too fast/slow all the time, thinks to much. Also, an ADHD person's thoughts move so quickly that our brains tend to fill in time/memory gaps with imagined events, so it's a little difficult for us to be able to remember stuff right. ADHD meds don't give me headaches, but they do decrease my appetite. So, if you're looking for some side effects to ADHD medicine here some are: loss of appetite, moodier than normal, a distinct difference in sleeping patterns, decreased tolerance of little things, like chewing loudly or talking too much.

TIME BLINDNESS IS SO REAL
I cannot express this enough haha. THat, and ALWAYS moving. I don't even think about it, but I'm kicking my leg, rocking back and forth, or swaying side to side always. I never just,,, sit still. Other things I do, as an ADHD person:

• Obsessively listening to one song over and over again. To the point where I are certain my household would throw me out if I didn’t have headphones on.

• Touching something Slightly Wrong and now I have to touch it again to make it right.

• Feeling physically ‘uneven’ and having to correct constantly via pose changes and muscle twitches in order to gain perfect symmetry

• Hearing that one teeny tiny part of the song/that one sound effect that makes me go O.O and replaying it 30x

• Liking repetitive songs because I get to hear the good parts over and over again

• Having one part of my body that it just UNCOMFY AT ALL TIMES to the point where I cannot sleep because of it. (I HAVE to roll my ankle. If I don't pop my ankle joint, I literally writhe with how horrible it feels, even though it isn't pain. I would prefer pain, actually.)

• People talk about time and memory issues, but I don’t think people realize how BAD it is, like days, once I’m no longer living them, are just one big day, and that activity could have been a month ago or yesterday and I would never know. That is not an exaggeration.

But ADHD is a lot more than mannerisms and tics. It's a whole thought-process and patterns of behaviour and actions. For example, I experience fairly regular mini-mood swings, where I'll be YES THIS THING THIS THING ALWAYS and then literally 5 seconds later I'll be like 'this thing makes me sad' for whatever reason. I'll be happy and fine, and then just,,, guilty. And it's really hard to get back into being happy, even if I rationalize that my guilt is unfounded. For example, I was really, really happy about a song, and then I realized I hadn't walked my dog in weeks. (I mean, I was aware, but it just hit me). I got feeling so guilty, I haven't listened to that song since, even though I knew the reason I hadn't been walking my dog was ~trauma~ and I've been playing with her and so on regardless.

Also sometimes you just NEED to Do Things. RIGHT NOW. It does not matter if now is a good time to do those things, they are getting done. Usually those are small things that build up on your mind, and then something bigger comes along that you can't deal with, but you need to do something so you do a bunch of inconsequential useless tasks in the meantime.

Hope this little random collage of things helps!

TIME BLINDNESS IS SO REAL
I cannot express this enough haha. THat, and ALWAYS moving. I don't even think about it, but I'm kicking my leg, rocking back and forth, or swaying side to side always. I never just,,, sit still. Other things I do, as an ADHD person:

• Obsessively listening to one song over and over again. To the point where I are certain my household would throw me out if I didn’t have headphones on.

• Touching something Slightly Wrong and now I have to touch it again to make it right.

• Feeling physically ‘uneven’ and having to correct constantly via pose changes and muscle twitches in order to gain perfect symmetry

• Hearing that one teeny tiny part of the song/that one sound effect that makes me go O.O and replaying it 30x

• Liking repetitive songs because I get to hear the good parts over and over again

• Having one part of my body that it just UNCOMFY AT ALL TIMES to the point where I cannot sleep because of it. (I HAVE to roll my ankle. If I don't pop my ankle joint, I literally writhe with how horrible it feels, even though it isn't pain. I would prefer pain, actually.)

• People talk about time and memory issues, but I don’t think people realize how BAD it is, like days, once I’m no longer living them, are just one big day, and that activity could have been a month ago or yesterday and I would never know. That is not an exaggeration.

But ADHD is a lot more than mannerisms and tics. It's a whole thought-process and patterns of behaviour and actions. For example, I experience fairly regular mini-mood swings, where I'll be YES THIS THING THIS THING ALWAYS and then literally 5 seconds later I'll be like 'this thing makes me sad' for whatever reason. I'll be happy and fine, and then just,,, guilty. And it's really hard to get back into being happy, even if I rationalize that my guilt is unfounded. For example, I was really, really happy about a song, and then I realized I hadn't walked my dog in weeks. (I mean, I was aware, but it just hit me). I got feeling so guilty, I haven't listened to that song since, even though I knew the reason I hadn't been walking my dog was ~trauma~ and I've been playing with her and so on regardless.

Also sometimes you just NEED to Do Things. RIGHT NOW. It does not matter if now is a good time to do those things, they are getting done. Usually those are small things that build up on your mind, and then something bigger comes along that you can't deal with, but you need to do something so you do a bunch of inconsequential useless tasks in the meantime.

Hope this little random collage of things helps!

(it's like you just looked into meh soul and pulled out literally EVERYTHING for this post lol)

(it's like you just looked into meh soul and pulled out literally EVERYTHING for this post lol)

Heh, tell me about it xD

i'd say an emphasis on time-blindness, spirling train of thought that neurotypicals don't understand and impulsive, not like 'does what they want when they want' but more like grabbing a small object and putting it back down, or getting up walking a few steps and going back. stemming and restlessness(fx. spinning pencils, foot tapping, pacing, constantly looking around and out windows especially if they have something they're struggling with,) is also a good trait to write in a lot.

people who have adhd sometimes overestimate the time it will take to complete a task and underestimate how good it will feel after that task is done
i do this all the time, and it is sooo annoying
also yes. time blindness.