Examples of inattentativeness

[wolfshades]

In preparing for my assessment, I was thinking about some examples that would serve to crystallize the attention deficit aspect of my daily behaviour. Just came up with an example a few minutes ago.

1) Having purchased groceries, I came up to my apartment, unlocked the door and went in, locking the door behind me.

2) Saw some garbage that i had forgotten to take down to the garbage chute (just down the hall) so I grabbed it, unlocked the door to go out to the chute, and left it unlocked, knowing that I’d be right back

3) Came from the chute, turned the key into the door and noticed it was unlocked (the way I left it)

4) Looked up at the door number, to make sure I wasn’t trying to get into someone else’s apartment, and making sure I was on the right floor

In the time it took me to go down to the garbage chute and come back, with all of that whirling noise in my head I had forgotten:

1) that I had left the door unlocked

2) that I was already on the same floor and indeed that I had already been in my apartment

It’s funny, looking back at it, but it seems pretty symptomatic of an inability to focus.

I’ve had other occasions too where someone had gotten on the elevator and had pressed the button for the wrong floor – one floor below mine. I had noticed this but by the time it reached the wrong floor, I had lost focus and so I left the elevator one floor early. It wasn’t until I put the key in what I thought was my apartment door and had tried to turn the lock that I realized my mistake.

What examples did you use when talking with your doctor about ADD/ADHD?

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[Anonymous]

Speaking of elevators–several years ago I got on one with the intent of going to the 23rd floor.

I punched in a two, then a three.

Of course I knew better, but I was in a hurry and very seldom visit tall buildings. Mind wandering again. Later I heard that it was a very common joke being passed around about the guy who spent too much time on his computer. But it really happened to me.

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[Ginniebean]

Went to the kitchen to make my morning coffee and a bun with jam. started the coffee and got the bun and the jam.. I needed a knife.. I turned around and saw a knife in the sink along with a few other dishes. Forgot about the coffee and the bun and did the dishes. I turned around saw the bun. DOH! put jam on the bun, and got out a mug made my coffee. Phone rang … found my cold coffee and dry bun 2 hrs later.

That’s all it takes. To turn from what I’m doing.

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[Anonymous]

I haven’t been diagnosed yet, but here’s a story I have:

When I moved into my new apartment with my boyfriend, we didn’t have an electric kettle. So I would use a pot instead. I’m aware that I used to have the habit of leaving electric kettles boiling and forget about them- but they shut off automatically. I didn’t realize how often I must have been doing that until I was perpetually leaving the house with the burner on, and coming back to a dry pot smoking away on the stove. Not quite as harmless as an electric kettle.

My bf was afraid I’d burn the house down. :S

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[Anonymous]

How about not noticing throwing paint six feet up and down the plaster wall on our balcony in four different colours? It’s tempera paint but I’m still trying to figure out how to remove the last of it.

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[wolfshades]

Wow Jaybird. That’s something all right.

I like how Ginniebean put it: “that’s all it takes. To turn from what I’m doing”. Two seconds. That’s it.

Not even two sometimes.

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[Anonymous]

It’s like the inescapable urge to channel surf through your own brain.

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[Anonymous]

One time, I found a box of Ziplock bags in my freezer. I immediately recognized what had happened. So I opened up the drawer where I keep my Ziplock bags…and yep, there were two bags of sausages (which I had intended to freeze) sitting in the drawer. Needless to say I had to throw them out. Bah!

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[Patte Rosebank]

Every few years, from the time I was a child, my mom has put the cereal in the fridge, and the milk in the cupboard.

So that’s a hint as to whom I inherited my ADHD from…

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[Anonymous]

Went to the supermarket to pick up some milk. Came home and my sister, who shares the apartment with me, asks where the milk is. Crap! But I got great deals on pork chops and toilet tissue.

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[Anonymous]

Well. When planning my sons 8th birthday party, very pleased with my self for remembering everything for baking, and i remembered to order the hall we were going to use. The night before the party my son came to me and asked if I had remembered to invite everybody.. then i realized that I forgot to invite all the guests.

And once I was out of milk, went to the store 2 times to buy it and forgot. After that I remembered it so well that I ended up with 20 liters of milk in my fridge.

When my kids were young I used to boil their pacifiers, usually I forgot the pot on the stove and woke up in a smoky apartment and all the pacifiers were melted.

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[Anonymous]

I have a real big problem with context and expectations of appearance. For example, if my wife switches to a new brand of canned soup and I go looking for soup I could look right at it and not see it because my brain expects a small red can, not a large yellow can. My wife has to pick up the can and show me or tell me its a new brand and what the new color is.

It also happens when something is moved from where I expect it to be. If the soup is moved to a new shelf and I’m looking for soup I won’t see it even if I check the other shelves. I’ve lost things and spent hours looking for them only to discover I looked right at them several times but didn’t recognize them.

Lord help me

WW

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[Anonymous]

I lose my hair brush all the damn time. It’s never in the bathroom where it belongs. I’ll find it on the living room table, on the kitchen counter (let’s not think about how unhygienic that is, shall we?), by the phone, and I swear to God I found it in the fridge once! I just put it down wherever I finish using it. I pace while I brush my hair so it can really end up anywhere. The same thing happens with the phone. I pace while I talk.

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[Anonymous]

I’m new with this site, but I can totally relate to everything u guys just mentioned, either me or my mom has done pretty much this whole list. But i do have some to add:

while driving in the rain, i find myself watching the winshield wipers go back and forth instead of watching the road. EEk! luckily no accidents.

Or how about forgetting my friends camping cooler just outside my door, which happens to be right beside my car for me to take it to her, and then leave without it, after having had to walk right beside it to get to my car(not actually seeing it), get most of the way to her house, and then realize that I forgot to put it in my car, DUH, I’m lucky it was still there when I got back. She came and picked iot up the next day.

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[wolfshades]

Shelby: yup! And when you find yourself doing stuff like this, it’s hard to process – without benefit of realizing that it’s a product of ADD. Before I was even aware of ADD, I kept telling myself I was stupid for leaving stuff behind all the time. Like the time I left my PalmPilot in the washroom at the football stadium – only to realize *just* as I sat down at my seat to watch the game, that I’d left it there. Did a mad run back to the stall but of course it was too late.

And wouldn’t you know it – I did the *exact* same thing just yesterday at the movie theatre. Left my iPhone on top of the TP dispenser in the stall. Thought to myself at the time “DON’T’ forget to grab this. You don’t want to leave it behind”. Went out, washed my hands, went back to the show and sat down…..wasn’t until some music came on screen that I wanted to check (using the Shazam app) that I realized it wasn’t in my pocket. Did another mad dash back to the washroom and……there it was. Thank GOD. Ugh.

I wonder if ADHDers need a higher rate of pay, because they keep outfitting the rest of the world with their belongings?

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