ADHD Texting: Personal Struggles That I Experience

One of the struggles I continuously experience in my ADHD journey is my smartphone. Aside from the fact that I regularly forget where I put it and spend hours trying to find my mobile device, there are numerous problems that occur to me when it comes to my smartphone.

Don't get me wrong. Technology eased up our lives, provided us with automated processes that make life easier. There are countless ways that technology helped me like setting scheduled payments in my online banking account to prevent missing the deadlines and due dates. There are apps that are useful when it comes to money management that greatly aids me when my impulsive buying attitude kicks in. I couldn't be more thankful for the fact that alarms and calendar management provided me guidelines and schedules of what I should accomplish during the entire day.

These little simple things matter to us, especially when we have trouble organizing all our stuff. But there are things that I have observed when it comes to my ADHD brain and how I use these devices especially when it comes to testing. Remember that these are my experiences with them which you may or may not relate to.

‍

ADHD Forgetfulness and Ghosting Replies

There was this time when I received a text message from a friend which I didn't remember. The message is about our trip a few weeks from the time it was sent and I absolutely forgot the details. Fast forward a few hours before the supposed travel that we were having, my friend me called to confirm about our trip to confirm, and I was so embarrassed that I haven't remembered the details.

Another instance that affects me the most is when I seem to "ghost" someone who messaged me. Ghosting is a millennial term referring to the act when someone suddenly stops responding with no valid reason. I always feel bad about this. A friend sent me a message asking me how I was. I felt his concern about the way he constructed his thoughts. But then again, my ADHD brain forgot to reply and thank him for his message.

The following week, he told me that I was kinda rude for not returning the text he sent me. To him, he felt ignored, and his efforts were wasted. It seemed like I ghosted him, but in reality, I just forgot to reply back because I was too occupied the moment he sent me an SMS.

The thing about forgetfulness and ADHD is that you really can't tell them apart. You would question yourself often, is it normal forgetfulness or is it ADHD that keeps me from remembering small details?

‍

The Urge to Check Notifications Immediately

I don't know about you but once I see a red notification on my apps or when my phone notifies me about something, I immediately run towards it and check what it says. I have this tendency to drop anything that I'm currently doing just to know what does it tells me.

The same scenario goes with messages that I receive. Whether I am busy with Home Organization or Doing Groceries if my smartphone notifies me that I have a message, I check it immediately for me not to forget to reply to them if it's important. But depending on the situation, most of the time I still forget to reply.

ADHD and OCD can also share the same symptom, or co-exist with one another. I honestly believe that this trait of frequently looking on my devices and checking for notifications is a form of OCD. I just wanted to find out if someone messaged me or replied to my posts. It's like instant gratification for me that I unconsciously check the notification even though most of the time it is pointless.

‍

ADHD Conversations Through Smartphones

I have two types of personalities when it comes to typing replies on my phone. When I am too interested in the topic with the person I am having a conversation with, I tend to send a message that is composed of long strings of characters, detailed and full of enthusiasm. I often do this when I seem to hyperfocus on something interesting for me. My friends often complain about reading long messages but I cannot do something about it.

My other style of texting is when I send too many short, one-lined messages. I do this sometimes when I get way too excited to share something. It means that the emotions that I feel cannot be contained well, thus resulting in 20-30 short messages sent one after the other.

Some friends tell me that I should ease up and take it easy in sending messages. They often scold me for bombarding them with messages or making them read long-format texts. Either way, I just can't get a grasp of the feelings that I have when it comes to conveying my thoughts. I hope that they don't get tired of understanding me and How my ADHD Brain Can Affect Emotions.

Aside from this, Did You Know That People with ADHD get rejected easily? There are times that when someone messages me with a simple no on my requests, I tend to feel extra rejected with the thought of it, and become too emotional about it. Taking into consideration that I may be sending them too many messages with the hope of possibly getting their attention and support.