Navigating a household as a parent with ADHD is hard. My mom is a superstar, but she may not always appear to be to the outside world.
My Childhood
I grew up in a house that was constantly messy. Dishes were always in the sink, food was always on the stove and laundry was always on every available surface yet my mom was constantly cleaning. Everything finally made sense when she was diagnosed with ADHD spring of 2020.
The Experience
Today, over two years later, my mom was preparing for a family gathering happening at our house on Friday. She started with the bathrooms, as she tends to do, and began picking clothes up from the floor. Then she moved on to the sink yet before that was done she emptied everything in the cupboards out onto the floor. Why? We used to think it was because she needed everything to be deep cleaned. Now we know that this is a symptom of ADHD: Hyper-fixation.
"Saylor," she said. "Why did I do this? This is going to take me hours to organize now."
It did take her hours. She didn't have time to make dinner or pick my sister up from practice and she didn't finish the bathroom. My mom went to sleep feeling "unproductive and useless"
The Reality of ADHD
I sometimes joke with my roommates that my mom will try to clean the kitchen but end up reorganizing our pantry or fridge instead yet I always forget to mention the emotional toll it takes to constantly make more messes when you are just trying to clean up.
ADHD in adults is uncharted territory and the fact that it dramatically effects you and the people around you makes it a serious mental illness.
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