Me (autistic) and my friend (AuDHD)
I am autistic (18) and have always wondered if I might be AuDHD since the two diagnoses often overlap.
But it’s not very likely, lol. I have a very controlled and routine-based every day life. It’s a lot of «sameness». Same meal times, same sleep time and my days basicially float into each other. I’ve been very isolated at home. But i still go to school and get good grades, but with a lot of accomadations and support.
I have an AuDHD friend (19) who is a lot more isolated cause she dropped out of school years ago and is unemployed. She didn’t get the support I got, not from school or her parents. She was also diagnosed later.
She is far more creative than I am. She has a million different interests, while I only have a few things. She is also very flexible and much more independent than me, and impulsive when it comes to shopping, and has SO many things. I’m the complete opposite. She calls me «the minimalist» lol. I think it’s a lot about decision paralysis. If I want to buy stuff, I need to be sure that this is something I really want.. I just overthink a lot and get easily stuck.
She also generally seems so much more comfortable In herself. I have strong social anxiety and try my best to blend In with everyone. She has social anxiety too, but doesn’t really care that much about fitting in anyway. Wonder if this could be an ADHD thing? She has definitely helped me get more out of my shell, and helped me connect more with my actual interests.
She also struggles a lot with routine, although she says she really wants and prefers structure. Her circadian rhythm is completely out of balance. She has no spesific sleep time. And she finds it hard to do simple every day tasks. Just making food, or brushing teeth, or going to bed is very difficult for her. While I have absolutely no problem with this. She only has 1 large meal every day, cause she loves to hyperfixate on the things she loves for HOURS and hate interrupting it with meals. And suddenly she can just get this boost of motivation to get things done and clean her room for 8-10 hours without a break and WITHOUT eating. I simply don’t understand how that is humanly possible. I can get focused on stuff that I love too, but I very often lose focus after 2-3 hours. And I need to eat like 4 times a day!! Our lives look so completely different. Its also a bit of a problem that she is a night owl while I’m an early bird, so when we meet during the day she is often very tired. But well, she is my best friend 😅We love venting and oversharing lol. We have these insane philosophical discussions. Have never connected more deeply with anyone. We are very different, yet also similar in so many ways.
I have also noticed that she is better at coming up with ideas about what we should discuss, while I am good at adding depth to that.