{"id":23503,"date":"2023-01-26T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T17:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=23503"},"modified":"2023-01-30T11:11:54","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T19:11:54","slug":"open-space-learning-to-live-with-adhd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2023\/01\/26\/open-space-learning-to-live-with-adhd\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Space<\/em>: Learning to live with ADHD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attending college can be difficult for anyone. But, for the roughly 16 percent of college students worldwide living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), it\u2019s even harder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After graduating from my small high school a year late, starting college was a mixed bag of emotions. I was excited to get out of the Cowichan Valley, but I was also very concerned about handling the workload coming my way. I had always struggled with my focus and productivity. I just dwindled it down to being lazy.<\/p>\n

But, in November, halfway through my first semester at Camosun, I was finally able to understand: I was diagnosed with ADHD.<\/p>\n

Although it was exciting to put a name to the face, it was also a really hard reality to accept. Everything I had struggled with was something that now labelled me, and it was something I would have to continue to struggle with my entire life.<\/p>\n

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This story originally appeared in our January 25, 2023 issue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just getting around to my projects felt even more difficult at that point, especially with finals coming around the corner. But I knew I wanted to finish off the semester strong and not let my diagnosis define me. So, I utilized my resources, consulted with my counsellor, and did as much research as my attention span allowed me to.<\/p>\n

The main piece of advice I found was breaking the projects down. Although this technique works for a lot of people, I was a late-term baby, so I\u2019ve been procrastinating everything from the very beginning. So, instead, I made a set amount of time two days before the deadline. This allowed one day for writing and one day for rewriting and reviewing. I find that pressure and close deadlines help to produce content, and allowing myself the extra time to review made sure it was of good quality without overly scrutinizing it.<\/p>\n

Support was a huge factor for me as well. I used my counsellor a lot for this. Occasionally doing check-ins with someone close to me about the progress of bigger projects helped keep the pressure on the long term. I often made sure that I was working in occupied but not overly crowded spaces. Having that dedicated environment to work in helped to keep my mind on the page rather than my surroundings.<\/p>\n

But, the biggest and most important thing to keep in mind in the future is self-care. With my ADHD, I tend to hyper-fixate on things. Once I\u2019m into and working on something, it can be really hard to step away and grab a snack or take a break. I found that pushing myself through it was beneficial at times, but also allowing myself that space for a brain break led to producing better content that I was more proud of in the end.<\/p>\n

Utilizing these small tools and finding my support system helped me finish my term off stronger than any year I spent in high school, and I hope my experiences can help someone else dealing with a similar situation this semester.<\/p>\n

In all, the diagnosis wasn\u2019t the end of my college journey, nor was it the beginning of my life-long struggle with ADHD. It wasn\u2019t someone slapping a label on me like a bag of carrots at the grocery store. My ADHD, my anxiety, and my insecurities don\u2019t define who I am. It\u2019s how I choose to deal with them that makes me whole.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Attending college can be difficult for anyone. But, for the roughly 16 percent of college students worldwide living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), it\u2019s even harder.\u00a0 After graduating from my small high school a year late, starting college was a mixed bag of emotions. I was excited to get out of the Cowichan Valley, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,281],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-views","category-january-25-2023"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t