ADHD | Portraying OC Details

A common misconception about ADHD is that it's just the inability to focus, or the inability to stay still. Thus, when an OC has ADHD, it is often just swept under the rug as a trivia fact that is never really relevant. I myself have ADHD, so I'm here to explain the more extreme symptoms of ADHD, and how it affects daily lives and behavior.

Of course, a lesson is always better with an example, and I have the PERFECT example of ADHD: Ethan Nestor. As a matter of fact, I'll be using screenshots of a video he's done with Markiplier, so you guys can know exactly what I'm talking about. But I do encourage watching the video yourself; Ethan is having a severe bout of ADHD the entire time, and while it's ed off as a joke, it is sincerely upsetting for people who have to go through it.

Disclaimer: ADHD effects each person differently. Not every ADHD victim has these symptoms. Some never have them, some rarely have them, and others have them all the time.

Another disclaimer: don't take this to heart. I'm not a doctor, I'm speaking from experience and what I've witnessed.

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Lesson 1: Impulsiveness

One of the most defining traits, sometimes people with ADHD feel the need to contribute to the scene even if they're irrelevant in the current moment. This can easily be misconstrued as attention-seeking, doing something quirky to draw attention to themselves. In reality, they just start moving before they think through the consequences of their actions, and force themselves to follow through.

More often than not, this is born from boredom. It's often not something very dramatic. They don't suddenly flip a table, punch somebody, etc. It's often something that involved with another person; poking, giving somebody something, even just placing the nearest object on somebody's hand. If a person isn't in range, it could be knocking something small over on its side, rolling something across a surface, etc. For example, I used to tip over closed milk cartons during lunch in high school.

Writing this into a story can be difficult. It's hard to describe just the need to do something; unless people have experienced it themselves, they'll just wonder "why didn't you just stop yourself from doing it?" The easiest way to do it is with the phrase "acted without thinking." If their act is sufficient to draw attention to them, they'll often get squeamish, realizing they have nothing to say. If the act doesn't get others' attention, on the other hand, they may do it again, not realizing what they are doing is considered odd, because they're not really thinking about it.

Lesson 2: Disassociating

On the other side of the spectrum, when somebody with ADHD isn't an active part of a conversation, they'll often disassociate. Most of the time it just looks like they're lost in thought, which they very well can be. Information will go in one ear and out the other; this leads them to often asking somebody to repeat what was just said.

In more extreme cases, people may disassociate even in situations where they're being directly spoken to. If their conversation partner takes control of the conversation for too long, they'll lose focus on the topic and disassociate. I've even experienced immediate dissociation upon somebody talking about a topic that doesn't pertain to me that I find boring. For example, every time my little sister starts talking about her swim meets, I disassociate and find myself coming to when she starts yelling at me for not listening. I nothing in-between those two points.

Sometimes, it's hard to tell when somebody is disassociating. It doesn't mean they are absolutely still and silent. They'll still show signs they're "listening," by saying stuff like "mhm" or smiling, just to be polite, but the information is going in one ear and out the other. One of the easiest ways to tell is from their eyes. If they're not looking at you, or are looking through you, they're probably disassociating.

When writing this from an OC's point of view, the easiest way to portray it is to have the conversation fade out, and focus on your OC's thoughts for a while until they're brought back. Don't be scared to be crazy with their thoughts - since they have ADHD, it's not uncommon for them to jump from topic to topic in their thoughts, sometimes with seemingly no connection between them. Anything to fill up the time while they're disassociating.

Lesson 3: Frustration

Frustration is a direct product of disassociating. In the cases where the person is too embarrassed to ask for somebody to repeat something, they find themselves lacking important information. The best solution is to try and put the pieces together themselves, teaching themselves the information that had been conveyed to them to avoid embarrassment. The easiest example is when somebody disassociates while receiving instructions. They miss the instructions, and instead of asking the tutor/teacher/other to repeat literally everything(which would be embarrassing), they try to figure out what they're doing themselves, and often suffer because of it.

However, this also applies to social situations. A friend may tell them all about their summer break, but due to disassociation, they don't catch any of it. They may later say something that reveals they hadn't been listening to their friend, making them seem rude and self-centered.

The consequences for these two types of issues can cause extreme frustration in the ADHD victim. They may blame themselves for being a bad person, not listening to others because they're too absorbed in their own thoughts. Or they may even blame others for not being clear or efficient in their instructions or story, leading to strains on relationships either way.

This is pretty easy to write. It's a direct result of disassociating. The character may get mad, thinking nobody had informed them of changes. And, when they learn the fault is their own, they'd move on to the next phase:

Lesson 4: Embarrassment

While anger is similar to denial, embarrassment is similar to acceptance. The ADHD victim realizes their shortcomings and failures are entirely their own fault for not paying attention. They then not only have to deal with whatever information they need to seek out to fill in the missing gaps, but also whatever they might have said or done in their frustration.

Sometimes, they may skip the frustration phase entirely and go immediately to embarrassment. The best example would be actually asking the instructor to repeat everything they just said. This embarrassing for the ADHD victim, as it reveals they weren't paying attention, and could even result in punishment, but it removes the frustration of having to figure out the information that was missed.

When portraying this in an OC, it may be more akin to the character switching from the offensive to the defensive as they realize they are the ones in the wrong. It doesn't always mean hanging their head in shame, and may even result in more lashing out in an attempt to hide their embarrassment.

Lesson 5: Sensory Overload/Jumbled Thoughts and Ideas

People with ADHD often think at a mile a minute. They jump from one train of thought to another, sometimes before the first train is even resolved. It's unsurprising when their thoughts become a complete trainwreck. They may find themselves with too many ideas and not enough ways to explore all their ideas. This results in indecision and confusion, as they untangle their thoughts and try to choose one simultaneously.

This affects both actions and speech. Showing uncertainty in what they're doing, stuttering, not completing sentences, and being incomprehensible in general are the most obvious symptoms. Give them enough time, and they'll get their thoughts in order. Mocking them or bringing attention to their indecision may make it worse, as they might try to rush the process and only get more confused.

When writing this into an OC's behavior, it's easier to show through speech. Stutter, repeat words, trail off and start new sentences. If you need to portray it through actions, it may result in jittery movements, as if they're only moving in increments, because they're considering doing something else. Or they may shift their weight, or constantly turn their body back and forth in different directions as they quickly assess their options. Once they do make their decision, they'll act immediately, often going through with the plan without allowing themselves to envision how things would have gone otherwise.

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Congrats if you've made it this far. Keep in mind I'm no doctor, so don't take this as being carved in stone. But from what I've witnessed and what I've experienced, these are common symptoms in ADHD victims. Have a nice night.

#OCHelperAdvice