Sick and Silent: The Unexpected Perks of a Quiet ADHD Brain

Hi! Faye here, just dropping my first blog post! 

I’ve been procrastinating (ha, shock) because I didn’t know where to start and as I’m sure fellow ADHD’ers will relate to, unless a perfect way to begin falls from the sky into my lap, it’ll always remain an excuse not to start anything if I let it, so I’m coming in strong with a topic that only came to mind because it’s recently happened to me. Got to love a first-hand experience revelation. 

The Virus That Made Me Shut Up and Listen (To Myself)

I became ill a couple of weeks back. Nothing major, but I was already feeling depressed and that on top did not help things. I was fatigued, achy, bunged up nasally, with a cough that wouldn’t budge and THEN I started losing my voice which is a gift I don’t use enough and take for granted… until I lose it. I went to the GP surgery as it had been going on a while and figured… maybe I need some antibiotics? Got an appointment fairly quickly (thank you NHS), and it turned out to be viral, so there was nothing I could be prescribed to treat or relieve it (except rest). I also brought home with me the beautiful norovirus (stomach flu), which, if you’ve never had, I urge you to try to keep it that way! I was wiped out for 2 days straight. Sleeping and trying desperately to keep even small amounts of fluids down and in… without providing graphics. 

It’s interesting because I HATE being ill, I think, due to the lack of control. BUT, and it’s a big but (and I cannot lie), it’s one of the only times that ADHD takes a back seat and my brain is quiet. I guess because its primary focus is fighting whatever germs have decided to seek temporary accommodation in my body. I’ve honestly not felt so rough for over a decade, not even in my worst hangovers. I accepted my fate was to sleep, sleep and sleep some more. Thankfully, I did. If it were ‘rest’ I would have struggled, but my body literally FORCED me. 

How Being Really Bloody Ill Gave Me a Mental Break

Anyway, fast forward a few days, and there’s a new spring in my step. I not only feel better and back to myself physically, but the depression has lifted. I think I’m so grateful to not feel as I did then; suddenly, everything else seems a lot better than that, and I’m finding myself more content and appreciative. Interesting, isn’t it? Sometimes it takes losing something to not take it for granted and really see it for what it is. 

I am a believer that everything happens for a reason and in the universe’s time, so maybe I needed to become so ill I would have almost done anything not to be to just appreciate my health more. I did enjoy the quiet head (even without stimulants!!!)

I wonder if anyone else has this or a similar experience?

Over and out,

Faye xoxo