ADHD people are often impulsive. We tend to act or speak without fully thinking through all the implications of doing so. In the world we live in, this may often get us into trouble!
But remember that the behavior itself is not wrong on an absolute scale – there are times when acting impulsively and quickly are vital, such as avoiding a physical hazard or warning others of imminent danger.
However, in general, our society prefers a more measured, considered approach that is just not how our brains work. This can cause us problem with things like interrupting others when speaking (because we just have to get our thoughts out) or stopping in the middle of what others see as an important task to do something else that we have just thought of that to them seems much less vital.
We can learn to modify impulsive behavior. During the pandemic we all learnt to stay further away from others in public places and not to shake hands or hug others, because we understood that doing otherwise could have serious consequences.
In the same way, we can reflect on when impulsive behavior has caused us problems in the past and use that to slow us down and take some time to reflect before acting or speaking.
But we must do so in the context of doing what is best for us and those around us in the way our society works, rather than thinking that there is anything wrong with us. There is not, and if we do not recognize that we are likely to damage our mental health in continually trying to be someone who we are not.
We'd love to hear from you