Life during the lockdown

I’m an extremely hyperactive person. Whenever I’m in class, I tend to talk and play around a lot. However, due to the teacher’s presence, there is a limit to this behavior and I end up being forced to concentrate. As a result, I never got extremely poor grades and would always manage to stay in the teacher’s good graces. This was until COVID-19 struck.

When the lockdown started, we switched to online classes. I was excited about this as I would be able to relax at home even during school hours and thought this would be a better work environment. I couldn’t have been more wrong. How much work do you think is done when a child with ADHD is handed an electronic device and left alone in a room unregulated?

Instead of learning about physics and maths like I should’ve been, I spent hours watching Netflix. Initially, as the concepts weren’t as hard, it wasn’t as much of a problem and I would spend ten minutes on a revision site to figure everything out. Unfortunately, the work got harder and I could not let go of my habits.

As my issues began to get reflected in my test and assignment scores, my parents also took notice. The fact that my copies were also primarily empty made them distrustful of me and caused a lot of tension in our relationship. They tried to keep a watch on me and eventually realized that I was wasting time in my classes.

They tried to delete the games on my laptop and end the subscriptions to streaming services, but I was addicted and would always find some way to waste time on the internet. I began having to study after school to make up for the time I wasted.

It was too late by that point and my 9th-grade scores were quite low. My parents sat down with me, assessed the problem, and deduced that my issues were likely out of my control. They began sitting with me during my classes to help me let go of my habit and even allowed me to study to make sure I didn’t waste any more hours.

Many of us have addictions and attention issues. Please know without discipline you will fail in your goals. Get the help required to make sure you can maintain your focus whether that be having someone around you to keep you in check or a pill.