PlanetOfOrd

In the US, first of all.

I've been diagnosed with ADHD, depression, and anxiety. I'm trying to get tested for autism, but I think I might have 1 or 2 autistic traits, and any unofficial test has me on the low end of the spectrum.

One thing I've noticed lately is that I can't put my brain on autopilot. And this has caused severe work impairment.

Like let's say I get a job sorting packages or papers. Most people, when they do this kind of job, they need to focus on what they're doing initially, but after a while, it becomes automatic, and they can do it without thinking about it (to a degree of course).

But for me if I let my mind wander I will literally stop doing the job. So I need to continually focus with 100% effort on what I'm doing. As you can imagine, this becomes an immense mental load, so I often fall way behind other employees at most blue-collar jobs, many times ending up getting fired for underperforming.

That's not to say I don't zone out, because I definitely do. I have an over-active imagination for an adult. It's just that whatever task I'm doing (driving, brushing my teeth, cleaning the house, etc), I have to make an intentional effort to pay attention to what I'm doing.

Thankfully I am in tech, which (by default) engages the brain, but the opportunities for work are slim, so I have to be adaptable to other jobs as well. But obviously with this quirk of my brain, that severely limits my options.

It's hard to really communicate what is going on and how annoying this is. I'm hoping someone else deals with the same thing, or knows how to talk about this.

Thanks for reading.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13583666

The plot summary is as follows:

Secret Service agent Rebecca Carter's world is upended when her husband goes missing in 2002. Two years later, Rebecca and her team are protecting the President during a high-stakes trade deal in China. But their mission is cut short when an assassin appears out of nowhere, kills everyone, and disappears, leaving Rebecca as the lone survivor. In the year 31,462, Xel-Na, a shifter (an individual who can move through time and space at will), receives no word from Thes-Omatz, the deep space research vessel carrying his wife and daughter. Upon launching probes to investigate, he finds everyone either dead or missing. Suspecting a fellow shifter, Xel-Na embarks on a mission to confront the perpetrator. In his quest he soon comes across Rebecca. Together, they face insurmountable odds, all while grappling with the weight of their personal losses. But as they delve deeper into the heart of the conspiracy, they discover that the murderous shifter isn't just after Rebecca, he's after power. And no matter what Xel-Na and Rebecca do, this cunning adversary is always one step ahead of them.

I finished the first draft of the novel, but being out of work I'm not able to fund it myself. I was kinda like, well, nobody's giving me a call, might as well write it.

Would love to hear your thoughts. Do you like it? I have a thick skin, so even if it's crap, go ahead and let a rip.

And before you ask, no, it was not written by AI 😆 (though I did use AI to assist in editing).

If you'd like to fund publication, I would greatly appreciate it. Or if you like and and don't like to give strangers money online, I'd be forever grateful if you share the post on social media.

I'm in tech and working with a guy on a very small project, but I'm definitely not able to make ends meet (thankfully family & friends have pulled me out several months lately). I've also been looking for a stop-gap job until I find a tech company that actually knows how to hire. But even that seems to be really difficult.

Like most ADHDers, I have a processing disorder. Grocery stores trigger panic attacks. Monotony also triggers it. I'm also not good with detail-oriented tasks (so that leaves something like electronics manufacturing off the table).

But I am a hard worker. No matter the pay, I will go above and beyond for my team to get a job done.

I'm scouring indeed and Craigslist trying to find something I can get in the interim.

For other ADHDers, what has your experience been doing a receptionist job? Is it ADHD hell? Or am I over-blowing the mistakes I'd probably make into major catastrophes? I realize it all depends on the employer. But what stories do people have (positive or negative) who have been receptionists?

Been out of work for a while so buying books is out the question (yeah, I get there's always the library, but I don't like it for a lot of reasons).

I like how PG has free books. I realize I'm not going to find top-tier modern writers on PG, but I'm open to suggestions of good reads.

What I look for in sci fi:

• An idea to chew on; something that stays with me even after I turn the last page.
• Some emotional intrigue; I want to feel what the characters feel.

What I like to avoid:

• Technobabble. I like a good story; I don't want to spend half the book understanding how the ship works. (I found Frank Herbet was good with avoiding technobabble...he often obeyed the rule of "show don't tell")

• Stock characters. Gimme some depth.

A few I've read so far that I'd consider "passable" are Off on a Comet by Jules Vern (I only listen to about 2/3 of this on librivox) and Space Prison by Tom Godwin (although the plot is pretty simplistic).

I just finished Frankenstein. A lot of people think its The Greatest Novel. It was kinda meh. I see why people would get excited about it, but it didn't grab me like it does other people.

Any suggestions?