People With ADHD On What It’s Like Inside Their Minds

People with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often talk about feeling like there’s a never-ending stream of information or dialogue racing through their minds. But what is that actually like?

In an insightful Reddit thread, people with ADHD have attempted to offer others a glimpse inside their minds.

Describing how there can be a billion thoughts racing at once, Redditor foozballhead said: “Like right now? I’m watching football, reading Reddit posts, while also wondering where a certain piece of mail is, with a separate thought of what I’m gonna pack for lunch tomorrow, and whether to take a shower tonight or just wash my face, but also trying to figure out what is the song that’s playing quietly in the back left corner of my brain, and how am I gonna rearrange my furniture when I move from the smaller bedroom into the bigger bedroom, and how do I move that bookshelf by myself without any help without having to unload it, oh, and I need to turn the porch light on. But also go Seahawks.”

In response, one commenter said: “Wow. I’ve never actually seen it written out that way before.”

Another likened the inside of their mind to a pinball game with the multi-ball in effect. “The pinballs are getting shot around, careening off the bumpers, DING-D-D-D-D-DING. You can faintly hear the tunes playing in the background, along with the occasional narration. The table keeps lighting up. All while you’re trying to control multiple sets of flippers.

“All that at once in my brain. Playing through past events, picturing how future conversations will go, hearing random song lyrics, you name it.”

Someone else (user GonzoPuro) described two extremes that usually play out in their mind. One is “static” or “a gazillion thoughts coming one after the other, cutting each other off so that it’s hard to focus”. And the other is “when it’s tuned to one clear station that is so loud that I can’t hear anything else”.

“This second one seems great until I can’t stop fixating on the thought,” they added.

Many others shared similar stories. Redditor H0pefulUn1verse said they have multiple ‘voices’ that verbalise most of their thoughts: “There’s one that narrates pretty much everything I do. And then there’s multiple random trains of thoughts that are usually all going on at once – lists of things I need to remember, a radio playing 3 seconds of a song I can’t recall, what I want to eat next, internal palilalia of random words, scattered opinions about things I’m experiencing in my body, etc.

“Sometimes it’s louder and more chaotic up in there depending on what’s going on and how I’m doing, and sometimes it’s more chill and I’m able to focus more into whatever I’m engaging in…”

One Bright Mental Health, which offers private psychological therapy and neurodevelopmental services, suggests ADHD can manifest as intrusive thoughts and overthinking.

“Intrusive thoughts are unwanted and repetitive thoughts that can be distressing or disturbing. They can take many forms, such as worries, doubts, or even violent or taboo images,” said the experts.

People with ADHD “may have a hyperactive default mode network (DMN), a brain network responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thought”, they added, which can lead to a constant stream of thoughts that are difficult to control.

Some people with ADHD described how medication had helped them quiet the stream of thoughts that bombards their minds.

“When I’m unmedicated, it’s like I’m in a room with a ton of people having different conversations. I can hear and understand much of what’s being said nearby, but I get less and less info the further away the other people are. When I’m medicated, it’s like everyone lines up in a queue and tells me what they want to say,” said Redditor derberner90.

Another said taking medication had helped them achieve a “quiet brain”. Before that, they experienced “constant running and changing stream of thoughts combined with some song also playing in the background which makes it difficult to process what I need to be doing in the moment or what someone is trying to tell me”.

If you experience persistent intrusive thoughts or a constant flow of thoughts which make it difficult to focus on one thing, it’s worth speaking to your GP.