Do you actually wash your bath mat or nah?

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Before there was Grey’s Anatomy, there was art!

When your doctor decides to shove a vase up your butt in the middle of a field in broad daylight:

e-codices.unifr.ch / Via e-codices.unifr.ch

When your dentist has to pull a giant fucking tooth worm thing out of your mouth:

British Library / Via bl.uk

When the "plague doctor" shows up in a scary ass bird mask, looking more terrifying than the actual plague itself:

books.google.co.uk / Via commons.wikimedia.org

When you have food poisoning but your doctor doesn't want to get any puke stains on his new velvet robe:

British Library / Via bl.uk

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「必要とされているのに、多くのシェルターは生理用品を支給していない」

ナディア・オカモトはハーバード大学に通う18歳の学生だ。学業の傍ら、彼女はカミオンズ・オブ・ケアという、ホームレスの女性たちに生理用品を配る非営利団体を設立した。

「これまで私たちは、シェルターや路上にいるホームレスの女性たちにタンポンや生理用ナプキンが詰まった、何千もの生理用品のパッケージを配布してきました」と、オカモトはBuzzFeed Healthに話した。

オカモトの非営利団体には、高校や大学などに40以上の支部があり、生理用品の寄付を募っている。同時に、アメリカ国内や海外の女性たちに、集めた生理用品を届けるための資金集めの活動をしている。

Courtesy of Nadya Okamoto

「私は9歳までニューヨーク市で過ごしました。両親の離婚後、母と姉妹と私はオレゴン州のポートランドに移りました」。高校1年生の春までは、彼女の生活は至って普通だった。しかし、母親の失業で家賃を払えなくなり、7カ月間、彼女の家族は法的にホームレスとなり、友人の家に泊まったり仮設住宅に住んだりした。

「私たちは常に屋根のある場所にいることができましたが、私は自分の生活状況に落ち込んで不安を感じていました。特に、私は普通のティーンエージャーのように学校についていかなければならなかったから」とオカモト。

生理用ナプキンやタンポンのお金の心配などは一番したくなかった。けれど、生理用品の準備ができなかったため、体育や学校を休む必要があった、と話した。

2時間かかった通学の途中で、彼女はポートランドに住むホームレスの女性たちに会った。彼女たちが生理用品の代わりに、古い紙袋や布やゴミ箱から拾った新聞を使っている、と聞いた。

安全に眠れる場所、食べ物、暖かい衣服を見つけることを一番に心配しなくてはならない時、多くの女性たちは安くて簡単な方法で生理に対処するしかない。

生理中の衛生状態がよくないと、その結果として細菌性膣炎、尿路感染症、命に関わる可能性のある毒素ショック症候群になってしまうこともある。

Cinty Ionescu / Via Flickr: energeticspell

ホームレスの女性たちはタンポンや生理用ナプキンをとても必要としているのに、多くのシェルターは生理用品を支給していない。

「ホームレスの女性たちは、まず、生理について話すことさえ嫌がる。まして自分で主張したり、シェルターに生理用品がほしいとお願いすることなんて絶対にしません。とても不名誉なことだと思っているからです」

多くの女性たちが生理用品が欲しい、とお願いすることを恥ずかしがるので、シェルターや非営利団体で生理用品のための資金が確保されていない、とオカモトは言う。そのため、食べ物や衣服とは異なり、ほとんどのシェルターや非営利団体では、生理用ナプキンやタンポンを支給する持続的なプログラムが存在しないという。

「全体的に需要と供給が悪循環になっていて、本当に必要としているホームレスの女性たちに、生理用品が行き届かないのです」

Olvas / Getty Images / Via thinkstockphotos.com

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“I wish people understood that I don’t have a choice in how my brain works.”

We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community living with ADD/ADHD to tell us what they wish other people understood about the disorder. Here are some of the best responses.

Quick note: ADD/ADHD is a neurological disorder characterized by difficulty sustaining attention, by lack of self-control, and by impaired working memory. It’s now more often classified in medical literature as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but lots of people (including some doctors) still refer to it as ADD. For the purpose of clarity and conciseness, we will refer to the disorder as ADHD for the remainder of this article.

Pratical Cures / CC / Via Flickr: practicalcures

ADHD isn't an inability to concentrate — it's an inability to control what we concentrate on.

—josephs4a7764c48

Caroline Kee / Via buzzfeed.com

Sometimes we focus on literally everything at once.

"People seem to think that ADHD means that I’m always too easily distracted. In actuality, I am focused on far too many things at any given moment and move from thought to thought very quickly."

—mandihinrichs

Alois Di Leo / spectrumnews.org / Via reddit.com

...Or we focus too much on one thing, which we call ~hyperfocus~.

—josephs4a7764c48

Instagram: @adhdmemes / Via instagram.com

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Tylenol, Advil, Motrin. They’re all the same right?

Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are drugs that you buy at the pharmacy without a prescription — so basically all of the medicines you see on the store's shelves.

FYI: While this quiz will test your knowledge of OTC medications, it's not intended to be a comprehensive guide to using them or treating specific health problems. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any questions about using or starting OTC medicines and always follow the directions and warnings that are printed on the labels.

Caroline Kee / Kwangmoozaa / Getty Images / Via BuzzFeed News

Let’s talk about pills, patches, IUDs, condoms, and more.

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It seems to be linked to a drastic increase in accidental deaths from drug overdoses, suicides, and liver disease.

In an alarming new study, researchers found that deaths among 25–64-year-olds have increased the most among whites and American Indians/Alaska Natives, when compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

The study findings, published yesterday in The Lancet, were based on US death certificates from 1999 to 2014 collected by the National Center for Health Statistics.

"We wanted to give a comprehensive picture of premature mortality in the US among major racial and ethnic groups," Meredith Shiels, PhD, an investigator at the National Cancer Institute and lead author of the study, told BuzzFeed News.

Researchers looked at the change in death rates (not the absolute death rate) among 25–64-year-olds, which is known as the "premature mortality rate." They compared this across the following racial and ethnic groups: American Indian/Alaska Natives, Hispanics, blacks, whites, and Asian/Pacific Islanders. They also identified the specific causes of death to better understand trends among different groups.

Spotmatik / Via gettyimages.com

The highest increase in premature death rate was specifically among women aged 25–30 in both racial groups. When they examined the annual mortality rates among 30-year-olds, they found a 2.3% increase in white women, a 0.6% increase in white men, a 4.3% increase for American Indian/Alaska Native women, and a 1.9% increase among American Indian/Alaska Native men.

Fivepointsix / Via gettyimages.com

Still, the absolute premature mortality rate is highest for American Indians/Alaska Natives and blacks.

"To give some context, American Indians/Alaska Natives have the highest absolute or total rate of premature deaths each year, followed by blacks, whites, Hispanics, then Asian and Pacific Islanders," Shiels said. This study examined how much the rate changed among different racial and ethnic groups, which is different from the total number of premature deaths each year.

Fstop123 / Getty Images / Via gettyimages.com

According to the study, the change in rates for these groups can be attributed to a drastic increase in suicides, liver disease, and accidental deaths from drug overdoses.

The study did not explore the type of drug overdoses, but Shiels said recent research from the CDC found that a large portion of overdose deaths are from opioid drugs, which include prescription painkillers and heroin, including heroin laced with fentanyl. Specifically, from 2000–2014 there was a 200% increase in the rate of deaths from opioid overdoses in the US, which the CDC called "an epidemic."

According to Shiels, there were increases in premature death due to accident in all 50 states for women and in 48 states for men. "We also found striking regional differences, with the highest rates of all-cause and accidental deaths between ages 25 and 49 in the Appalachian region of the South," Shiels said.

Giselleflissak / Via gettyimages.com

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No, you can’t have any of our meds…

It happens, but it's helpful to keep in mind that some questions or phrases (even well-meaning ones) might have a completely different meaning to someone living with ADHD.

We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community living with ADHD to tell us what they wish other people understood about the disorder; and it reminded us just how many myths and misconceptions are still out there.

To better understand the disorder, we'd suggest reading up on it. And in the meantime, please don't say any of these things to someone with ADHD...

"ADHD isn't a real disorder."

"Every time I mention my ADD, someone says something about it not being real, everyone struggling with things, or it not being a big deal. If someone opens up to you about themselves, you have no right to tell them that they are wrong."

—lilyruthmadore

NBC / Via giphy.com

"Everyone gets distracted sometimes."

"ADHD is so much more than just 'getting distracted sometimes' and it’s frustrating when people assume that. Only we truly understand what it’s like to live with ADHD."

—addisonnelson

NBC / Via tenor.co

"OK but doesn't everyone think they have ADHD?"

"ADHD is real and you should have a real diagnostic test and not tell people you have it because of an online test you took."

—buymecupcakes

Cartoon Network / Via imgur.com

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“I’m just happy that our story didn’t die with our daughter, and that some good can hopefully come out of this.”

Meet Lindsey Paradiso, a photographer who lives with her husband Matt in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Lindsey Paradiso / Via facebook.com

On Oct. 19, 2016, Paradiso posted about her experience having a "late-term abortion" at 23 weeks. Since then, the post has gone viral with over 100,000 shares.

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"I was watching the [third presidential debate] and when I heard Trump say that late-term abortions were ripping babies out at nine months, I went into a full panic attack and started sobbing because I couldn't believe people actually thought that happens, so I had to share my story and set things straight," Paradiso told BuzzFeed Health.

The story went viral after she shared it that night, and it began trending again recently after Virginia proposed a ban on abortions after 20 weeks.

Facebook: lindsey.shaffer

In February 2016, Paradiso was 18-weeks pregnant with her daughter Omara when doctors discovered a mass on the baby's neck during a routine ultrasound.

The ultrasound showed a bubble on Omara's neck, which she said doctors believed was a rare tumor called a "teratoma," but wouldn't know more until they did an MRI.

"The doctor told us it was in our best interest to terminate the pregnancy because her dying was pretty inevitable... but we didn't want our baby to die... we wanted to give Omara a fighting chance," Paradiso wrote in her blog.

facebook.com

"We had to have her delivered early by an EXIT procedure, which is basically like a larger and riskier C-section, because her tumor was so massive that at 27 weeks she would be too big to deliver vaginally," Paradiso said.

Along with the EXIT procedure necessary to save Omara's life, Paradiso said she faced the risk of infertility with the procedure but was willing to go through with it if it meant Omara could survive.

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Test your sexual health knowledge before you get naked with someone.

For all those times you want to eat your own hand.

You've probably felt that shaky, dizzy, irritable feeling that most of us call "low blood sugar," right?

It's the worst — but let's talk about what's actually going on in our body when this happens. "Blood sugar levels are influenced by what we eat and insulin, a hormone that removes sugar from our blood and puts it into cells who use it for energy," Dr. Dorothy Fink, professor of endocrinology at NYU Langone Medical Center, tells BuzzFeed Health.

You can eat yourself to a high blood sugar level by overloading on sugar or carbs (which get broken down into glucose, too), Fink says, which causes your pancreas to pump out a ton of insulin to lower your blood sugar back down quickly. This is what causes the "crashing" sensation. "Your body senses this huge drop in blood sugar and it can make you feel very hungry and shaky, even if your blood sugar isn't truly low like it gets in diabetics," Fink says.

True low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia is any level below 70 milligrams/deciliter — which can cause symptoms like dizziness, irritability, or fainting. It actually isn't that common, so the term "low blood sugar" is kind of a misnomer. "This often happens in diabetics from taking too much insulin or in people with metabolic or thyroid disorders," Fink says. Most of these people use glucose monitoring devices, and without one you can't really tell if you have low blood sugar or not.

Nickelodeon / Via Twitter: @t1diabetesmemes

A great way to keep this feeling at bay is by snacking on things that keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day, rather that spiking and crashing it with lots of carbs and sweets.

Plus, snacks high in added sugar or processed carbs can stimulate our brains’ reward centers, making it harder to stop eating them, which perpetuates the blood-glucose-spiking cycle, Brian St. Pierre, director of performance nutrition at Precision Nutrition, tells BuzzFeed Health. So, if you're interested in evening out your energy and hunger levels, snacks that are high in protein, fats, and fiber and low in sugar and carbs are a great place to start.

"Protein keeps you full and helps decrease insulin production, and healthy fats and fiber slow down digestion so carbs don't enter the bloodstream and raise blood sugar as quickly," St. Pierre says. You don't need to cut carbs entirely, but you should opt for whole grains, veggies, and fruit instead of processed stuff whenever possible.

You also don't need to ban sugar since it's found naturally in many whole foods, Fink says, but you want to limit added sugar — think white or brown sugar, corn syrup, honey — or any of these other sweeteners that are, for all intents and purposes, added sugar. The amount of sugar on a nutrition label includes both naturally occurring and added sugar. To determine whether something has added sugar, just look at the ingredient list. If sugar (or one of those sweeteners) is listed, you know there's added sugar.

Ratmaner / Via gettyimages.com

A very simple solution? Stocking you kitchen with some healthy staples that will make your life so much easier when you're hangry and suffering from a blood sugar low. Here are some things to pick up:

According to the experts, a snack that's good for blood sugar goals meets most of these guidelines:

• Calories per serving: 200 or less
• Protein: 15 grams
* Fat: 10 grams
* Fiber: 4 grams
• Carbs: 25 grams or less
• Added sugar: 10 grams or less

Here are some quick and easy combinations of the foods above that do a pretty good job of meeting those guidelines. Sure, they're not the fanciest, but they're ridiculously easy to prepare, pack, and snack on when you're trying to be healthy.

Thumb / Via gettyimages.com

Cottage cheese with blueberries

Serving size: 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese, 1/4 cup blueberries

Calories: 111
Protein: 10 grams
Fat: 3 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Carbs: 10 grams
Sugar: 9 grams

Mkucova / Via gettyimages.com

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What a time to be alive.

Hi, I'm Caroline and like any millennial New Yorker, I order food on Seamless way more often than I should.

Don't get me wrong, I can cook a mean bolognese — but on nights when I'm too tired to cook or working late, I opt for Seamless. (See evidence of me scarfing down veggie pad thai on one of those nights, above.)

For those unfamiliar with this phenomenon, Seamless, which is owned by GrubHub, is an online delivery service that lets you order food from a ton of nearby restaurants, either on its website or app.

Caroline Kee / Via BuzzFeed News

And in some cities, like New York, Seamless even delivers from local bodegas, where you can order grocery items like cereal or toilet paper when you're too lazy to leave your apartment.

As the GIF above explains, a bodega is a cross between a deli and a supermarket in one tiny shop — and there's usually a cat in there too (don't hate on the cats). They're everywhere in the city, and they're usually open 24/7. Most New Yorkers remain loyal to one bodega and claim the sandwiches are Michelin star–worthy, but basically any bodega can suit your needs (whether those needs are paper towels, tortilla chips, beer, etc.).

So the fact that our treasured bodegas deliver on Seamless is so convenient it's scary, especially if you're on the app while intoxicated (think: seven packs of Haribo gummy bears and beef jerky at 4 a.m.).

Nathan Pyle / Facebook: NYCBASICTIPSANDETIQUETTE / Via buzzfeed.com

SO, this past Valentine's Day, as I sat at home watching Netflix, I went on Seamless to order some groceries from a nearby bodega (which was really an excuse to deliver myself roses and chocolates).

Treat yo self.

Miramax / Universal Pictures / Via eonline.com

And as I scrolled through the list of grocery items, something caught my eye in the "New Products" section...

One of these things is not like the others...

Caroline Kee / Via BuzzFeed News

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Without them, we wouldn’t have open heart surgery, blood banks, syphilis testing, automatic defibrillators, laser cataract removal, and the list keeps going…

Dr. Ben Carson: the only neurosurgeon to successfully separate twins conjoined at the head, and the first to perform intrauterine neurosurgery on a fetus in the womb.

Long before he got involved with politics and became President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of housing and urban development, Carson was a leading pediatric neurosurgeon with hundreds of honorary degrees and awards.

Carson performed the first intrauterine surgical procedure on the brain of a fetal twin in 1986, pioneering techniques used to operate on fetuses in the womb. In 1987, he led the team of surgeons who completed the first successful separation of twins conjoined at the cranium. Carson was also the youngest person to be chief of pediatric surgery in the US, at the tender age of 33.

In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Carson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the US.

Mike Theiler / AFP / Via gettyimages.com

Dr. Mae Jemison: the physician and engineer who also became the first black female astronaut in NASA history.

Jemison got a full ride to Stanford when she was just 16, and after getting a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, went on to get her medical degree at Cornell University. As a doctor, Jemison volunteered around the world and served as a medical officer in the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

After practicing medicine in California, Jemison applied to NASA's astronaut program, and in 1992 she became the first black woman to go to space, traveling on the shuttle Endeavor at only 36 years old.

NASA / Wikicommons / Via commons.wikimedia.org

Dr. Charles Drew: the surgeon who pioneered research on blood plasma for transfusions and helped organize the first large-scale blood bank in the US.

Drew is commonly known as the "father of the blood bank" for his role in organizing the first major blood bank in the US during the start of World War II. Drew was also a professor of surgery at Howard University in the 1940s. At Howard, he trained an entire generation of black surgeons, advocated for better access to medical education for black students, and fought against segregation among physicians.

Associated Photographic Services / Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. / Via en.wikipedia.org

Dr. Marilyn Huges Gaston: the first female and first black physician to direct a public health service bureau.

Gaston received her medical degree from University of Cincinnati, and afterwards went to Philadelphia General Hospital to research sickle cell disease (SCD), a potentially fatal inherited blood disorder. She published a groundbreaking study on SCD in 1986 that proved that babies need to be screened for the disease at birth and given preventive antibiotics to avoid sepsis. The study led to a nationwide, federally funded screening program for newborns.

In 1990, Gaston became director of the Bureau of Primary Health Care in the US Health Resources and Services Administration, where she dedicated her work to improving medical care for poor and minority populations.

Maryland Archives / Press Office / Via msa.maryland.gov

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From “the communists are coming” to “strawberry days” and everything in between.

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about their periods, and we heard from more than 6,000 people all over the world.

They told us about what products they typically use, what cultural myths they've heard about menstruation, and even what it's like to talk openly about periods in their country.

They also sent in hundreds of slang words for periods. While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it should give you a pretty good idea of how menstruation is discussed around the world. (Note: We've translated many of these into English.)

Binik / Via gettyimages.com

Variations: lady days, lady week

Submitted by: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, US

Variations: T.O.M, Tom is in town, Tom is visiting

Submitted by: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, US

Variations: strawberry days, strawberry season

Submitted by: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Switzerland

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今までで一番難しいかも？

さあ、やってみましょう！

R. Jones / Getty Images

このクイズは、イェール大学の産婦人科のメアリー・ジェーン・ミンキン博士の協力のもと、作られ、英語から翻訳・編集されました

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Makeup addicts and lovers, brace yourself.

Makeup is a glorious thing, but we all know that it can get a little gross over time.

Every time you touch your makeup, you transfer all the dirt and tiny little organisms on your skin into the product. The same goes for any brush or sponge applicator — all those germs will inevitably get into your makeup, too.

And it's safe to assume that the average person is not diligently washing and sanitizing their hands and brushes before and between using products. So over time, makeup products will become full of all kinds of things.

Yurdakul / Via gettyimages.com

Most of the germs that end up in our makeup are harmless and ones that are found naturally on our skin.

"The makeup will contain your natural flora from your face, which is kind of like a germ fingerprint," Susan Whittier, PhD, associate professor of clinical pathology and cell biology at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, tells BuzzFeed Health.

Germs include bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and fungi, and they exist everywhere. Actually, everyone has a specific bacterial ~flora~ (germ profile) on their skin and inside their bodies, so germs are totally natural. "These include things like Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus viridans, and Micrococcus," Whittier says.

But you should avoid pathogens — which are different from normal germs. A pathogen is any bacteria, virus, or other organism that causes disease or infections. Think: staph aureus, E. coli, strep, salmonella, etc.

instagram.com

But using the same products forever without cleaning them can allow bacteria, viruses, and fungi to grow that put you at risk for a whole host of health problems.

For instance, if you apply makeup with dirty hands, use your products when you're sick, share makeup with someone else, never clean it, etc. And it's not just that you’re transmitting germs to your makeup — you’re then getting that bacteria-ridden makeup in your mouth, eyes, and any broken skin.

"If you have an open cut or pimple, the dirty makeup could get in there and cause an infection like staph — or if it's your eye, it can cause irritation or conjunctivitis [pink eye]," Whittier says. And viruses like the flu or a cold — or even the herpes simplex virus — can also survive on lipsticks for days to weeks thanks to the waxes and proteins in them.

So no, contaminated makeup won't kill you, but it could cause a nasty skin or eye problem that requires a doctor's visit. Not to mention, there might be poop in your old makeup, too. "After three months, makeup will probably also have some fecal matter since it's usually stored and used in the bathroom next to the toilet," Whittier says. Fantastic.

Sitthiphong / Via gettyimages.com

"For most products, you can spray them with alcohol or use an alcohol wipe on the outermost layer — when it dries, it'll be clean," Whittier said.

That sounds easy enough, actually.

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「この決断をしたことで、私たちは、彼女を腕に抱き、お別れすることができました」

こちらの女性は写真家のリンゼイ・パラディソ。昨年、妊娠後期に中絶を受けた。望んだ妊娠だった。

彼女は夫のマット（左）と米ヴァージニア州に暮らす。夫婦は生まれるはずだった赤ちゃんをオマラと名付けた。

Lindsey Paradiso / Via facebook.com

2016年10月、リンゼイは妊娠23週目での「後期中絶」をした自身の経験について投稿した。この投稿は10万回以上シェアされ、話題になった。

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Facebook: lindsey.shaffer

これは、望まれていた妊娠を終わらせる中絶でした。

後期中絶でした。
中絶はしたくありませんでした。
「逃げ道」ではありません。
避妊でもありません。
胸が張り裂けそうでした
国は、私の決断には何の関係もありません。
#debatenight.
----
更新：私たちが中絶を選択したことについて、いくつかの誤った推測がなされたため、私は、この投稿に自分のブログ投稿を載せることにしました。こちらで、私たちの物語を、より詳しく知ることができます。http://lindseyparadiso.com/hope-for-omara/
-----
もう一つの更新：
マットと私がオマラに生きるチャンスを与えるべきだったと考えていて、ブログ記事を読む気がしないと思っている方々へ。

オマラは脳、肺や心臓に手術不能の腫瘍を持っていて、悪化の一途をたどっていました。生まれたとしても、生きられないくらいのレベルです。

合法中絶を待って、オマラが私の子宮の中で亡くなったとしたら、私は彼女の体を抱えたまま生きていかなければいけなかったでしょう（同時に、オマラは私の体内で少しずつ壊れていったでしょう）。

彼女の腫瘍の大きさを考えると、子宮内掻爬術やEXITの処置を受ける前に、そうなっていたでしょう。

私たちは妊娠を早く終わらせる選択をしました。そして、彼女自身と家族が経験していた苦しみを終わらせ、通常の分娩で彼女を産みました。

この決断をしたことで、私たちは、彼女を腕に抱き、お別れすることができました。

支援やシェアをしてくれたありがとうございます。私たちは誤解をなくしたいと考えています。

この投稿は、昨年に3回目の大統領候補者討論会でのトランプ氏の発言を聞いたことがきっかけだった。

「トランプ氏が後期中絶は9カ月で子どもを引っ張り出すことだと言いました。その時、私は完全にパニックになり、激しく泣き始めました。そんなことを実際に考える人がいることが、信じられなかったのです。なので、私は自分の体験を共有し、誤解を解かなければならないと思いました」と、リンゼイはBuzzFeed Healthに語った。

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Quick, point to your liver!

勇気を出すから受け止めてほしい

ADHDはれっきとした神経行動の障害

ADHDは主要な機関によって認められた「神経障害」だと、Adult ADHD Clinic of Central Massachusetts理事長のケビン・マーフィー博士話します。

多くのADHDの人が自分の行動や考え方を周囲の人に理解してもらえず、「私はダメな人間なんだ」と思い込んでいます。でも、ちゃんと治療できる障害なのです。

TedED / Via teded.tumblr.com

みんなと「脳」が違う

ADHDの人の前頭葉は通常とは異なる接続をしています。血流、グルコース代謝、神経伝達物質のレベルが低下しているため、脳が不活性化しています。

マーフィー博士はこれを「ガソリンで走る車が煙で動いているようなもの」と例えます。

Instagram: @adhdlearninginstitute / Via instagram.com

自分でコントロールできないことがたくさんある

ADHDを簡単に説明すると「自己を規制しコントロールすることに関する障害」だと、サウスカロライナ医科大学の臨床精神医学ラッセル・バークリー博士は言います。

脳には自分を制限するための6つの機能があります。

・自己認識
・抑制
・ワーキング・メモリ
・自己動機づけ
・感情のコントロール
・効果的な計画や問題解決

Paramount Pictures / Via randar.com

ADHDだってそれぞれ違う

ADHDは「不注意優位型」「多動性・衝動性優位型」「混合型」の3つのタイプに大きく分けられます。

症状は変化することがあるので、個人のADHDのタイプは時間とともに変化することもあります。

Flickr User Practical Cures CC BY / Via Flickr: practicalcures

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“You have the right to deal with your disorder however you want.”

Nobody understands ADD or ADHD better than people who live with the disorder.

So here are some great reminders and words of wisdom from members of the BuzzFeed Community living with ADD or ADHD.

Quick note: ADD/ADHD is a neurological disorder characterized by difficulty sustaining attention, lack of self-control, and impaired working memory. It’s now more often classified in medical literature as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but lots of people (including some doctors) still refer to it as ADD. For the purpose of clarity and conciseness, we will refer to the disorder as ADHD in this article.

Jenny Chang / Via buzzfeed.com

You should never be ashamed of your diagnosis.

"ADHD affects almost all aspects of life, and it is exhausting sometimes. It creates self-esteem issues and it is difficult to overcome. BUT I am not ashamed to have ADHD. I am proud of my creative, crazy, disorganized, loving, emotional brain, and I am willing to fight to be the best I can be despite struggling with this disorder. ADHD is a part of me, but it is not the entirety of who I am."

—Libbia

Twitter: @simone_biles

It doesn't mean there is something "wrong" with you.

"I wish people would understand that it’s not an excuse, it’s not made up, and there’s nothing wrong with having it!"

—domoniquev3

youtube.com / Via giphy.com

Your brain is literally wired differently.

"People don’t understand that ADD is the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. My brain doesn’t function the same way that most other people’s minds function."

—mags3553

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