Hello Brains!
Thank you all so much for all of your patience and support while I
took an extra week off to heal from my unfortunate backdrop steaming incident.
Oh wait. The backdrop.
Whoa!
[Intro Music]
So I get hurt a lot and apparently I'm not alone. In fact, while statistics vary from
study to study, research consistently shows that those of us with ADHD brains
get hurt more often than those with neurotypical brains.
Why is that? For one thing we tend to underestimate how dangerous things are.
Sometimes that's because we have trouble applying similar past experiences
to current situations. "Well I've never burned myself with this before."
Sometimes it's because we've done something dangerous a bunch of times
and nothing bad happened.
Yet.
So we feel like it's safe. Also, many of us with ADHD are more naturally clumsy.
An estimated fifty percent of us have poor motor coordination. Also known as Dyspraxia.
Also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder. Also a much more polite term
than what they called it in 1975, which was "Clumsy Child Syndrome."
Add that to hyperactivity, inattention, impulsivity, the three main characteristics
of ADHD, and it's pretty easy to understand why we're more likely to get hurt.
But, while there seems to be a lot of research on how accident prone those of
us with ADHD are and why, there's not a lot on how to prevent it. So thanks science?
So for that I turn to safety videos, which actually have quite a bit of information
on how to prevent accidents. Probably because employers don't enjoy getting sued.
Thanks legal system!
Here's what I learned. There are two things that actually cause accidents:
Unsafe Conditions and Unsafe Actions. Unsafe Conditions are things like:
Wet floors. Rickety ladders. Debris in the middle of the road. Stuff left on the stairs.
And my apartment after moving. They're conditions that make accidents
more likely to happen. Unsafe actions are things like: Rushing. Using a screwdriver
as a hammer. Not looking before crossing the street. Using a swivel chair as a step stool.
And trying to cook while Facebooking, and ironing, and holding a baby.
Unsafe actions are the things we do right before we need a band-aid.
So that's what causes accidents. What prevents accidents? Avoiding unsafe
actions and correcting unsafe conditions. Parental supervision is important for
kids for this reason. They can teach their kids when something's dangerous and
make sure nothing's around that can hurt them. But, for those of us who made it to
adulthood and are still getting injured, we've got to do this for ourselves.
So how do we avoid unsafe actions?
First, it helps to recognize when we're about to do something dangerous.
Again, we have trouble learning from past mistakes so rather than creating a long
list of things we learn can hurt us, which might mean a lot of trips to the
emergency room, it helps to think about the kind of action we took. So, yes,
when I burned my face I was technically steaming my backdrop from underneath
while holding it over my face. But what I was really doing was using a tool
improperly. That distinction is important because it's the difference between me
being careful the next time I steam my YouTube backdrop and the next time I use any
tool. But it's hard to be careful when you're in a hurry so it also helps to
give yourself enough time. Steaming a backdrop right before the shoot probably
not the best idea. Try to be aware of when you're about to do something that could
be dangerous if everything doesn't go exactly as planned. And remember that
just because we didn't hurt ourselves doing something dangerous last time
doesn't mean it's safe. Of course in a perfect world we'd always have the proper
tool for the job. Know exactly where to find it. Be able to use it correctly.
Never be in a hurry and always pay attention to everything we're doing.
But that's not realistic for most of us with ADHD. Or anyone really. Sometimes we will
be distracted or rushed. So it's especially important for us to correct all the safe
conditions. I have experience with this! My work once maybe me a safety
ambassador, which meant I had to go around my workplace and spot any
potential hazards and report it back to them. I thought it was a huge honor
and so important because I was getting hurt all the time. But looking back
I'm pretty sure it was their way of saying "Tell us everything you can hurt yourself
with so we can move it." For some reason it never occurred to me to do this at home.
But now that my boyfriend and I are living together he says I have to stay
alive at least until the lease is up.
So it's a good time to start. That means picking stuff up off the floors where we walk.
Cleaning up spills right away and keeping phone chargers out of bath tubs.
If this sounds suspiciously like housekeeping, which is boring,
it's not! It's a game. Set a timer for five minutes and try to spot and correct
as many unsafe situations as you can.
Not boring.
Think of how much glitter you can buy for new glitter bottles if you don't
end up in the ER every month.
Hah?
Does doing these things mean I'm never gonna get hurt again? Probably not.
But my boyfriend's pretty happy to know that I'm at least minimizing the risk.
And I am, too.
That's it for this week. I posted some fun safety videos in the description below.
Yes, they can be fun and funny. Let me know what accident prevention tips work
for you. You can comment below. Hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, subscribe and
I will see you next week.
Woo! Feels good to say that. It's good to be back.
Bye Brains!
Here's a sample of ways I've injured myself:
While looking back to make sure I wasn't parked in a fire zone, tripping over a
fire-hydrant. Trying to catch a football, succeeding in breaking my finger.
Cutting into an apple, while holding the apple.
Climbing a cliff, in sandals.
Tripping over piles of laundry. Tri-tri-tripping over piles of laundry.
Drinking hot tea, while lying down.
Bumping into walls and/or furniture. Shaving my legs in the shower.
While using a curling iron, burned my face/hands/friends.
I also have a lot of medical bills for ER visits I don't even remember.
Again, not surprising for someone with ADHD.