Is Your Poor Sense of Direction a Symptom of ADHD?
I have wasted so much time trying to orient myself while traveling thanks to my attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and my lack of sense of direction. My iPhone battery is a precious resource when I have to constantly check its GPS. I try to inform others that I have a terrible sense of direction, but many still seem surprised at my incompetence (ADHD: Better Late Than Never?). The connection between ADHD and a sense of direction is more complex than I realized.
Sense of Direction and ADHD May Be Connected
Is my experience unique in the ADHD community? According to a number of forums and article comments, no. Quite a few people with the condition note that they easily become lost, and one commenter claims that her ADHD medication improves her sense of direction. However, others say that their sense of direction is average or excellent, showing once again that ADHD is a highly diverse spectrum.
From what I can tell, an underdeveloped sense of direction has to do less with the diagnosis of ADHD and more with the conditions that frequently occur with ADHD. Navigational skills depend on the memory of where you’ve been and where you are in relation to other objects. People with ADHD can have incredible memories for things that capture their interest, but they can forget what they just did.
Conditions Comorbid with ADHD Impact Your Sense of Direction
Some call the inability to competently navigate “directional dyslexia.” A high percentage of people with ADHD have learning disabilities including dyslexia, a disability in which many confuse left and right. Still, dyslexia has to do with reading rather than navigation. But, dyspraxia, a developmental coordination disorder, also often overlaps with ADHD and can include having a poor sense of direction.
The hippocampus is a part of the brain that stores memories, including spatial memory and recognition, and it can create internal maps. One of my theories is that a part of one’s brain needs to be aware of the environment in order to record it, a focus that many with ADHD might lack. People with ADHD also struggle with working memory, the ability to not only absorb and retain information but to draw on it when necessary.
You Can Improve Your Sense of Direction, ADHD or Not
The good news is, even though some (including quite a few ADHDers) are born with an incredible sense of direction, navigation skills can be greatly improved with practice. A study shows that the hippocampi of London cabbies, people who frequently navigate maps, are larger than the average person’s (see “Why Do You Always Get Lost?” in sources). Using compasses to navigate and studying maps before stepping outside are first steps in improving one’s sense of direction.
Please let me know in the comments if you or someone you know has an astounding—or astoundingly terrible—sense of direction and if it occurs with ADHD or another condition. It seems as though there have not been many studies done on this subject, and I would like to know more about others’ experiences.
Sources
- Bates, Michael. “Directional Dyslexia.” Dyslexia Reading Well. http://www.dyslexia-reading-well.com/directional-dyslexia.html
- Kuchinskas, Susan. “Why Do You Always Get Lost?” WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/brain/features/why-do-you-always-get-lost
- Lapkin, Emily. “Skills That Can Be Affected by Dyslexia.” Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/skills-that-can-be-affected-by-dyslexia
- Taylor, Janet. “Dyspraxia in Adults.” The Dyspraxia Foundation. https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/dyspraxia-adults/
APA Reference
Matteson, N.
(2017, October 3). Is Your Poor Sense of Direction a Symptom of ADHD?, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, December 30 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/livingwithadultadhd/2017/10/is-your-poor-sense-of-direction-a-symptom-of-adhd
Author: Noelle Matteson
I just have to laugh. I consider myself to be directionally challenged. I know that if I'm facing north, west is on my left. See what I did there? They kind of rhyme. But I have to know where north is, first. Recently my husband and I were in a strange city. I had to do the driving while he did some navigating. He'd just had a medical procedure and was under the influence of the anesthesia, still. The sun was blinding me so I couldn't see the signs to know where or when to turn and my husband told me, "Right here! Turn east!" I yelled back, "I don't know where east is!" LOL Pretty funny now, but not at the time! I can't read a map, either, to save my life. They also require knowing that whole north/south/east/west thing. Please. Give me directions such as, "Turn left on old county road. At the second stop sign, turn right then go about a 1/4 of a mile until just past a big red barn on the right and make a left at that intersection." So much easier! And I have to actually drive somewhere new to be able to find it again later. My spatial skills suck, too. I admire people who can read a map or diagrams on putting something together. I haven't been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, but I do have bipolar 2 (heavy on the depression side) and generalized anxiety disorder along with a large dose of social anxiety.
I remember it as "Never Eat Shredded Wheat"--North, East, South, West, going clockwise. However, I have to think of that almost every time I try to orient myself. I'm more comfortable when I know which way is north, but then I get turned around so easily. I might know which way a road is going, but as soon as I step into a building or turn a corner, I forget where the road is in relation to where I am.
I suppose people with Bipolar Disorder have a high risk for ADHD, but I have no idea if that's the connection to having a hard time navigating. XD So interesting that your husband has dyslexia but obviously not "directional dyslexia." Do you like to look at maps for aesthetic purposes? Because they can be beautiful, hehe.
I forgot to mention this. My husband has dyslexia, but has no problems with N/S/E/W and can read a map like nobody's business. He thinks it's pretty funny that I like to look at maps, but can't use one to get around.
Also, thank you for commenting! Makes me feel glad I'm not alone. XD
Thanks this is helpful. My husband has adhd and his lack of direction astounds me. He will think we should go north to a city 3 hours south of us, etc.
Glad it was helpful, and thanks for checking it out. Oops... sorry about your husband. I kind of understand how he feels. XD
My daughter has Add with mild dyslexia and she had problems with sense of direction and thought that London and Birmingham were near each other. She now does a job that takes her all over the country and thanks to technology she manages the job very well. My husband doesn't have a diagnosis of Add but I am sure that he has it. He recently got lost taking the dog for a walk when he was meant to be taking my daughter to hospital!! He takes wrong turns or misses important signs while driving as he isn't always concentrating on where he is going. He also has a poor visual memory and often doesn't remember where he has put things. He finds it difficult to recognise people out of context which can be embarrassing. Thankfully I have a good memory for these things and can get him out of various predicaments. There is never a dull moment in our house!
I have ADHD and I have a really good sense of direction. I don’t know where my sense of direction came from...whether I inherited it from one of my parents, or whether it is some sort of adaptation or compensation for my ADHD. I also have a really good sense of balance. I suppose my good sense of balance may be related to my directional sense and my ADHD.
That's really cool! One of my relatives with ADHD had a great sense of direction since he was young. I wonder if it's how we process things--visually, kinetically, etc. I guess a lot of people with ADHD must have good balance since it in no way prohibits them from being athletes. Thank you for sharing!
I got lost last week trying to go to a friends house I’ve literally been to over 200 times. They live 5 miles from me in my town. My phone broke and I didn’t have gps to get me there?
Oh my gosh! I can really relate. People sometimes ask if I've never been to a certain place before because I'm so unsure of how to get there... even when I go there very regularly. Thank you for commenting. It's good to know I'm not alone. XD
Yep... this is me all over. Recently found I have ADD, and my sense of direction is so bad that I lose my bearings in my own house. I can drive the same route 100 times and it just doesn’t stick. If I have a work meeting at a client’s building I dread having to go to the loo because I’ll 100% get lost trying to find my way back to the meeting room, even if it’s just a couple of corners and shot corridors away. If I walk into a shop off the street and spend only a couple of minutes inside I’ll walk back to have no idea which side of the street I was on and in which direction I was walking. It’s like a strange fog that won’t clear, but it’s specific to directions which I find really interesting as I have a creepy memory for other things - I can remember word for word conversations that happened 20 years ago and I recently tested as a ‘super recogniser’ for facial recognition with a score of 100%... literally never forget a face, can see a stranger once in the street and pick them out again months later. But if I walk up to the landing in my own house and all the doors are closed I sometimes literally can’t remember which one is the bathroom. Brains are fascinating...
I have the same sense of direction but i also do not recognize faces eg- if I meet the lady whos served me in the shop for the last 20 years any where out of that shop though she will be sort of familiar to me i will not know who she is, to avoid being rude and appearing snobby I pretend i know who people are Doh!
Hm, so it sounds as though you might have both Developmental Topographical Disorientation and face blindness? I wonder if there is another cause, apart from ADHD. You sound very considerate--to be thinking of what others might feel when you don't recognize them, when you are the one who has to deal with the problem! Remember, it is not your fault. I wonder if there is a specialist you can see? Perhaps a doctor or neurologist can give recommendations? I know this isn't always available. Thank you for commenting, and I hope you have a good week. <3
hi, it seems like we almost shared the same conditions, i could remember faces of so many people, but when it comes to lands, directions, i never learned it unless i get lost and had bad memories on that place, i used to talk and ask strangers for directions, once that person lead me to bunch of directions, i started to feel dizzy and forgets words of direction he or she said. i couldn't even memorize the direction of the malls i have gone hundred times, sometimes i have terrible remembering names once i pronounce it wrong or named them wrong, it stuck to my mind, even calendars sometimes i get lost the sequence of days just passed, i have some difficulty to separate the reality from my dreams. and if i used to the route example from my dorm to my college, and someone ask me how to get to my college, I can't give the perfect direction,I cant picture out the places on my mind that use to go to. i i could remember the image of the buildings how they look like but to draw the direction is impossible for me. i cried several times when i get lost , that somehow makes me remember the place once i get out of it. and if you'll suggest a google map? no way i can understand it, i tried many times i still get lost.
Hi queenie, thanks for commenting. I'm sorry to hear about your struggles. Sounds frustrating! The struggles with dreams and reality sounds a bit like dissociation, and it also seems like there might be an emotional element to it (since after you cry, your head feels clearer). Can you talk to a therapist or doctor about this?
I completely relate! When I used to go in the grocery store and my family waited outside in car, they took bets about which door I’d walk out of. It’s so frustrating.
Oh no! Sounds like your family wasn't too helpful in that situation heh. And then figuring out where I parked has always been many rounds of, "Dude, where's my car?" Thanks for stopping by, though!
Oh my gosh! I definitely do not remember where I was going once I step out of a shop. I end up spending an embarrassing amount of time on my phone trying to figure out where on earth I should go.
I would research the term "Developmental Topographical Disorientation" (a term that I just discovered). Interestingly, I am also very good at recognizing faces, though I am probably not as good as you and I do not tend to get lost as much in my own house. I wonder if somehow they go together?? Thank you for commenting!
I have ADHD, a visual perception disorder and a hearing persecution disorder. I also mix up numbers so easily I have to stare at them for several seconds and double check them to make sure I am not reversing them in my networking class. I also have messed up my bank account badly because I reversed numbers and bounced myself. For instance 123 can easily be 321 or 231 if I don't double check several times. I have a horrible math disability that nobody knows the name for so my teachers never bothered to teach me past 3rd grade math because they said I couldn't retain the information.
I also get lost so easily that I have to have GPS with me at all times even if I've been to the place 100 times over I will sill most likely get lost. My husband and even my kids think it's funny when I get lost but honestly it's quite embarrassing. I've had to have my husband come and get me because I spent hours driving around town trying desperately to get home but I was so lost. It's like nothing looks familiar ever. If it's dark that makes it 1000 times worse since I can't see well at night. I can not take the kids trick or treating because everything looks the same and I have trouble remembering which side of the street we were on and I can't remember which houses we were at. I also can not travel far distances alone ever or I would definitely get lost. Visiting my mom that lives two hours away requires my husband to drive me because I can't remember how to get there even though we have been going there for nearly 17 years. However if I see a face once I can remember it randomly off the streets if I see them again years later. I often stare at people trying to remember how I know them because I remember their face but not where I met them. I remember random conversations that happened years prior with my husband but I can't remember where I put my phone 3 seconds ago. In my martial arts class I have to see my instructor do the move while I copy him move for move and verbally hear him explain it. And I can't talk or listen to someone speaking and write at the same time at all so taking notes in class is next to impossible for me. I can also remember some of my dreams I've had when I was a little kid 30 plus years ago detail for detail. I wonder if its all related somehow or if it's just my uniques?
Wow, I relate to all of this so much!! This is so validating to read. I do wonder if these things are all connected.
my school timetable had the initials of who to follow for each class, I never did learn where the history, english , math, science etc blocks were, i got lost often on the short walk home from school, being lost was scary. I can go off rout in my own village though not entirely lost i end up in the wrong place, I was diagnosed ADHD last year at age 55 I cannot travel alone :(
I have no sense of direction. I might know how to get somewhere, but coming back home just doesn’t make sense, even in houses or buildings. I’ve been lost twice on a mountain. I’ve tried everything to retrace my steps and be aware on my way there, but I haven’t had much luck improving my skill. I have trouble concentrating and at times and when I was young was hyper sensitive to noise. The lack of acknowledgement of the directional dyslexia is so frustrating because often people get irritated at me and think I’m just not paying attention. The truth is, I’m counting streets and trying to recognize visual markers to help me. It’s almost like when they spin you before you hit a piñata without the dizziness.
I have been married to the same man for 47years and it has not all been easy. I thought his inability to find his way in a car was because he was not paying attention. If I fell asleep while he was driving he’d go right past the exit or turn the wrong way and we’d get lost. I always had to pay attention and tell him which way to turn. I did not recognize there is a name for his disorder til later in our married life. He also has ADD which was never diagnosed when he was young. I have wanted him to go to a doctor and get medication for it but he always refused. I have lived with him for so long now I just accept that he has these disabilities.
No sense of direction, following directions, remembering directions, knowing I will get lost and the embarrassment of getting lost are as much a part of me as my ADD, chronic depression and anxiety disorder. I have sent my parents, siblings, friends, my husband and my adult children into fits of frustration over my inability to "find and remember". "Pay attention to your surroundings!" I've heard that so many times, I know it's going to come from someone's mouth 5 seconds before they utter the admonition. On more occasions than I can count, I've wanted to scream, "I'm not stupid! I hate this more than you could ever know!" I swallow those words and instead, apologize for my shortcoming and promise to remember the next time. Each time this happens, I tell myself that maybe I am stupid, maybe I don't pay attention, maybe I'm simply not trying hard enough and I hate myself a little bit more. Recently, my husband had to spend a couple of days in the hospital for minor surgery. We had parked in the parking garage at the hospital and made our way to his room on the sixth floor. We'd been there a short while when he realized he had forgotten to bring the book he was reading; he asked if I would mind bringing it back with me when I returned that evening. At that moment, fear and panic went through me like a hot knife, I couldn't remember which elevator we'd used to get up to his floor, the way to lobby or the parking garage if I was lucky enough to get to the lower floor. I smiled and told him I'd be happy to bring his book back with me. I prepared to leave, I looked at him and casually asked if the elevator we came up in was to the left of the nurses station, "yup", he said, and off I went. As I'd feared, when I stepped out of his room, nothing looked familiar to me whatsoever, I was lost before I was really lost. I was asking people for directions at every turn, with panic and anxiety waiting to boil over. When I finally made it to our car, I exploded into tears of anxiety, relief, shame; I hated myself. Upon my return, I went through the same agonizing journey getting back to his room. I shared my experiences with him and asked if he would give me directions for my way back down, not north, east, south or west...I wanted to write them down in list form, using words like "turn left, go right" and I wanted some "landmarks" along the way. For the first time ever, I could see he sensed my fear. I took a notebook and pen from my purse, wrote the number 1. on the paper and finished with number 7. Forgive my prattling, it's part and parcel of my ADD.
I deeply relate to this. My sense of direction and creating a “mental map” for the future is worthless. My brain just doesn’t retain it. I draw maps or write R and L down in order and then do the opposite on the way back. Not foolproof, but it helps. I also have R and L written in small print on the inside of my shoes just in case ? To be serious though, my anxiety and shame when I get lost is the worst feeling. And to be told over and over again that I’m not listening or not paying attention... Lord Almighty, it’s hard not to snap at people.
This is so me! Makes me feel so much better to know that I’m not alone. My friends and family have always given me a hard time about my directional sense. I always knew it had something to do with ADD. I’ve noticed that a lack of sleep, not enough food or regular exercise can exasperate my symptoms.
That is me also. And I know I'm not stupid and I am quite successful at the age of 64.
I've struggled with navigation my whole life and was recently diagnosed with ADHD. Whether it comes to driving or navigating a new building I'm always disoriented. I just wanted to share a tip with those of you who struggle with the same thing. I take pictures of my surroundings especially when I go somewhere new. I take pictures of my care when I park from two angles. I take a picture of the sign on the street corner so I can find it in my GPS. I take a picure of the entrance to the place I'm going to. Seems silly but it's helps me so much and sooths my anxiety to know I can rely on my pictures as a fail safe.
I have a very poor sense of direction and get lost easily. Also, coming back from where I came from. I also forget where I park my car and get lost in unfamiliar buildings. Retracing my steps is very difficult. When there is a lot going on in my visual environment I can not remember things just a few which makes finding places even harder. I was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type as an adult. I am hoping my ADHD is connected to my trouble finding places. I always feel so stupid! Sometimes I just miss entire party or gatherings to avoid the embarrassment of showing up an hour late because I was lost again.
I am relieved to have stumbled upon this article and see that I am not alone. I was diagnosed in my early 40's, finally after always feeling something was just not right.
I can have troubles with something as simple as the direction to get back to my friends at a restaurant, when coming out of the restroom. I have to mentally take note as I'm walking towards it, in order to not look so dumb coming back. And then, on other occassions, I have no problem at all. It's as if something is clicked on that day, and I always find myself wishing I knew what it was so that I could always flip on that switch!
Going to a friend's house with a lot of turns through neighborhoods, has to be done a few times in order for it to finally stick, and then if I don't do it for a long time, I can sometimes still forget all over.
I'm reading through the comments here, and getting some good ideas on how to manage!
Great article! This is an area I have struggled with my entire life. I used to joke I would get lost on an one way road. I have realized that if there is only two ways to go that 99% of the time I will pick the wrong way. Still with practice I have become much better, and GPS is a godsend. I have overcome many learning disabilities, but this is one that is still a challenge. When I referee soccer I have to really focus so I don't point the flag in the opposite direction of what I want.
I can’t believe others struggle with this. My husband of 25 years has ADD but I never realized his poor sense of direction was related. I asked him yesterday to go to my neighbor’s house right across the street and he went to the wrong house. He points to one direction when something is entirely in the other direction. He has trouble getting out of a gas station if it has more than two entrances. I get so frustrated with him but this helps me understand a little more. Thank you.
My son is 19 years old and has ADHD. I noticed when teaching him to drive that he often still confused left and right and still does to this day. He also had a lot of difficulty learning to park. Recently I also noticed that he has difficulty remembering the routes to various places, even though he has been there many times and can get confused even travelling home from a place he has been to quite often. Of course he is fine to go to work and back, something he does every day and does well most days but definitely learns routes slower than I expected. I attributed it to the fact that he seemed to rely on his GPS but since beginning to teach his brother how to drive, I have begun to realize that his ADHD plays a factor. Thank you for this article. I think it would be a very interesting thing for someone to do a study on.
My 16 year old is the same, which brought me to your post. I got curious and was wondering if it’s common for inattentive adhd kids to have difficulty learning directions
Hi Julie,
Inattentitveness will have a deletrious effect on whatever subject the inattentive person is trying to learn. I can't see why directions would be any different.
Michael.
These comments resonated so much for me. I am 51 and I think I have ADHD (awaiting a diagnosis) and I have always struggled with my non existent sense of direction. Out on a date once i got lost when I came out of the toilet and had to go out to the car park and come back in again! I hate it when my Sat Nav says things like "head east" as I have no idea where that is. The thing that I find strange is that I am not stupid but I cannot seem to learn how to navigate, I have to put the map in the direction I am driving and even then I get lost. It is extremely frustrating and added to my disorganisation I am usually late anyway so getting lost just adds to the stress. It is kind of comforting to know I am not alone though
I get lost do easily. When we moved to a new neighborhood (before GPS), I wound call my husband out of town and tell him what landmark I could see and ask him to help me get home. I think I remember how to get somewhere and often mess it up and end up late. I hate that anxious feeling, looking at the clock and feeling the panic rise, along with my navigation confusion. I can talk myself out of what is the right direction because I doubt myself so much. It stinks!!! Gotham’s you to those who shared. Makes me feel more normal.
I'm so glad I found this post, I resonate so much with this. I believe I have ADHD (currently undergoing assessment) and have wondered if my non existent sense of direction was related. Like others here, I am extremely reliant on Google Maps, even if I've been to a place before. Sometimes while walking around my own neighbourhood where I've lived for 2 years, I can't remember how to get home and can't retrace my steps. I also often get lost inside buildings like restaurants or offices when trying to get back to my starting point. It makes me feel so stupid and embarrassed when other people witness this. I also get turned around very easily and can't orient myself even when looking at maps. I find it hard to understand some sat nav apps while driving for some reason. The visual layout of the directions can really confuse me.
I also saw another poster comment about their husband's inability to recognise people out of context. I have this issue as well!
Hey Hayley,
While I can't speak for Noelle (who originally wrote this piece), as HealthyPlace's new "Living with Adult ADHD" author, I can speak from my own experience with ADHD! I personally don't struggle with direction, but I know how devastating it can be to feel stupid and embarrassed when someone else notices you behaving atypically. For me, this has appeared in the past as repeating the same stories to the same people, forgetting that I'd already shared it with them.
I always got, "Yeah, you already told me" as a response, and the slight annoyance in their voice left me feeling guilty. It was even worse in relationships when I'd accidentally tell my partner the same story several times.
But hey, ADHD or not, everyone has quirks and imperfections. I repeat stories. Some people can't remember how to get to Walmart. Other people can't whistle. That's just a part of being human, and there's nothing wrong with it.
Have you found anyone doing educational work arounds for directional challenges?... Like people who teach people with dyslexia coping skills? I need professional help with my young driver.
Aside from ADHD my left/right confusion is severe. I can extend that to almost total ignorance of E,W N and S. Reading all of these comments is really enriching. Why do they always draw maps upside down! Oh, and another thing, it doesn't help to grow up in the Southern Hemisphere and then come to live in the Northern
Hi, I know it’s 5 years later, but I see your still checking the comm nets so I thought I would add to the conversation. I have the worst sense of direction possible. Sadly I’m a door dash driver, which I couldn’t do without gps. I’ve managed to get right and left down but NWES is a mystery to me. I get furious when Google tells me to head North! Quite recently I was tested for ADD and aced it. I scored off the charts. I am 52 and a woman, so I wasn’t diagnosed in school. I was wondering, do people with ADD often accidentally overdose on medicines? That happened to me and I have been afraid for awhile that it was going to happen. It was a perfect storm of high anxiety and no working memory whatsoever. I had a headache from all the emotional stress so I wanted to take some prescription medicine I had for it. I kept thinking I didn’t take it yet. I took it 3 times in a matter of 20 minutes. I ended up having to call 911. Is this common?
Thank you for your articles.
Hey Lisa,
A low tech help for med taking is those plastic pill minder containers. I swear by mine. When the pills for the day are gone, you've taken them. Really helps to ease the mind. Accidentally taking 2 doses of a stimulant med once was such a horrible experience, it made using a pill minder a priority. Hope this helps.?
Hey Lisa,
Yes, it happens to me as well. I can't seem to remember if I had taken my supplements because I take too many types so I space them out in days. People ask me if I take them regularly, I say, yes, i take them 3 times a week. :). I took an online test, and not only does it say I may have ADHD, it also says I may have 5 other conditions: OCD, Bipolar, Dyscalculia, Depression and Language Processing Disorder.
I get lost so easily. I get disoriented, even in Costco. I can’t find my way back to the registers. It makes me panick! I can follow a map, but if I miss a turn or end up on a one way street going the wrong way I don’t know how to correct it. I can’t even just drive around the block because it always feels like I’ve driven around it but it ends up I only went around 3 sides of it & off I go again in the wrong direction. I have no problem telling my left from my right, but I have No sense of direction & always get so disoriented. I wish I knew what is wrong with me.
I also have ADHD and have been lost since birth. Do we all wonder...with a 50/50 chance of turning left or right, why am I wrong 90% of the time? I get disoriented in hotel bathrooms, even in my household bathroom if I don't turn the light on. I panic and begin feeling my way along the wall looking for the light switch or door and end up stumbling into the bathtub. When I go to places unfamiliar, I count my steps and say aloud each turn I take so I can backtrack. Otherwise, I will end up in an operating room, restaurant kitchen, or set off an emergency exit alarm. For the person wondering if it's lack of attention, not for me, and probably not the others when alone. With ADHD you pay attention when something is important to you. When you find yourself in a dark, desolate area with your gas fragments empty or you make one wrong turn and end up in another city; directions quickly become important to you Unfortunately, trying to navigate without N-S-E-W understanding is like opening a can without a can opener. So you decide to just stick with places you're familiar with, work and home. A car stops and asks you for directions. You say I'm sorry, I don't know this area. Then you wait for the car to drive away before carrying the mail back into your house. Lastly, According to 23 and Me, they detected a variant associated with having a worse sense of direction.
You made me chuckle! Here is a true story about my prize Where anm I going and What am I doing?
I did a solo laser-dinghy sailing course this summer, me at 50 yrs the others 7 were kids about 14 yrs old. Lots of following a route around buoys you could barely see, rounding them to port (left) or starboard ( right) .. trying to follow a hoisted course map, where nothing was in scale and some red buoys became the green buoys, but in reality on the sea were actually a yellow marker buoy! Your course could be altered if on the flagship boat your race flag was hoisted, you had to remember what weird symbol was yours…maybe a blue triangle, or a red circle on white … then decipher the code below…as each buoy is numbered, if it is in one colour you go round it one way, another colour you go round it another way, …half way through the race, your course can change and you miss out a ‘led’ ( whole section…and seamlessly (,) continue. The wind changes direction very often, leaving your sail doing the wrong thing and capsizing you, when you get back up in the boat, you dont know which direction you were going, if the wind has shifted again, also if the tide is now going out instead of in,.. and therefore the direction of the current is dragging you to the left or to the right…or if you are in a back eddy which is actually dragging you the opposite way from the tide. Coupled with the Buoy problem is that some buoys have names and nobody uses the number ( or doesn’t know, or sometimes they do not have a number) these names can be called thing like Black Rock…but th buoy is green. When you are trying to get anywhere, you can t sail straight to it ‘sometimes’! If it were ‘never’ it would be easier! If the wind is in your face and the direction you need to go is in your face, you have to go off to one side , or perhaps the other..or your sail doesn’t propulse you anymore and you get stuck ‘in irons’…that is until the wind suddenly shifts and fills your sail and capsizes you! Then as you scramble back in and try to remember which way you were trying to go and how long you have been doing this lap and whether you have been round already twice in reality or twice in your head…then tears of frustration pour down salty cheeks..but there is nobody to ask directions and you can t stop sailing or you will capsize..and if you do, and just hang onto your boat hoping for rescue, then you will dift into the shipping lane or be swept off round The Needles.. via t The Shingles …which are evil moving gravel banks which lie just under the surface of the water, causing ships to run aground…or you will get caught in the eternal loop eddies around sme headlands and bays… or perhaps you will be swept the other way and end up between Cowes and Portsmouth being sailed over by a cross channel ferry or a huge sea container ship full of tons of imported goods…or exporting tons of refuse…but then again, those ships could actually not be going anywhere apart from round and round a gyratory system ( a water roundabout) while they wait for a change of tide…or maybe a space to dock.. anyway… to get back in the dinghy and try to sail back to the club house as the storm is coming in and it is getting darker,, and by now if you don't aim to sail somewhere you don NOT want to go, the tide and wind which sometimes work together, but the angle of the wind keeps shifting (if it goes round trees or buildings it gets bent … these are dragging you straight towards the pier and the ferry, who even if he sees you can t stop or maneuver quick enough to stop you getting chopped into tiny pieces. And so you aim in a totally different direction as the current and wind pulls you in various ways, then you also have the waves which push you towards shore, but the back wash sucks you away from shore, and also the seabed is getting shallower and lots of places have rocks tou must remember where the deeper channel is and try to criss cross to stay in it, each time tou change direction the sail comes over so quick and tries to knock you out the boat or knock you unconcious! Then it becomes too shall, so you must pull up your centre board and rudder…but without them you now have nothing to stop you being pushed or pulled like a leaf on the water as your power of using resistence to angle yourself beneath the water has now gone…so you need to jump out into the water , but the seabed is not even in height so someplaces are too deep and you have to try to swim and push your boat to shore, without it getting scratched and scraped as it suddenly gets too shallow..oh and also, you need to try not to let the boat turn away from the direction of the wind ( which is always changing!) or ithe sails will fill up and t will start sailing away! If it does, you have to try to scramble back in and do it all again! But by then everything will have changed and the tide is still going in or out, or the ferry is, or the wind has changed direction so the effect of surrounding objects like trees or buildings or someone else's sails will have a different outcome due to the change of wind direction..which of course you can’t SEE… and if you put a wind-vane up, it can be doing something different at the bottom of the mast, than at the top, and then you have to tighten or loosen not only the direction of your sail, but the sagginess capacity to be fuller of wind or not…to hang out the opposite side to counterbalance, to pull the centre board half up sometimes…if the wind is hitting you sideways..but also if you are going towards the wind in light winds..or its drag outweighs its stabalising capacities.. a
Anyway..writing this I realize why I won the prize for endeavor and also the special prize invented just for me ‘Where am I going and What am I doing? I am only lately realizing that I must have adhd ..with my utterly unbelievable lack of time or direction. I often look at other people and am amazed how much they hold quite naturally in their heads. Though I must say my powers on concentration, improvisation and tenacity far outweigh the majority. I have had to develop those traits or I would not have survived.
I am studying Leetcode for software development. I am struggling with keeping previous, present and future data straight enough to write the code. Is there any hack for this buggy software in my head?
I have been klutzy all of my life with a poor sense of direction. I could not pick up my BF at the airport bc I took the wrong ramp and then got lost trying to go home again and this is WITH a GPS ! I don't believe I have ADHD but dyspraxia. Now I'm afraid to go to p laces. My BF had to call LYFT and I feel a sense of failure.