Impulsivity + distractability = chicken

What Distracted and Impulsive Looks Like in Adult ADHD

It all started with a chicken.

I spent thirty minutes preparing dinner ingredients. Then I discovered the chicken had gone bad.

I asked my ADHD Husband, "Honey, run to the store for chicken breasts. Everything is ready. I need chicken."

"Sure," he said. He zipped up his fleece coat, slipped on flip flops, and headed out into the Seattle rain.

Thirty minutes later, e returned carrying a large overstuffed paper grocery bag. He pulled out ice cream. Oranges. Peanut butter. Hot dogs. Cottage cheese. I thought to myself, “He'd been all over the store!”

"Where's the chicken?" I asked.

"What? It's not there?" He looked genuinely surprised.

"No."

"Want me to go back?" he offered.

"Yes. I have everything else ready. I need chicken. Hurry. The kids are starving."

My dear husband grabbed his keys and flip-flopped out the door again into the Seattle rain.

Twenty minutes later, he bounced back in with another overstuffed grocery bag: Sour cream. Fritos. V8 juice. A magazine. Popcorn.... (no chicken)

“Where's the chicken?" I asked perplexed.

"Are you kidding. Did I forget again?" he replied, genuinely shocked there wasn’t chicken in the overstuffed bag of goodies.

Fifteen minutes later, success! He returned carrying a lonely bag- with only chicken.

Here's What We’ve Learned

An impulsive person with a love of dopamine inducing junk food at a grocery store can invite disaster. Every end cap display acts like a beacon. Each one designed with "buy me" powers. —Add distraction to the mix, and… no chicken.

ADHD brains lights up in the snack aisle. The chicken becomes background noise. The immediate appeal of Fritos wins every time.

This is distraction and impulsivity in real life. Not a character flaw. Not carelessness. Brain wiring doing what it does.

Understanding this changed a lot in our relationship. We build systems now. Lists with ONE item. Text reminders. Photo of the item he's getting. These small changes work, along with keeping a sense of humor and understanding to what’s really going. (Plus, we still laugh about the “chicken story”)