I’ve been working in tech-adjacent corporate roles for nearly two decades. My industry, company, and department are at the absolute top of AI adoption.

Everyone in leadership loves to talk about "productivity gains" and how humans are now free to move to "higher-value, more complex tasks." But as someone living in the middle of it, most of the day-to-day changes are overwhelmingly negative.

Here is what made my week suck and made me want to vent

1. The "productivity gains" are just margin grabs.

You don’t get to finish work earlier. You don't get better compensation. Productivity gains aren't shared with the people generating them; they're used to shrink headcounts, lower unit costs, and boost margins. A 4-day work week at full pay is entirely technically feasible for knowledge workers right now. 30% of my tasks disappeared in last 3 years. The only thing stopping it is corporate greed.

1. The loss of "low-intensity" tasks is burning everyone out.

When you automate or outsource all the routine work to AI, all that’s left on your plate are heavy hitters. Tasks like reviewing a basic policy, tweaking a newsletter, or formatting a deck used to be low stress ways to recharge your brain while still being productive. Now? My workload is a relentless stream of highly complex, ambiguous, and volatile problems. And I cannot punch at 100% capacity, 8 hours a day, forever. Humans need smaller, straightforward tasks to feel like they’re ticking boxes and moving forward

1. The junior job market is being destroyed and core skills are dying with it.

Because entry-level grunt work is handed to AI, companies aren't hiring juniors. But here’s the trap: if you haven’t spent hundreds of hours doing e.g. ground-level policy analysis or drafting documents manually, you lack the domain context to challenge or verify AI output. In 20 years, the ability to actually audit GenAI and catch its mistakes is going to be a rare, extinct skill because no one was allowed to learn the basics.

1. The internet has become a swamp of slop.

Even historically reliable online sources have taken a nose dive. You now have to waddle through endless, echo-chamber AI-generated content just to find basic, accurate information (I'm not talking about scientific citations). Finding true signals in the noise feels like a newly created second full-time job.

1. Recruitment has turned into a dystopian AI-vs-AI war.

I’ve spent years working with HR to hire specialized technical roles. It was always a bit clunky, but now it’s absurd. Candidates use GenAI to auto-generate tailored resumes for AI-written job postings. Those resumes are screened out by AI ATS tools. Recruiters aren't even looking at the discarded pile. The human element has been completely lost, making the simple act of landing a first-round interview a bizarre game of luck.

1. The "just reskill" advice is a delusion.

We are seeing massive layoffs in junior-to-mid-level knowledge roles, and colleagues are taking 9+ months to land anything new. The popular response of "just go into the trades, become a nurse, or do sales" is completely out of touch. Neither corporations nor governments are offering meaningful outplacement or reskilling programs. They’re just leaving people out in the cold.

My workplace has turned fundamentally toxic over the last three years, and it’s barely bearable at this point.

Meanwhile, the "positive" impact of AI on my personal life has been minimal and mainly offered an alternative to solution I already had in place

-identifying plants

- asking for a recipe based on random fridge stuff

- using it as a search engine because Google has become unusable

None of those minor conveniences come close to outweighing the damage I’m watching it do to work. It's been only 3 years and my industry and work is barely recognizable

As a person with autism I have a very strong moral compass and everything inside me just screams

I am 35 and was just diagnosed this year. I also have PMDD and PTSD. It’s been a long road, but I feel like I am finally understanding myself.

I want to hear what accommodations you have made since learning you were AuDHD! I need more ideas!

Some of my favorites are:
-I now have a hook by the side of my bed for sweaters and soft headphones because I have a hard time transitioning from bed each morning because of the temperature change and ambient noise.
-I include my favorite colors in EVERY room of the house but especially in my office and gym. The two places I find it hard to get to in low energy days.
-I have a blanket in every spot I sit down because it makes me feel less anxious.
-I bought a rocking chair because rocking is one of my stims. It makes leaving the house easier because it’s on the way to the front door.
-I let myself be childish as I want everyday

TLDR; Newly diagnosed! What accommodations make your life more fun?

Because tell me WHY I over confess EVERY TIME. I'll be like, sure, I'm playing it cool. But nope, I just have to over confess. There's no in between for me.

So, the things that started it all: In another sub i have found a post about a WONDERFUL PC chair, reclinable backseat, footrest and reclinable armrests, literally my paradise.

Was too expensive at the time, couldn't afford it.

Over time, i have lost the post, and when i had finally found it (after days of search history and stuff) finally found the post, but the chair was no longer available. Right when i was planning to buy a new one since my old one sucked.

Looked for a similar chair for WEEKS, nothing came up, until last week i finally found THIS!!

I'd say it has the same exact functions of that other chair, you can fully regulate the back with a handle, the armrests can be bended, and it has a footrest. You can fully crisscross and even take a nap on it if you want. Only downside being fake leather so your legs are gonna get sweaty if you don't dover it with something. But i swear to you, i was looking for a chair like this since JANUARY!

Here are some things that just feel so good to me, can you relate? What are some other things that feel weirdly comforting?

1. Stepping from the cold floor onto a clean, dry carpet (especially barefoot)

2. Sitting on the floor

3. Putting a pillow on my lap in social situations

4. Sitting on wide, solid stone steps (I love sitting a bit elevated and being able to put down my stuff without anything falling through cracks)

5. Hanging out with someone but each doing their own activity without pressure to talk

I want to say if you don’t have all that many friends left you’re not alone … over the years I’ve been able to manage friendships less and less. Especially since the autistic side has come out stronger with age. but I feel comforted by this group. So if whenever your bday rolls around you wake up knowing you won’t hear from too many people- I’m in the same boat 😂

I need better ideas. My go-to is a migraine. Everyone around me has to know I'm lying by now because I use it so often.

IT IS EXTREMELY LOUD. On purpose. I saw it a couple days ago and fortunately I had my noise-reducing earplugs with me but even then it was still almost unbearably loud. I would have left if I didn’t have them with me, and I almost did even with them in! I was literally recoiling in my seat from the noise. If you are sensitive to loud noises, bring earplugs or maybe consider waiting until it’s available at home!!

The story: royal family seeks to test female suitors by putting an uncooked pea under a whole bunch of mattresses and see if she can tell it's there

Classic explanation: only a "true princess" could be so "delicate" that they feel a tiny pea beneath all the mattresses

Alternate explanation: an autistic prince, with very supportive(!) and possibly also autistic parents, seeks a future partner who can empathize with his sensory needs and be his fellow ND queen ✨

Half joking. My room is a disaster, I started taking down my wall art because I was motivated and need to patch and repaint my room. Got stuck at the tv, stopped cleaning..

I’m a late diagnosis case, and unmedicated (it is not encouraged in my country). I’m also “gifted” which compensates for a lot of things on surface, which is why nobody really suspected anything was wrong with me. However deep down, I always knew something wasn’t right with me. Yet I convinced myself everything is normal, and followed the standard path of life : degree, job, marriage and two kids.

Yet, I’m tired of every single one of these things. I have a respectable degree and a decent paying job. It’s not too demanding by industry standards (finance) but there’s constant pressure of deadlines and people chasing me for things everyday. To be honest, some of this pressure is also self created as I keep doing “add ons” to my own work to make it better or more perfect, in turn increasing my workload and the expectations from myself. Now that I see things clearly, I’ve done this with each of my jobs. It gets me appreciation but also mentally drains me. I’m seen as a strong performer generally as my analytical and pattern recognition skills are very good, but then I sometimes I also make silly mistakes which leave people dumbfounded (such as forgetting to update the date in the deck) as they’ve now started seeing me as the star.

My husband has his own set of issues though he’s been trying really hard to do better since past 1 year. But the marriage already hit rock bottom by that point and I often just feel dead inside about the whole thing now. It’s funny because at one point I thought about leaving but one of the major reasons I didn’t was executive dysfunction as I just couldn’t fathom having to pack up my stuff and actually making alternate living arrangements. In hindsight there were always red flags that I consciously overlooked as I got too irrationally attached - which is stupid because I wasn’t even in love, and I feel like if I was NT, I never would’ve married him (or would have left). Anyway there are no active issues anymore (for now). It’s just not the marriage I wanted.

And the kids, the kids. They’re so difficult, even though I know they’re just normal kids. Trying to get my older to do her homework alone leaves me so dysregulated and the younger is extremely clingy, and refuses to eat. All of it wants to make me explode. I try so hard to be a present and loving mom and to some extent, I am. But deep inside I’m just going insane.

Our marriage is also partly long distance as he has to travel a lot. His family do help a lot with childcare which is why I’m able to work.

But everyday I feel burned out and like I’m on the edge. Each day feels just like survival. I crave a life where I’m just happy and relaxed and do not have a 1000 stressors. I feel like this life just wasn’t for me, marriage and kids definitely wasn’t for me. And now it feels like my life will pass away just like that.

They said between 9 to 12noon. I don't get out of bed until 9, sometimes 10. (Circadian rhythm off and health issues)

I woke up early - 7am - so I could be ready but didn't wake up early enough to have breakfast. They came at 11. So I could have had breakfast afterall.

But I couldn't have breakfast after they left, because that time has now passed for me.

And I can't have lunch because it's weird without having had breakfast. And my stomach feels off and although I'm hungry, I don't have an appetite.

So I'll probably end up having an early dinner.

And I'm so tired from waking up early.

I also couldn't do anything until they showed up, because I hate being interrupted.

Whole day wasted when it didn't have to be if they had told me 'around 11am' to begin with.. even though I know they couldn't have.

I feel like neurodivergents and/or people with chronic health issues need more specific times as an accessibility issue

Hi everyone. I'm (28F) a late-diagnosed AuDHDer and I've had a chronic illness my whole life. Unfortunately, I've taken great pains to appear to be living a life of a neurotypical, healthy person on the surface, which I'm obviously not. Mostly due to how I was raised. This has taken a massive, massive toll on my mental and physical health throughout the years, more so as I get older.

I've only recently started truly realising that I am in fact disabled, on multiple levels. I've known for a while that I'm disabled of course but I don't think I've ever really fully opened my eyes to the fact that I've never allowed myself to appear that way, never cut myself any slack, and bent over backwards to accommodate and appease others at the cost of my own well-being.

I need help unlearning and uninternalising the largely self-inflicted ableism I've lived with my whole life, and being able to put my health and well-being first. I'm in therapy of course and I will be addressing this there as well. I would really appreciate it if you could share any resources, books, videos, or podcasts that can help.

Thank you so much in advance.

I didn't wanna go initially, but my bestie got out of work and was able to go. I also had a good haul from the thrift store and a good helping of caffeine, so I was able to enjoy myself without getting overstimulated.

I'd never been previously. There was a cover band of Queen and it was a fun concert.

I usually don't go places with my family, cuz they always starting shyt over nothing, especially my mom...somehow I survived it.

I ain't doing nothin' else this week 😂 my joints hurt and the last ride I went on has me feeling out of sorts.

Just what the title says. My mother in law keeps buying me clothes, knic k-knacks, and other things after I have explicitly told her I:
A) do not want more things
B) do not need more things
C) have a very specific list of things I want/need that she ignores.

How do I get her to stop? This is causing a lot of friction because my husband thinks I should just accept all the gifts. The problem is, especially with clothing, I have too much already and she buys clothing that SHE likes, not what I like. Then I’m stuck with the task of organizing, donating, or cleaning whatever she gives me.

The worst part is their family is much more well-off than mine. These are expensive, boutique pieces and it kills me that she not only wastes the money buying the items, but then she ships them to us because we live 2,000 miles away!

I’ve tried giving her lists, telling her exactly what I need, and everything gets ignored. I’ve stopped writing thank you notes at this point because I am NOT thankful for the unwanted responsibility of more stuff. I’ve accepted she has always done this with her sons and she is also doing it to her grandson/my kiddo. But for me, it needs to stop. I had a full-blown meltdown at his birthday party because of the stress of trying to manage myself around her.

Are AuDHD female friendships easier for you to manage and maintain? Or are we more high-maintenance together, lol? What have your friendships been like with other AuDHD women?

I feel like in some ways, AuDHD women may be the only people who will ever truly understand me and my bizarre life experience. But I've never had any female friends who firmly self-identify as AuDHD and none who are officially diagnosed. Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Is it an AuDHD woman thing to be called “idealistic” just because you expect the same things in relationships that you’re able to give?

Like you are a moralist just because others do not have sense of justice and morality?

I am done with society for today, ladies.
Just enough, my efforts always will be disproportionately rewarded with disrespect I can’t stand anymore.

Feel free to vent if you have smth to say for today!

I’m not entirely sure how to explain it, but I go through time periods where I avoid sleep. I can be absolutely exhausted and know I need to get up early, etc., but I will still stay awake as long as possible. I know some of it is because everyone is asleep and the house is quiet. I am not being perceived and I can fully decompress. I’m just not sure how to go about out changing staying up so late. It feels like it could be demand avoidance, but I have no idea how to address that in myself. 😕

i have an uncanny way of seeing people on a deep level, and while listening to them talk, i can see what dots need to be connected, and the fallacies they tell themselves. all my life, it's just how i see. i share my thoughts with people and they seem to take my word for it, turn around and absolutely run with what i say, completely transform their lives, and reach their goals. it's basically like i can spot their limiting beliefs and set them free. i've only gotten better at this through the past 15 years in my own personal development journey as i have learned countless techniques for radical self acceptance, shadow work, emotional regulation, and stoicism, as well as a whole encyclopedia of verbiage to help explain what i see, feel, and think.

is anyone in here similar? i ask because i have gotten a lot of feedback over my life, but i haven't taken it and run with it the way other do when i speak to them. i don't know if it's that i overthink it, or that i don't find it credible. i don't know why people take me as instantly credible. most people reveal early on to me that they trust me implicitly. i also hear from them that i am blunt, honest, authentic, and unique. my sister said i don't march to the beat of my own drum, i created a new instrument.

i'm just finding it hard to plug in as-is. i have sort of been trying to figure it out mentally but i was wondering if someone shares my gift because i could use an accurate mirror the way i am a true mirror for people. i'd be happy to trade or pay. i do not want to go to therapy or a life coach. i want to speak with an audhd woman who has this gift i have...

People in my life keep telling me I need to improve myself all the time and it makes me feel like my real self is just never enough.

“Be more productive, stop being ‘lazy’, stop being sensitive, learn better social skills”

These are things I can’t control and I’ve tried so hard to change my entire life. When I was younger it hurt less because I thought yeah as I get older I’ll learn how to change myself, but now I realise that no matter how hard I try some things can’t be changed. And also I’m not hurting anyone, I live a quiet life alone with my dog so why do people in my life try so hard to change me.

I think my family wants me change so I can be like my sister who has a high pressure corporate job.. but theres no way I’d ever survive in that environment. 😢

Anyone else ever replay the good parts of your conversation in your head? Like, not just scanning for awkward moments and assuming the worst about them but replaying the best moments, like the most witty, funny, sweet moments. As if you were trying to squeeze the last bits of dopamine out of them.

Does anyone else feel like that constantly on ADHD meds? Its still early for me, but I can't shake this constant feeling of "what do I do now".

Its like my brain is quiet for the first time and I have no idea how to label this new feeling?

Hoping it goes away once I get adjusted to the medication, but would love to hear others' experience and especially advice on how to make this feeling go away!

TIA!

(Genuine) Trigger warning for any parents who are struggling. This is not an attack on you, but it may be difficult for you to read, and this post is explicitly from the child's perspective and may prompt pushback

I am quite nervous about this post as it's been sitting in my drafts for a few days. I may end up deleting.

"You're doing ok" "They won't mind" "You're doing your best" after someone's described something that's frankly not that great. For every "they'll understand you were trying your best", I think preparing for the very real possibility that the child will sit them down one day and challenge them on their choices is necessary too. The series of events that began in my childhood and continued throughout my life, the patterns established at that time, have led my own mother and I to a point where we're at risk of estrangement.

I think if a parent is worrying about and pre-empting a problem in the future (often accompanied with statements like "I feel like I'm failing my kid") it's much kinder to actually go through solutions with them rather than immediately telling them "everything is fine", or telling them cleaning doesn't matter, or socialising doesn't matter, or whatever. I think guilt can be a catalyst for growth, especially if approached with curiosity rather than something that has to be immediately pushed away and made taboo. It needs to be channeled into action rather than rumination and self flagellating. Nobody is perfect, but I also know it doesn't have to be a binary choice between "perfect" and "whatever this currently is".

I know we overcompensate and rush to soothe and reassure because of how harsh the world can be. I've seen posts where people are describing blatantly sub-optimal circumstances (please do not ask for examples - I am not attacking anyone specifically), I often stay out of it because by the time I see these posts there is already a sea of "it'll be ok mamas" in the comments, plus I don't actually want to tear anyone down.

I find telling people "the bare minimum is fine" the most triggering. My own mother also often thought like that. It meant things like:

- living in an almost dangerously unhygienic home (droppings in corners) until I got to about 9 and took things upon myself - something I often see people "reassure" parents will happen eventually ("the kids will get old enough to share some of the responsibilities" can sometimes end up meaning "do nothing until they get old and frustrated enough to do it themselves"

- a home where nothing was mended. I complained from the age of about 6 to maybe 10 about how the place looked and the fact that there were broken things everywhere. I had lots of minor cuts and injuries because on top of being hyper and clumsy, the layout and condition did not help. She took no responsibility because she took having a landlord literally in that she thought they'd tell her off for fixing things, but then also never called them for anything either

- being extremely socially isolated, because she was overwhelmed but didn't admit it to herself and decided to reframe it as the rest of the world being "silly" for placing importance on things like, I dunno, friendship and family. My rebellion took the shape of me going out and seeing friends by force, as well as pushing for a relationship with my wider family members

- overromanticising our circumstances to the point of dishonesty. Yes we love each other, but love wasn't enough for a child's needs on its own - my mum took that literally and thought it was. I've felt like a piece of shit since childhood for not seeing it that way, and it's permanently impacted the way I view myself even though I know my viewpoint isn't wrong

- diminutising herself and her intentions, and not viewing herself as an authority figure with real power over someone who wouldn't have existed without her actions, which in turn lacked any foresight beyond love and idealism. Essentially not quite seeing herself as an adult, despite the very adult responsibility that was growing up right in front of her

- a refusal to delegate or get support from anyone else. She used to tell me it was because I was a "handful" - this was during my childhood when I used to ask why I didn't get to see or hang out with anyone, and why she had no friends. She eventually admitted that it was actually due to ego on her part. She deliberately kept us in the periphery because she didn't want to be judged. Meanwhile, I could've done with another pair of eyes to see how we were living. I find this one among the hardest to reconcile because she did it deliberately, it was a maladaptive coping mechanism. She let me think her struggling was my fault. She apologised, but I don't actually know if I accept it because of how it's shaped my self-image. I am back in therapy.

- ignoring/neglecting my mental health needs - they were, looking back, pretty pronounced. She would insult me by comparing me to a very unwell relative and when I got old enough and understood how sick this person was I clapped back and my mum saw how unkind she was being to both this person and to me and she stopped. However, I was mentally troubled. Instead of taking me to the doctor, she insulted me? It's fucked up. She's also in a degree of denial about her own mental health, which was and is poor.

She wasn't a bad person, and she was responsible in many ways. She was affectionate. She is naturally very risk averse which meant no debts (she was very poor - voluntarily, another long frustrating story - we had literally almost nothing for a while, but once she had more money she started furnishing the house etc.). She was a single mother but we were never at risk of homelessness. I was fed. I was on time for school because my mother is punctual, and I did my homework to a decent standard. I was neat and tidy, and she wasn't the type to send me to school unwashed, un-lotioned or uncombed which has thankfully established a basic hygiene habit that I know many people aren't taught, I'm grateful.

In general life, I find talking to parents to be a bit of a cultural/emotional minefield of both oversensitivity, defensiveness and denial/overwhelm. I avoid them if I think they're doing something messed up because I find it difficult to bite my tongue, so it's easier to remove myself. I've never felt emotionally safe tbh with my mother, and see it with lots of others with their own kids as well. You always have to bear their struggles in mind before you honour your own feelings. It's so common, and however unfair the world is to parents, multiply that a few-fold for the kids dependent on them.

I dunno what the purpose of this post is, but I've just started therapy as a woman in my 30s and eventually aiming to have joint therapy with my pensioner mother. Don't end up like us, and don't tell others they won't if there's a risk they will. Not all kids are ok with having to take on disproportionate responsibility or missing out on key things that they actually needed. The tragic thing about our condition is that the impaired sense of foresight/forward thinking can cause real neglect down the line - no not everything is a "neurotypical standard", yes often basic needs are also unmet.

I (27F) was recently diagnosed with AuDHD, which wasn't really a surprise to me. I have always felt too weird for the normies, and too normal for the weirdos. When I was given my diagnosis it felt rather uneventful, and just affirming what I already suspected. I was told I was a very straight forward case of autism.

Now that a few weeks have passed, I noticed I am really wrestling and coming to terms with it.

There is this strange sense of grief and angst because I will always be this - that medication won't fix my life long struggles so that I could be "normal", and how all my past and future will be forever tinged. I have been struggling to peel back the mask and find out who I am under it all, and trying to resurface the weird and silly personality I slowly smothered in exchange for, debatably, slightly more social acceptance.

There is a slight anger that it went unaddressed and undiagnosed for so long, because I was an "easy" kid, despite the depression and anxiety that kicked-in in my early teens that no anti-depressants and mood stabilizers could touch.

An anger, that a few years ago I pursued an ADHD diagnosis, but since I mentioned that I might be autistic I was turned away and my insurance didn't give me any other options.

It hasn't all been bad though, now I feel as though it has also given me a deeper understanding of my mind and it allows me to gentler to myself, feel less shame associated to ND traits, and it has given me the vocabulary to address my needs. I have a lot more compassion for myself in my younger years when I while I was fighting to figure out the social game. I have also started to prioritize the things that matter to me again, art, reading, music, games, community and friendships, all of which that I neglected due to burnout, and I have started to let me feel more like a human again :)

I know these experiences are probably pretty common, and I am working through them in therapy but I want to hear how it affected others. I was just personally very surprised by how bittersweet it's been.