ADHD or life? - A couples perspective!

Is it ADHD or am I allergic to housework?

Adam and Donna Episode 19

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It’s Friday, so grab your coffee and join us for another honest, slightly chaotic episode of ADHD or Life – A Couple’s Perspective!
We kick off with our usual catch up: Adam’s convinced he’s been moody (Donna didn’t notice), and he’s been extra forgetful lately - classic ADHD. We chat about the rough patch of symptoms over the past few weeks, including RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria) and that relentless racing mind. Oh, and did Donna really want to go to The Spa Garden, or was Adam just overthinking again?
Then we dive into this week’s big question: Is it ADHD, or am I just allergic to housework?

Let’s be real - housework is boring. But why is it so hard for some of us? We talk dopamine (can you actually get a hit from scrubbing toilets?), executive dysfunction, and initiation paralysis. Adam opens up about his “paralysis is real” moments, plus his weird love for doing the washing. (Is there a better feeling than hanging it out on a sunny day? Hands up if you’ve had to do a load twice!)
We get into distractibility: Is Adam’s dish-washing method a recipe for disaster, or does Donna just not get it? And what’s the deal with polishing? are we cleaning or just moving dust around? We confess to buying all sorts of cleaning gadgets, and debate the all-or-nothing approach (deep clean or nothing at all). Skirting boards? Adam’s nemesis. (Spoiler: we get the kids to do them.)
Cue the shame spiral: you feel guilty for not doing housework, so you avoid it, then feel even more guilty. We talk time-blindness, and how we always over- or underestimate how long things will take. Pro tip: never buy a cheap hoover. (Trust us.)
And yes, we admit it - we have a cleaner. Should we feel ashamed? 
We talk about how this impacts our relationship, and whether mirroring behaviour is a thing (is Adam leaning into the ADHD or just unmasking?). Donna’s been getting annoyed. How do “normal” 9-5 families do this?!
We wrap up with some practical tips: body doubling, co-cleaning, delegation, and outsourcing. Then we share some brilliant listener stories that prove we’re all in this together.
Finally, it’s time for our 5-minute moan: Adam can’t put rubbish away to save his life, and Donna loves Kids TV at full blast.
Join the conversation! Share your housework hacks, fails, and wins:
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Listen, laugh, and let us know your thoughts—are you allergic to housework too?
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