‘Tossing’ Could Be A Potential Sign Of ADHD

OR NOT –

Sept. 8, 2024 – Last summer, a term went viral on TikTok that spoke to many: the DOOM pile. An acronym for “didn’t organize, only moved,” a DOOM pile could be a junk drawer with receipts, bills and other papers you’ve put off sorting. It could be a cardboard box in the corner of your bedroom full of desk clutter from your old job and other things you forgot you owned.

For many with ADHD ― or others who stare down DOOM piles and feel overwhelmed ― it’s easy to default to a less-than-ideal solution to all that organizational chaos: tossing. Yep, just throwing it all away, with fingers crossed there’s nothing too important in there.

Cate Osborn, an author and ADHD advocate and educator, has tossed her DOOM pile and said she knows plenty of others in the ADHD community who’ve done the same thing.

“It’s not something that I would brag about or say that I’m particularly proud of, but I do know what it’s like to be so completely overwhelmed that it’s easier to say ‘you know what, I don’t need any of this’ and just throw everything away.”