Most of what other people do is about their own day rather than about you. That is easier to hold once you have also admitted that in childhood, sometimes, it genuinely was about you.

Once you have a reputation for being late or forgetful, people begin watching for it. The rate of your mistakes may not have moved at all, and the number that get noticed keeps climbing.

Before you explain anything about ADHD to someone, ask what they already think it is. What they tell you decides what your explanation can land on.

When you are choosing where to start, take the easy one rather than the important one. Direction matters more than size at the beginning, because these things gather speed whichever way they are pointing.