Is this why I can't have nice things?

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I can't tell if it's because of this or my ADHD, but I can't seem to keep nice things. I bought a very expensive beautiful bracelet, and the third time wearing it out I lost it somewhere walking down the street... Also, I firmly believe when I wear white fabric it magically becomes a magnet for anything staining. My boyfriend bought me a nice citizen watch with Eco drive, and I lost it (it was on some corner of my dresser), and when I found it the Eco drive had died... It's kind of depressing really... Something inside me always feels crushed when something gets broken or lost....

Maybe you are doing this with a certain amount of subconscious deliberation in order to express your inner feelings of loss and unworthiness.

Coming from someone in the exact same predicament I would say yes. I have no confirmed diagnoses but I do defiantly have difficulties with my executive function and this causes me to break, loose, misplace and damage many things that mean a great deal to me. The interesting thing is how much of an impact losing a gift has with the recipient and the giver. This was something I found out the hard way when I lost a watch given to me by my boyfriend.

I read a very interesting book recently that explains ADHD and the impact this has on executive function and if I can remember the title I will come back later and post it. Effectively it describes the experience you posted so to answer your question I do think ADHD will impair your ability to keep track of your belongings.

I don't know the answer to change, I have given up on nice things, I find I am so worried about losing them I cannot enjoy myself if I take nice things with me.

Routines, priorities and a minimalist lifestyle are the things I have found to be most effective.

I have a similar problem not with valuable items such as watches or expensive clothes etc but with keeping and organising important documents such as birth certificates, bank statements, employment contracts etc.

This is frequently the kind of thing I'm told about myself, "you don't value your belonging because you don't value yourself".

For some people it is just allot more difficult to keep track of things in their mind. Every situation appears to have it own very specific delicate formula to make it work, something exhausting to keep track of so remembering to keep track of ones bracelet on top of all this can just be one thing too much.

It has at least for me and I suspect for many others absolutely nothing to do with self esteem.

Losing things goes along with executive function concerns related to AS... I permanently lost tons of stuff when I was younger (and still have a habit of misplacing things).

Stains, in my mind, are related to spills and spills often happen due to poor spacial awareness and/or difficulties with motor skills (both fine and gross). Both of these are also related to AS!

Don't beat yourself up over these kinds of things, but try to work out systems for keeping better track of valuable belongings. I narrowed my important things down to only a few very valuable items (car keys (and associated vehicle), wallet, glasses, cell phone) so that I didn't get overwhelmed keeping track of so much.

If you come up with a trick for avoiding spills and stains, please let me know!

I physically attach things in set places to ensure I don't lose them. House keys get attached to one hook in my bag, work ones to another. Car keys go in one pocket of the bag, wallet over the top. Mobile phone goes in my left jacket or trouser pocket, MP3 player in my right. My lunch bag is placed so I almost fall over it and can't leave without it.

Etc. Etc.

That's normal to feel crushed (yes, men too), when we find that something is lost or damaged that someone gave us as a gift, as well as when things are lost or damaged which we bought ourselves. ADD is a factor in it, I think, which is not your fault. But what you can do, is to only use things with "special meaning" on certain occasions, and other times keep them in a safe place. I don't wear anything with sentimental value on a daily basis, and I don't wear good clothes for everyday purposes, as I am always getting dirt or permanent stains on clothes, or I get holes, etc. My most recent disturbing accident was about a year and a half ago, I dropped a coffee mug that my wife won for me in a dart gallery on an early date we had, and it smashed. I picked up every single piece, and painstakingly repaired it as best I could, and I don't use it anymore. But I keep it in a safe place, as it still means a lot to me even if it's been broken and repaired and can't be used anymore. I totally understand that feeling; probably more than anyone would think.

Are you sure? I have one of those, and it goes into sleep mode when it's not worn for a few hours or days, and the battery goes discharged after a month or so in the dark. Have you tried putting it in a place with good light (either on a window sill or under a bright lamp for several hours), and then jiggling it? I bet it will work fine. The first time mine stopped, I took it to the Citizen authorized dealer, and they laughed and told me a lot of people got worried that theirs had quit just like me. I think it has a lifetime warranty on the ecodrive system too, and as you said, they're expensive and worth fixing if it did have something in fact wrong.

Charles

I misplaced my car key a couple of weeks ago and searched and searched but could not find it, I have an 02 VW so its a $300 key, but then the other day it literally showed up in my hand, I was holding it and my wife had her key in the cars ignition, I don't know where I misplaced it or how I found it, crap like this happens to me all of the time, drives me nuts.

. YES! This happens to me also, couple weeks ago, put the keys somewhere weird, I swear I checked there but it wasn't until after I called my mom and got the spare that I found them...

Also kx250rider, I put the watch in my window so it can soak up some sun then ill try wearing it around the house or something.. Last time I tried this and it started to work again but only while I was wearing it, so the next day it had stopped... But seeing as I have literally no money this all I can do and hope it works..

One of my "stock jokes" is that you could put me buck naked at the bottom of a well with a nut, a bolt and a spanner, and I'd lose track of all of them within 5 mins. My exec function is totally FUBAHR)

Re: the Eco Drive, my Citizen is an eco-drive model, and it's supposed to be good for 5 years in the dark! I don't mislay that because it only comes off (sometimes) when I sleep