this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
1 points (100.0% liked)

ADHD

9489 readers
3 users here now

A casual community for people with ADHD

Values:

Acceptance, Openness, Understanding, Equality, Reciprocity.

Rules:

Encouraged:

Relevant Lemmy communities:

Autism

ADHD Memes

Bipolar Disorder

Therapy

Mental Health

Neurodivergent Life Hacks

lemmy.world/c/adhd will happily promote other ND communities as long as said communities demonstrate that they share our values.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Edit

After reading all the responses below and receiving much helpful advice, I reflected on my hesitance of getting medical help. I realized I didn't want to feel like I "gave up". I come from a poor family of immigrants and my parents sacrificed a lot for me to have an opportunity, so when I'm discussing these mental problems I face with loved ones, there's always a suggestive undertone of being unappreciative(remember your parents slaved away doing manual labor jobs so you could complain about your comfy, well paid office job)

I now realize my own happiness/fulfillment is my responsibility, public opinion be damned. Thank you all. I will seek help ASAP

Double edit

I'm on strattera(atomoxetine) now. It's helped me focus my thoughts a lot more.

Original:

Not sure if this is typical or not but it perplexes me to no end. I've always struggled with remembering things, decision paralysis, bad sleeping patterns, interpersonal relationships(appearing distant), mood swings of joy and apathy(high peaks and low valleys), addictive personality traits(coffee/nicotine/alcohol). But on a good day I can do the work of a whole team. I've often spearheaded entire projects solo from concept to design to implementation. Despite a very rough start in my early adult life and after getting tired from most jobs for petty things like disagreements or tardiness, I've been solid for about 7 years. I've learned to communicate effectively without getting emotional, how to manage relationships, how to work around the difficulties of my ADHD, I've turned my skills into a well paying career and can politic with the best of them. My son was diagnosed and I never was because Hispanics don't believe in ADHD("everyone has those problems, you just need to manage xyz better")

I've tried to explain my patterns to loved ones in hopes of feeling understood but even those closest to me say it's all mental. I feel like no one understands. I've been called brilliant/highly intelligent many times but have been told I need to apply myself. I feel like it's both a strength and a weakness.

Anyways, I have health coverage now and am scared of prescription medicines. Not sure if I should just keep braving on towards my future without getting some sense of closure. I believe my father is also on the spectrum because he has always embodied all the symptoms (irregular sleep, obsession with pet projects, irregular moods, difficulty managing relationships/being empathetic/sympathetic, etc).

I hate being told that I'm not trying hard enough when it feels like I need to keep double the pace of everyone else just to be on par. Should I start allowing myself to be disagreeable? Maybe call bs what it is and not dance around it so much? Should I seek treatment? Should I keep quiet and bite down on the rag?

Sorry for the rant. No one seems to understand.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Saved and meant to get back to this.

Anyway, two books I highly recommend: ADHD for Adults (because adult challenges can be quite different from childhood, and being diagnosed as an adult is a different experience). This book is largely about how to identify when ADHD is affecting you, and developing strategies to compensate.

"Your Erroneous Zones" by Wayne Dyer. Early self-help book, but he's introducing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in laymen's terms (not even sure it was called CBT back then).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Thanks, I'll check those out. I am on strattera(atomoxetine) now and it has helped a good bit.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

If you don't know of her, check out Jessica on How to ADHD.

She's a riot, my ADHD friends/family say she really gets presenting to someone with ADHD, she holds their attention well.

One video is her Ted talk. Very moving (and funny, and insightful).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

How to ADHD

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.