All of the stories I have read are from people who, in my eyes, are very successful. The majority of you have college degree’s and are professionals. I only wish I could stick with anything long enough to complete it. I am 40 years old and just figured out I had ADD last year.
I took a test online, took it to my psychiatrist who also tested me. After 10 years of treating me for depression with medication for depression it was sickening for me to find out there was a lot more to my constant sadness. I can’t understand how throughout my difficult school years no-one picked up on me having ADD. I just could not focus on anything that was remotely uninteresting to me. I grew up without a Dad and my Mom worked nights so discipline and routine were not things I was familiar with.
I was an ADD child with endless opportunities to act on impulses, daydream, and generally get away with anything.I changed schools 3 times, not because of moving, it was because if I didn’t like the school or some of the people in it I would throw a big dramatic fit and I could be very manipulative. I wish Mom would have said no so I would have learned what it was like to stick out or deal with difficult situations. I got through High School by the skin of my teeth. I have spent most of my life leaving when the going gets tough-schools, jobs, relationships…I am on my third marriage, It’s lasted 5 years, which is a record for me.
I can only manage to handle part-time jobs now and usually not for much more than a year. It is only through the grace of God that I am not a drug-addict with 15 kids on welfare. There has not been any miraculous turn-around since my ADD diagnoses. I am taking Adderall with limited success. I’ve tried other medications that didn’t help at all. Where I live there are no ADD coaches and I’m pretty sure insurance won’t cover that anyway. It does help to read the peoples’ stories posted on this site but honestly, you people need to give yourselves more credit.
If you have completed college and have become a professional anything with this disorder then you are a lot stronger, focused, and a harder worker than you must realize. Give yourself a pat on the back, accept and take pride in what you’ve accomplished and use that feeling to succeed in the next task you’re struggling with. You are not alone.