Thank you for sharing how it felt to get diagnosed. Its refreshing to hear someone talk openly about the negatives of living unknowingly with the condition. I feel like I'm following in your footsteps. I was also born in the mid 80s and grew up believing ADHD was just kids that couldn't sit still. I've always known that I'm not normal. I suspected I might have autism when I saw a Newsround piece about it in the 90s. I told my mum and she told me that I don't need excuses, I just need to work harder. So I never got assessed for anything. All the while getting scolded by my teachers for being "bone idle", by my mum for being "lazy", by my peers for being "gormless". A couple of years ago I started learning a lot about ADHD when a friend of mine got diagnosed, I quickly started to realise that it's the most probable explanation for my life experience. As an adult I've developed a complex about making myself come across as intelligent and successful, which I actually hate about myself. I have a lifelong habit of pretending that I'm listening to people, because its socially unacceptable to be honest about not being able to listen to people. I still get anxiety dreams about late coursework 17 years after I graduated. I still leave important things to the last minute, because that's when the cortisol kicks in. I'm still an incredibly slow at reading. I have days when I can't read at all, can't do my job, can't be useful to my family. I'm 38 this year and I've still not been assessed. I've filled out a form that my GP gave me, I have no idea when I'll hear back about that, how long the waiting list is, or even whether I'm on it yet. I'm going to stop ranting now. Thank you once again. I hope you're finding ways to come to terms with it and live happier.
Thank you for sharing your story too 🙏I can definitely relate to the coursework anxiety dreams! Not getting the help I needed for all this time has affected me in every area of the life I've had so far, it has been a lot to get my head round! But I am getting there, I finally feel like I have the answer I've been missing my whole life - it's that big. I really hope that you get somewhere with your Dr's, I had great support from mine thankfully, but that is not the case with everyone! The wait can be agonising, but it's so worth it!
Thank you for sharing how it felt to get diagnosed. Its refreshing to hear someone talk openly about the negatives of living unknowingly with the condition. I feel like I'm following in your footsteps. I was also born in the mid 80s and grew up believing ADHD was just kids that couldn't sit still. I've always known that I'm not normal. I suspected I might have autism when I saw a Newsround piece about it in the 90s. I told my mum and she told me that I don't need excuses, I just need to work harder. So I never got assessed for anything. All the while getting scolded by my teachers for being "bone idle", by my mum for being "lazy", by my peers for being "gormless".
A couple of years ago I started learning a lot about ADHD when a friend of mine got diagnosed, I quickly started to realise that it's the most probable explanation for my life experience. As an adult I've developed a complex about making myself come across as intelligent and successful, which I actually hate about myself. I have a lifelong habit of pretending that I'm listening to people, because its socially unacceptable to be honest about not being able to listen to people. I still get anxiety dreams about late coursework 17 years after I graduated. I still leave important things to the last minute, because that's when the cortisol kicks in. I'm still an incredibly slow at reading. I have days when I can't read at all, can't do my job, can't be useful to my family.
I'm 38 this year and I've still not been assessed. I've filled out a form that my GP gave me, I have no idea when I'll hear back about that, how long the waiting list is, or even whether I'm on it yet.
I'm going to stop ranting now. Thank you once again. I hope you're finding ways to come to terms with it and live happier.
Thank you for sharing your story too 🙏I can definitely relate to the coursework anxiety dreams! Not getting the help I needed for all this time has affected me in every area of the life I've had so far, it has been a lot to get my head round! But I am getting there, I finally feel like I have the answer I've been missing my whole life - it's that big. I really hope that you get somewhere with your Dr's, I had great support from mine thankfully, but that is not the case with everyone! The wait can be agonising, but it's so worth it!