For so long, I bought into the labels given me – “space-cadet,” “blonde,” “day dreamer,” “inattentive,” and “careless.” I heard the words of my father in my head, “Sherri, remember to engage your brain BEFORE…” If only it were that easy. I continually lost and misplaced things, forgot important dates, and left projects half finished … Read more
When I was younger I had trouble focusing in class. Even if I was interested I just couldn’t pay attention. Everything was too long, and had too much or not enough detail. It became more of a problem in Uni where you had to sit like an adult and not play on your phone. After … Read more
Before I was diagnosed, I was on this slow ship in the middle of nowhere. I was constantly confused and I felt like a failure because I couldn’t understand nor live up to the neurotypical expectations placed on me. It all came to a head at university where I just broke down, I couldn’t cope … Read more
I am an adult woman who was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 25. My entire life, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough. But when I tried harder in one area in my life, another area would suffer. Finally, my partner (who also has ADHD) suggested I get tested. I was initially reluctant – … Read more
When I first got diagnosed with ADHD, I actually thought I was useless to society. Once starting in my current profession, I learned that my ADHD is a useful tool. We do a sort of processing at my job, and the work is very repetitive. Where my ADHD causes me to hyperfocus on tasks that … Read more
I’ve talked to many people who were hesitant about exploring an ADHD diagnosis. They didn’t want the label that comes with it but what they didn’t understand is that when you avoid one label, worse ones take their place. Growing up with undiagnosed ADHD I was labelled as being ‘lazy’, ‘unmotivated’, ‘abnormal’, to name a … Read more
My mother and I cried when I was diagnosed. Her, because she had punished me my whole life for “not trying”, being hyper, etc. Me, relief; I had tried, wish I could tell all my tutors, teachers of every course tried. I’m 68 now and it’s debilitating. I’m on medication but I still struggle every … Read more
I remember as a child growing up that I would daydream a lot. I was terribly afraid of math but was above average in reading and writing. I avoided taking algebra and higher level math in high school. Didn’t score very well on the SAT and had to take remedial math in college. Before entering … Read more
Living with ADHD in the Military is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. Mostly because they have high standards of excellence and require you to maintain those standards. For the longest time I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I just do the same things everybody else was doing? … Read more
I’m Jacky, I’m 43 and was diagnosed over 21 years ago with Clinical Depression and severe anxiety. For the past year, I have come to understand that it is highly likely I have undiagnosed adult ADHD. It is highly likely that my ‘away with the fairies’ personality is not because my will is fundamentally flawed … Read more
