this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2023
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Neurodivergence
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Oh definitely. Let's talk about adhd for a second.
So first of all, everyone assumes the only issues it causes is with work and schooling. Once it affects your daily life, That's when allies start to eye you weirdly. Sorry, what do you mean that you can't do laundry right now because of "executive dysfunction"---even kids can do their chores if their parents bug them enough!
Secondly, resources are slim. Books are targeted towards teenagers in school, parents and their unruly kids, parents and their gifted kids...but there sadly isn't as many books on adult ADHD unless it's an organization book!
Next, let's talk about the depression and stress it causes. No one clues into that. Free therapy in my province is targeted towards warped thinking, which is great and all but doesn't help at all when it comes to adhd. I'm not necessarily depressed because I thought of the bad things that are going to happen--I'm depressed because I can't physically bring myself to do something productive right now. It's executive dysfunction, not sadness.
God I feel this, it took showing my mom hours of footage talking about childhood ADHD for her to finally believe I have it and I'm 24 years old! I have no resources that accurately describe my symptoms now as an adult, and so many of the ones discussing childhood symptoms emphasize that by adulthood they go away. No they don't!!!
I only recently heard ADHD described as an executive dysfunction disorder and not an attention disorder and I was gutted that such a simple distinction has made receiving adequate care so difficult.
It's been hard learning to deal with the feeling that there's something fundamentally wrong with me, finally feeling validated that this disorder isn't just "sometimes focusing on homework is hard" has helped a lot
Oh yeah, it's definitely more than just attention issues in class. Fun trivia: we have a high comorbidity rate with bipolar disorder. Did you know that? Our emotional dysregulation tends to be so bad that people with ADHD keep getting diagnosed with bipolar. How is that school based? What does that have to do with homework? Nothing! Yet, everyone acts like ADHD is just something that interferes with homework! It's frustrating.
Yes absolutely! From about 19-22 I was diagnosed bipolar and on mood stabilizers and just thinking "why the hell isn't it working". Now I'm finally on Ritalin and it's helped so much, but I still have difficulty with my executive dysfunction and no one really seems to know what to do about it! /rant
I got diagnosed while at uni but now that I'm graduated and with a job, it's the place I have the least issues. The "taking care of a home and living a socially acceptable adult life" outside out mon-Fri 8-5 is the hardest part of my life right now. Even with meds and regular psych appointments, I don't see much progress being made. Ressource are few and far between. Psychologists / psychiatrists seem to be taught about child ADHD, but almost nothing on adult ADHD. /rant