#adhdactually

   I was diagnosed with adhd at the age of FIFTY. Jeez. After fifty years of getting along in life the best I could, did it make a difference to be diagnosed?

YES

   For one thing, I can now read and learn more about it, read how others deal with their difficulties. (This applies even if you are self-diagnosed!) While I have a big basket of coping skills, there is still always more to learn. Also, I can be more intentional about teaching specific coping skills to my kids, who also have it. KNOW THINE ENEMY. It’s a lot easier to work around adhd if I’m more intellectually aware of the pitfalls.

   Also, medication. For one reason and another that I won’t get into here, I only take my medication sporadically. One day a week, maybe. But when I do! This is what it feels like.

ADHD unmedicated:

   You are in a large lake. You know how to swim, and there’s nothing dangerous or frightening about the lake; in fact, there are plenty of other people around swimming different direction or walking on shore. You, however, are trying to swim to a particular spot on the shore.

   The day is heavily overcast, and you can’t tell directions by the sun’s angle. Mist occasionally wafts over the water and the shoreline,  obscuring things. There are numerous currents in the water going different directions; some of the water is clear and some is silty. You strike out toward the shore only to hit a strong current tugging you to the left. It takes a moment to adjust the angle you’re swimming at, and when you glance back at the shore you find you’re off course. You correct course. A patch of mist rolls by, and you lose sight of the shore and nearby swimmers. When it lifts it takes you a minute to find the spot you’re trying to get to, and you have to change course again. Then your knee strikes a submerged log. Weren’t you in deeper water? Where did that log come from? You keep swimming but you’re starting to lose patience. A bunch of loud teens swims by going your direction, and you try to follow them. Don’t ask for help, though – nobody else is asking for help. You’re supposed to be able to do this on your own! They’re swimming quite a bit faster than you, and when the next patch of mist comes by your lose them completely.

   Eventually, after way longer than you thought it would take, you reach the shore. You crawl out and sit down on the beach in relief. A woman walks by up the slope. “Don’t just sit there,” she calls, “the hike started ten minutes ago!” You look up the slope toward the woods. A patch of mist rolls by.

 ADHD medicated:

   You are in a large lake. You know how to swim, and there’s nothing dangerous or frightening about the lake; in fact, there are plenty of other people around swimming different direction or walking on shore. You need to swim to a particular spot on the shore.

Wednesday, September 30, 2020 Tomorrow ADHD Awareness Month begins; here's a game.

I got bingo... Third column, going straight down.

Source: @adhdactually

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  To those who might know, I have a question about adhd medication. 

First off, I am fifty, and was not diagnosed until this year. Reading about adult/female versions of adhd here on Tumblr turned out to be a huge help in identifying what was happening to me lifelong! I was also able to get a diagnosis for my son, and we are both ‘studying’ to learn more about how we can do our best at managing life.

   In addition to the adhd, I have a chronic, permanent infection of EBV (mono) that reduces my energy for everyday tasks, and chronic low-level pain from childhood injuries. I get along. I try my hardest. Being on the farm and keeping active is certainly much better for me than if I was trying to cope with a sedentary desk job (I used to have one of those!)

   What I am finding is that adhd medication can be very helpful! When I take it, I not only get more done during the day, but I feel much better doing it. It’s like the difference between doing a task and doing a task wearing a heavy backpack. With the medication taking that ‘heavy backpack’ away, I feel like the whole darned day is easier to cope with. This seems to hold true whether I am doing physical work, paperwork, or artwork. It’s so delightful to be able to concentrate! Stay on task! Complete work instead of wandering away from it!

   The trouble seems to be that I can only take meds about once a week. The day after I take them (and quite a light dose, I must add) I am so physically worn out that I barely move. Bear in mind I am not out plowing forty acres or taking difficult exams, just routine farm and household tasks. I think the physical limits on my body conflict with the full day of work the medication allows me to do.