4 ms·

I had a very different experience. I was diagnosed late in life, and the struggles to do simple things would blow up my depression. This created massive amounts

I had a very different experience. I was diagnosed late in life, and the struggles to do simple things would blow up my depression. This created massive amounts of anxiety, and that led to a rough time at home with my wife and daughter. I will never be able to fix the damage to my daughter, she is now riddled with anxiety from having parents that couldn't cope very well with life. Thankfully she is a brilliant kid, and now that we are older and wiser we can guide her a lot better with dealing with these issues. Buy my third child is showing signs of ADHD, and I have nothing but compassion for him. I have no interest in OVER medicating him, and have made significant life changes so that I can take my younger children on as many outdoor activities as possible. In short... overmedication might be an issue. Not having good life-coping skills might be an issue as well. But sensationalist headlines that let headline browsers reinforce their "ADHD doesn't exist" misconceptions can cause harm. Just because it's a recent discovery doesn't mean that it isn't real, and that we can just abandon these kids.

WeaselNo7 11y ago
Out of curiosity, how did you find your symptoms affected your relationship with your family? If it's too personal, ignore this!
soylentcola 11y ago
Thank you for your post. I'm not married nor do I have kids but the rest of your post is very familiar. It was suggested that I be assessed for possible ADD/ADHD when I was younger but my father was very much against the concept and refused. Later on, in my mid 30's I had been speaking to a doctor about several ongoing issues and it was also suggested that I speak to someone about ADD/ADHD. I was diagnosed fairly quickly and currently take a small daily dose of stimulant medication. I've no interest in abusing this medication or taking more than absolutely necessary because stimulant drugs do indeed carry side effects. That said, with a dosage that strikes the right balance between benefits and side effects, it has made a huge difference WRT the primary symptoms as well as the secondary problems my inability to focus had caused (depression and anxiety). I could waste days contemplating how things would have been different if I'd treated this earlier but at this point I think that would be counterproductive. I'm just glad I'm addressing it now.

WeaselNo7 11y ago

Out of curiosity, how did you find your symptoms affected your relationship with your family? If it's too personal, ignore this!

soylentcola 11y ago

Thank you for your post. I'm not married nor do I have kids but the rest of your post is very familiar. It was suggested that I be assessed for possible ADD/ADHD when I was younger but my father was very much against the concept and refused. Later on, in my mid 30's I had been speaking to a doctor about several ongoing issues and it was also suggested that I speak to someone about ADD/ADHD. I was diagnosed fairly quickly and currently take a small daily dose of stimulant medication. I've no interest in abusing this medication or taking more than absolutely necessary because stimulant drugs do indeed carry side effects. That said, with a dosage that strikes the right balance between benefits and side effects, it has made a huge difference WRT the primary symptoms as well as the secondary problems my inability to focus had caused (depression and anxiety). I could waste days contemplating how things would have been different if I'd treated this earlier but at this point I think that would be counterproductive. I'm just glad I'm addressing it now.