it’s not mental illness. it’s neurological. you are born with it and no amount of therapy will change that, tho there are for sure ways to manage it.
Diagnosed at 47. It’s been a helluva ride. I’ve been addicted to more substances than you can shake a stick at. Car crashes. Destroyed relationships. Academic disasters. Depression. Criminal justice. Happy now though, trying not to look back but it wasn’t all bad. Every day I do a bit of work on rebuilding my self esteem.
It took a huge amount of time and self reflection to realize that I’m not lazy and I’m actually trying my best. It’s sad to think how misunderstood I was for so, so many years.
Just got my six year old diagnosed and we are learning how to help her develop strategies to deal with it. For now, we’re keeping meds on the back burner, but anyone have more recent experience with meds as a child? My husband wasn’t diagnosed until he was an adult and we don’t want to immediately start with meds or use his coping method of Adderall and copious amounts of caffeine.
Out of curiosity is there a particular reason you’re avoiding meds for them other than the stigma associated with stimulants? It’s a first-line treatment for ADHD not a last resort.
that hit me too. people want to avoid what is the mostly likely thing to work. how stimulants affect adhd people: the enhance concentration, making it possible to learn and grow in a healthier way, to succeed. they don’t do the same thing that they do to someone without adhd. just like insulin for a type one diabetic.
