ADHD Support Group

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi Jared. I just saw this thread for the first time too, and I think it's a great idea, thanks for starting it! So here's my story, I'm raising two grandkids, BOTH are ADHD, one more so than the other, and I'm a happily medicated bipolar so you can only imagine the joy! But wait, there's more! One of the kids and my DH also have mild Asperger's. And as I have learned more about all this, I have come to realize that I am probably also somewhat ADHD myself, which actually helps! My young'un was taking Concerta but recently rebelled and stopped taking it. He's managing by drinking a little coffee or Dr Pepper twice a day and that seems to help him. Classical instrumental music works for him and me both in the background, the other, older child likes more modern, louder music (in her room, thank you!). So we all have our various strategies but somehow we manage. Thanks for starting this thread!

 

[HappyDuckie]

Hey Jared. I'm also ADHD (severely). A few things that help me cope with it are 1. Being with my chickens and ducks, 2. reading (lots. I once read over 15,000 pages in a week.) It's been especially tough lately, not sure why. Hopefully I can find some things on here to help though

 

[jnicholes]

Looks we all have some common ADHD elements!

 

[jnicholes]

Well, finding this made me feel better.

 

[Bantambird]

So I'm 39 and suffer from ADHD. I am married with 3 lovely children ( oldest for sure suffers from ADHD and probably mild depression) ( middle is painfully shy and introverted, terrified of crowds). My husband became disabled 10 years ago due to an on the job injury, and suffers from debilitating chronic facial nerve pain and migraines, so I manage most of the daily household chores, but I make him handle bill pays because I'm too easily distracted and I want him to be contributing so he manages bills. It doesn't require a lot of moving around. So, yes, holding down jobs with ADHD is a struggle, I was medicated for many years but not during childbearing ( ritalin is not good for fetuses) and now I no longer medicate due to side effects becoming more annoying than the ADHD and lack of income due to loosing my job several years ago. I'm now basically self employed. I manage a small farm, the J L bar farm, named after my dad's family brand. I hatch and sell chicks and poults, board a few horses, and manage 45 acres of hay ground. I like using music when I work too, I use whatever I'm in the mood for at the time, be it classical, happy hardcore, classic rock, thrash metal, classic country or whatever ( except rap. I'm just not into rap for work music.)
Anyways, the farm usually barely breaks even or takes a loss, but I'm working, feeding my family, and providing a service to my parents ( by managing their townhouse and providing horse hay for their horses). Over time, I've learned to psych myself into following through when I need to, but I still make a lot of mistakes. I find working with my hands keeps me on track better than desk work ever could, so being outside working on the irrigation ditches, managing the hatchery, and hugging my funny turkeys keeps me motivated. My mother also has ADHD. She's a veterinarian, and she found her passion in medicine and surgery and is a top surgeon in her field. For me at this point, I'm just managing to care for all my kids and my husband, plus my mother in law is living with us for the next few months( and the farm). So I wanna say keep pushing yourself, because you will find the right way. Did you know that ER doctors do better with ADHD? You would be surprised by how many ER docs have it. My mom was an emergency veterinarian for many years until her retirement, and ADHD made her ambivalent to the fact that only 5% of her graduate class were females. There are niche jobs that are great for ADHD folks. Finding them, and finding your passion, will be the hardest part.

 

[jnicholes]

I learned a lot about ADHD since the last time I posted on this thread. Working now, but I will type it up later.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Also, you can’t look at it as you failing or take it so personally. I used to do the same thing or care about reaction scores here or “likes” and such on other social media sites or whatever but the fact of the matter is that this is just the internet and likes, replies, all that stuff doesn’t matter in the long run. And it most definitely is NOT a reflection of your self worth or a failure on your part or anything like that. It usually just means it didn’t get seen for whatever reason. It’s not anything personal I guarantee. I think that you should keep trying because there are lots of people on here that would love this thread I am sure. But if not, it is not the end of the world. I used to think like that. The doom and gloom thing and be so caught up online and I still sometimes struggle with it but it is not healthy.

 

[Sablehaven]

sea shanties? I prefer classical, but I’ll have to try that sometime.

Rhythmic working songs

 

[jnicholes]

Brain mapping is a thing!? Sounds very interesting! I would be curious to see mine haha and I’m sorry

Oh, yes, its a thing! The therapist actually said ALL the problems I had just by reading the brain map.

Just so you all know, 4 standard deviations is a LOT.

Thanks all for the support.

Jared

 

[ShrekDawg]

See!? This thread has taken off now! just needed a little visibility!