I Feel People Judge Me When They Don’t Know Why I Am The Way I Am. Explain Adult ADHD.

Part of #ExplainAdultADHD.  A campaign to reduce the ignorance, misinformation, and stigma against adults with ADHD.

I feel people judge me when they don’t know why I am the way I am.

By Renee

“I have believed all my life I had some sort of learning disability. Finally, after I turned 60 I began hearing more and more about ADD in adults.

I started to educate myself about it. I have been seeing a therapist for many years because of major depressive disorder. I brought it up to him in one of my sessions, explained my “symptoms” and asked him what he thought about me possibly having adult ADD.

He had never talked to me about it…..only the depression issues. He agreed that what I was explaining in his opinion was ADD. I also have a tic disorder which started when I was about 4 to 5 years old. It went away for many years, but has come back with a vengeance in many forms over the last couple of years.

I am VERY relieved to know that all these years my low self-esteem and feeling “dumb” has a reason!

I am a successful Realtor. I passed my exam the first try. I have always been so proud of myself for that accomplishment because elementary through high school my grades were not great. I struggled!!

Real estate sales is challenging to say the least. It is very stressful at times. It takes a lot of effort for me to stay organized and not let anything slip by.

I couldn’t live my life without sticky notes and a schedule written in about 10 places!

My main concern is although I am willing to explain my ADD to family members and close friends as well as my husband…..their eyes seem to glaze over when I talk about it.

They see me as they have always seen me. Spacey, unable to focus on conversations, finishing their sentences, getting lost at a stop sign unable to remember where I was going or why.

You know…..all the “normal” daily trials of one who has this disorder. I want to take them all to the therapist with me and have him explain when I am the way I am and always have been.

That is a little crazy…..but I don’t have the energy to battle for their attention to take me seriously.

Depression is something others don’t understand unless they have experienced it.

I have had this for so many years, I believe my family has become “numb” to my needs. I just want to be understood. Does that make sense? I may have lost my direction a few times here. Ha!”

By Renee

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