Lived Experience Forum

[AFK]

Hi all, I'm new here and wanted to introduce myself. I'm AFK, diagnosed less than a year ago with ADHD. I also have a lengthy history with depression (I'm developing a healthy understanding of how the two go hand in hand). I'm in my 40s, so discovering the ADHD was a bit of a surprise. It's explained a lot about the person I am and the nature of things like hyperfocus (staying up all night on personal projects to the detriment of work or study), and how I can be brilliantly productive in areas of interest and yet really struggle with stuff like household maintenance and the environment of constant interruptions in my workplace

I can honestly say things are the best they've been for me in terms of balancing finance and expenses, of having a healthy relationship and relatively good health - but I still feel kinda overwhelmed. In this time of calm, old traumas I didn't have time to deal with have come back to poke me, and the extra household work involved in having an unwell partner have stepped in to take away the energy I had hoped to regain from reducing my work hours. Would like to connect with others who are managing with ADHD, and/or who are untangling a nasty backlog of past life stuff about things that help you navigate it all.

AFK.

[Paperdaisy]

Hi @AFK  and welcome to the SANE forums. I'm sorry to hear you are feeling overwhelmed and dealing with past trauma. I'm hearing that you are seeking some connection and guidance in this space? It is great timing you have come here to connect with others who share your story. We are running a live event tomorrow evening and will be discussing ADHD with @Jynx who also has lived experience. I hope you will join us to share your experience of being diagnosed as an adult and I'm sure you will meet lots of like minded people. You can find the details of the event here .

Hope to see you there!

Paperdaisy 😊

[AFK]

Nice to meet you, @Paperdaisy. Thanks for your reply. You have read correctly that I am interested in connection and possibly guidance - also I hope my own experience can be of use to others. I'm quite interested in the event you mentioned though unfortunately I'll be out tomorrow night and unable to attend. In the meantime, are there any relevant threads you can think of that you could direct me to? I have found even on forums specifically relating to ADHD I haven't really been able to get into a good and productive discussion with anyone in a similar position to myself (mostly they bang on about meds, which have their place insofar as they work for some, but I should like a broader discussion on living with ADHD with or without medication). Thanks again for sharing the event info, I wish I could come along.

AFK.

[ButterflyBeauty]

Hello @AFK,

It is nice to meet you and we are so pleased that you have joined our community here! It is unfortunate that you are unable to attend the Topic Tuesday event this evening. The good news is that the feed will be available via the same link after the event so you will still be able to benefit from the event discussion! Would you be open to beginning a conversation in the forums related to your experience and outlining exactly what it is that you are hoping to speak to the community about? I hope that the forums can provide you with connection, support and thought provoking ideas. I have no doubt that your story will also be very beneficial and meaningful to our community too!

Thank you

ButterflyBeauty

[AFK]

Hi @ButterflyBeauty ,

Thank you for your kind welcome. Great to know I can check out the event later, even though I can't attend - admittedly I hadn't considered that possibility. Definitely open to beginning a conversation, though in truth I've been a little hesitant as, when it's about ADHD - even on ADHD specific forums - any threads I have begun have been studiously ignored by all, which is in itself something of a trigger for me (the more so, the more often it happens). So I guess I want to get a feel for the community and talk to people a bit before I dive into that so there's some reason to stay and maybe try again when it inevitably fails; I've found myself walking away from so many places because of the above and I am growing weary of it. As for the benefits of my experience to the community - my history is a long and storied one, I should hope I can pass on something of use from all of it.

Kind thoughts,

AFK.

[Paperdaisy]

Hi @AFK Just linking you into the recent Topic Tuesday so you can have a read and we've also started a new thread for all things ADHD 😊

Topic-Tuesday-ADHD 

ADHD Thread 

Take care, Paperdaisy 

[AFK]

Thanks @Paperdaisy for those links, I got some good and highly relatable info out of the Topic Tuesday thread, and am really glad to see a dedicated ADHD thread now, hoping to see that get the attention it deserves. Also thanks to @Daisydreamer for tagging me in the event thread. 🙂

Kind thoughts,

AFK.