It was this morning, when I talked to some women I'd become friendly with at my gym. They knew I had the appointment, so I thought I'd update them.
I'm glad she had this response. It means I get to approach this with a reason, and information. I spent some of my time in the gym, on the stationary bike in the women's room, researching and commenting. I learned a lot of interesting facts today. I admit, much of it was from Wikipedia and I know that's not the end all, be all of information, that there are mistakes and such, but what I like about Wikipedia is that they cover it in terms that I can understand. It's listed out in a plausible, informative way and if I doubt any other information, I can look it up independently.
But, as usual, I digress.
She said to me "ADHD is a fake diagnosis! You can handle that kind of stuff with diet and exercise!"
I said to her with a chuckle, "It's very real in me!"
ADHD is not a new thing. This has been around for a very long time, and was recognized as an issue as far back as the 1798, and was classified as "mental restlessness". In the early 1900's the underlying condition was recognized in the early 1900's. By 1930's, they were finding out the efficacy of medications in the disorder and ADHD in adults was researched in the 1970's. So this isn't a "new" diagnosis by any means.
I believe there is a lot of rhetoric in the world regarding ADHD and how it's been diagnosed in the past. I agree that it could have been over-diagnosed by overzealous doctors and psychiatrists, and not every child or adult diagnosed with ADHD or ADD fit the criteria. Obviously, pharmaceutical companies will jump on anything that can be treated with a pill and help them make money. That's a big unfortunate side effect of the pharmaceutical mentality we live in at this point in history. But looking back on history, we've always tried to find effective treatments for maladies. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, the medications given to children for teething would make a mother's hair curl in this century. Morphine, heroin and even cocaine were used just simply to calm a child who was teething. I don't think that medication should be tossed at every single malady we have or even just claim to have, but they definitely have their places in their lives. It's up to us to be diligent and stand up for our own medical well being. It never hurts to do a bit of research on your medications. Don't ever just blindly follow a physician just because they are a physician. It never hurts to question.
Diet and exercise will definitely help. There is a correlation between obesity and ADHD. Why would that be, you might wonder? Because people with ADHD have little impulse control. Here's my example: I will feel stressed out. Kids are crazy, hormones might be rushing, phone's been ringing, cats are puking on the floor, laundry is piling up, and I'm severely overwhelmed. My answer to this is to call my darling dear husband and say "I need a snack night. Can I take 30 dollars and go to Safeway?" He says yes, I go there with the kiddles in tow and buy 6 cinnamon buns, two bags of chips (because I couldn't decide which I want more) and whatever other junk catches my fancy. Then I come home, turn on the TV, put the kids down and chow down. I might not eat it all, but I will demolish at the minimum 2 cinnamon buns, one whole big bag of chips and probably a couple cans of pop. This can go on for a couple of days.
You're reading that going, "WOW! That's a lot of food!" It sure is. And it sucks afterwards. My stomach hurts, I feel like crud, but I know in a couple of months, I'll do it again. I'm diabetic and somehow doing this with my diet hasn't affected my A1C numbers the way I thought they would this winter. However, I have binged on veggies and dip before. I figure that's healthier. But impulse control is a big deal for me. Shopping, eating, many things. I can easily eat a whole cheesecake. Or a pie...it's not hard.
I always have good intentions with things. I love to knit. I can knit fairly well. But if I start something, like a dish cloth for instance, something relatively quick and easy, once I've started, I don't want to stop. It's such an obsession to do it until it's done. If it's a bigger project, like a blanket, I'll do a lot of it, but I probably won't finish it for two or three years. And keep in mind...I love to knit. It's fun for me!
I get lost in the quagmire of housework. I can clean a house. I can clean it well. I will have one day of just rapid cleaning, doing the whole house. I won't just do one room. I start laundry, get through tons and tons, and then ... stop. Dead. I won't wash another stitch of laundry for two weeks. I'll do dishes only when they are absolutely needed. I may not sweep the floor for two or three days. And washing the floor...whatever. The kids need to be antibacterial anyway.
I'm going to copy and paste this directly from Wikipedia. I want to list the symptoms of an adult with ADHD.
These are the symptoms for Inattentive ADHD:
In adults, these evolve into:[12]
- Procrastination
- Indecision, difficulty recalling and organizing details required for a task
- Poor time management, losing track of time
- Avoiding tasks or jobs that require sustained attention
- Difficulty initiating tasks
- Difficulty completing and following through on tasks
- Difficulty multitasking
- Difficulty shifting attention from one task to another
These are the symptoms for Hyperactive/Impulsive Type ADHD
In adults:
- Chooses highly active, stimulating jobs
- Avoids situations with low physical activity or sedentary work
- May choose to work long hours or two jobs
- Seeks constant activity
- Easily bored
- Impatient
- Intolerant to frustration, easily irritated
- Impulsive, snap decisions and irresponsible behaviors
- Loses temper easily, angers quickly
I fit the Hyperactive/Impulsive Type almost to a "T". I want to be an LPN for a living. It's not exactly a low activity type job, especially if in the future I make it to an ER. That won't happen until I've had way more training though. I don't like jobs where I sit around. They drive me bats. But I can sit around at home. I get too overwhelmed by the tasks. I love activity. I love doing something, I work hard at trying to convince Jeff we should go out. To the park, shopping, a movie, anything to be out of the house. I'm impatient. I know I am...if I want something, I want it now. I will go into debt for something if I want it right away. But I don't because I have Jeff to support me and stop me. I get frustrated and irritated SO easily. Someone breathing too loud, rattling paper, chewing too loudly, drive me to insanity. if I'm cranky, I'm super cranky. Oddly enough, I can turn it off in public. That's not good for my kids though. Very impulsive. I love to shop...like seriously. You read about my eating, it's almost as bad for my shopping. I've improved greatly on my own with that, thinking about how much Jeff makes and how long it takes him to earn it. If it's my money though, it's MY money. I earned it, I'm going to spend it how I please. I really should be paying things off to help my husband, and I WANT to help, but that impulse... I lose my temper with my kids and husband a lot. It would surprise people how much I yell. And it has come out in public with the kids, just like any parent, but I'm very aware of it. I am trying to learn to just breathe before overreacting. And every single thing that I do, I do aware of the consequences, but sometimes, can't stop myself. And then I feel guilty. Like...beat myself up to the point of tears guilty. I definitely don't need someone to get mad at me. I do just fine on my own. It's a TERRIBLE spiral.
I fit the Inattentive part of ADHD as well. Read it, it's like reading about me. And these aren't things I can just make go away. It takes a lot of mental work for me to achieve even one task to be done. I can sure start something, but the chances of my finishing it is nadda. It's frustrating to people, I know. It makes me sound lazy, inconsiderate and rude. I'm not any of those. When I'm working, I work hard. Lazy is a good description of me, but I can't figure out why I'm lazy sometimes. The drive just simply isn't there. If someone ever called me inconsiderate to my face, I'd die. I'd curl up in a big ball and cry my heart out. I think of all my friends and family as much as possible. I'd give you the shirt of my back to help you. I rarely say no. I want to help, I want to be there and be supportive. And rude...that's another one that would just crush me if I were called rude. But when I butt into conversations and get louder and louder to be heard, I AM being rude. I KNOW I'm being rude. But how do you say that without sounding stupid as well!!
I've managed a lot of coping strategies to get by in life with my ADHD and anxiety. Laughing at myself and being self deprecating is one of them. Sort of a "get them before they get you" kind of mentality, but in the "get you before they get you" way of thinking. I wonder often what's wrong with me. I ask the question of someone and they say "nothing at all. You're wonderful!" And then they make fun of me for my talking, or my lack of motivation in keeping my house clean.
Telling someone that this is a fake diagnosis isn't a very nice thing to do. If it were someone other than someone like me, who is very open minded and understanding, it could be devastating to their mental health. For a person who is already feeling bad about themselves, questioning their own mental health, wondering what's wrong with them, and doesn't feel confident in what's already going on around them, it could tip them to something they shouldn't do. Adults with ADHD have a higher incidence of substance abuse, divorces, poor job performance.
A little understanding and empathy can go a long way with a person who is suffering from any mental illness or learning disability. Just be cautious what you say.
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