Adult-to-Adult
ADDitude asked: If you could change one thing about adult attention deficit, what would it be? Being able to manage time better, make friends more easily, and finding a good job, said readers.
ADDitude asked: If you could change one thing about ADHD, what would it be?
Having the ability to stay on top of time and tasks got your vote. But so did making friends, not beating yourself up, and finding a job where your abilities were appreciated — and rewarded.
I wish I didn’t always need to do something wacky or crazy to get my adrenaline levels up in order to feel alive. -Justin, Australia
I wish non-ADDers understood that we can be super-intelligent and still forget that it’s Wednesday. -Maureen, New York
I would like not to feel so isolated, as if I am an alien. It’s difficult to maintain friendships because I always end up feeling like a circus freak and that other people are happy to be entertained by me. Being “the entertainer” is nice for about five minutes, but I wish they would like me for me. -Lisa, New York
I regret 65 years of impulsive decisions. But I know it is too late to do anything about that now. So I do my best to keep moving forward. -Charlie, Missouri
I wish I had found a medication or other treatment that would work in conjunction with a “menopause brain.” And I wish I had a job that I could do well and make a difference in. -Becky, California
After having 14 jobs in the last 15 years, I vote for having an ADD-friendly job. -Connie, Texas
I wish I could relax. I can’t sit and take a calming breath when I need to. -Erin, Vermont
I feel lost in a world in which people function so efficiently. I wonder what the secret code is that I don’t get. -An ADDitude Reader
I need better time management skills. No matter how much time I have to do something, or to get somewhere, I always get distracted and have to rush. It’s very hard on my husband and kids. -Caroline, South Africa
I regret having to be “labeled” something, so that psychiatrists can figure out which box to place me in. There really is nothing “cookie-cutter” about the effect, treatment, or lifestyle in dealing with ADD. Treat the person, not the label. -Erin, Illinois
I would change the fact that I’m so hard on myself. Even though I’m successful in the different facets of my life — personal, professional, athletics — I’m always worried that one day I’ll wake up and find that my friends and family realize I’m not as good as they think I am. -Angela, Michigan
I would like to be quieter and more subdued. I talk nonstop, the definition of “motor mouth.” -Kelley, Georgia
I would love to be able to follow creative whims when they strike, and be able to monitor myself, so I don’t “fall down the rabbit hole.” -Jen, Georgia
I wish I had earned my undergraduate degree in less than 13 years. Semester after semester, I skipped class and procrastinated so long on homework that I ended up dropping classes. -Melissa, Colorado
I wish I had kept my friends and had been able to clean up “the blurts”! I’m known for saying what I think — even when I’m on medication. -Pam, Washington
I wish I had found out about my ADHD sooner. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 40. By then, I had failed at so many things, been fired so many times, and made so many inexplicable mistakes, I had lost my nerve and become demoralized. -Sharon, Washington, D.C.
