"I Shouldn't Care About Your Expectations. But I Do."

23 Comments: "I Shouldn't Care About Your Expectations. But I Do."

1. A lot of this really resonates with me, from the article to the comments. I tend to run and research everything that grabs my attention or effects me and I feel like I need to know more. I have seen a lot of commonality once you get into the ADHD community. Many of these, this article included, does help to feel that I am not alone and help define things that I have/am going through, but sadly I can’t seem to find a whole lot on what to do next. Sure I can journal about myself and reflect, or I can buy a budget tool to help keep up with finances better, I can educate people on what I may go through and hope to explain in ways that they understand, I hear you on the shame-spiral and see ways to internally work on “self-image”. But just the other day my partner and I spent the majority of the day cleaning and de-cluttering which was huge, I was happy but exhausted however we had plans with friends that evening (that I was looking forward to) but of course I had misplaced my keys and shoes and I had planned on getting dressed 30 mins before I was to leave but that turned into 10mins to find it all and change and such, so guess what… I made us late, AGAIN. Hindsight, I get it, I should have paid more attention, tried not to do so much, etc but still in the moment I don’t think that way. My partner was a upset but honestly is great and generally more patient that most people are with me but as we leave, 5 mins later I realize I forgot like 3 things I really needed to bring, but again already 30 mins late. I get distracted and miss a turn that adds another 6 mins and now both of us being already stressed I get what feels to me like a lecture and shame and disappointment and well I am also sensitive, so I get frustrated and anxiety kicks in and I start making more mistakes and then of course against all my willpower start to cry, but now it turns to why are you crying, why cant you just pay attention to driving, etc and I say something like you know I’m ADD. That turns into why do you always use that as an excuse instead of trying to fix it. She feels like I am making her into a bad guy for being in-sensitive and not allowing her to just be upset for once, but I just couldn’t control it. I no longer wanted to go, but was asked to push through it, box it and deal with it after the event, If I could, I would, but because she can, she thinks I can learn how too… That I should accommodate her as much as she tries to accommodate me and I am just left with more questions than answers. I think I understand the what makes me ADHD and the why I am this way, but how do we compromise? I don’t want to run another person off. I didn’t care much in the past, because I didn’t feel like many of them were worth it but she is. I just don’t know what to ask for in means of accommodations and what areas to try to find ways to minimize our struggles. Or am I fixating again when she has already moved on past the past?

2. Please speak for yourself, not for others. There is now “we” when it comes to ADHD. We’re not a monolith, and not every one takes pride in having ADHD.

   If there were a cure for ADHD, I would take it immediately. I don’t like being this way, and the fact I have to live with this disorder (and yes, to me it is a disorder) is incredibly painful. I suffer from it every day. It has ruined my life, cost me my marriage, many jobs, and several friendships.

   Pardon my language, but why the hell would I WANT this?

3. I am a 54 year-old man who has recently been diagnosed with ADHD by my therapist. We are currently exploring options. I am beginning to realize that the emotional impact of living with ADHD is pretty much ignored by the rest of the world (are these what you refer to as neurotypicals in your article? I’m not sure.). Many of the strong, negative emotions described above are part of my daily load. My therapist says that people with untreated ADHD work hundred times harder to fit in. I feel like I am constantly trying to live up to other people’s unstated standards.

   I don’t want the rest of the world to understand me and accomodate date me. I want a cure! I hate being this way. The frustration at fi di g myself again at the grocery store without making a list and the fear at work to forgrt an important detail coupled with tthe unending uncertainty that I’m sticking my foot in my mouth by revealing I am not following the conversation at hand is making me insane.

   I know this is just the beginning of the process and I am grateful to have such a good therapist to work with. I am also grateful to friends who have pointed me to helpful resources!

   1. … and the shame of hitting “Post Comment” before finishing editing for GUM errors.

4. all people with ADHD feel like this not just women, plus confused about why they are like this until they get the explanation – that it is not their fault but they can do something about it. I write extensively on Quora.com, Medium.com and have books on emotional literacy on Amazon.com, profits from which all go to charity, that is all about helping people with both ADHD and NPD in their lives, I have lived with both and my book travelling the alphabet is about surviving both at the same time and write a lot about self acceptance and shame. I only want to help people and will take direct questions. I use my own name sylvia clare – check it out. not self promotion just trying to help

   1. I hear you. The big difference lies in our culture. In the 80s and 90s when I was a child/adolescent, there was little to no talk about gender equality or gender fluidity.
      Girls were to be clean, organized, feminine and “put together”. Boys were to be tough, messy and masculine. More of a “let the boys be boys” mentality. This is definitely changing- I see the change when talking to my 10 year old son. He is aware of the fact that girls can play sports and be messy and that doesn’t mean they are defective. Unfortunately, in my days as a child/teen, those differences in me made me feel less than, defective and “not made for this world.”
      My son is also aware of the fact that boys do not have to play into toxic masculinity and that everyone is perfectly unique and equal.
      So…my point is…the times are changing. I hope it continues.

5. Just new here. Always knew I had ADHD, but recently got an official diagnosis. No meds yet. I can’t believe how many people are like me. It really helps knowing others are in the same boat. The article today about messiness and forgetfulness as well as creativity feels like it was me writing the article. Except that, like a few others mentioned, I would definitely wave that magic wand, especially at Christmas time. I am so overwhelmed right now, it is hard to get any one task completed. I am trying really hard. Right now, the floor is littered with wrapping paper and gifts to be wrapped. Put out all our about 5 hours ago, but have yet to wrap one present, but, here I am reading about ADHD and spending my time writing this comment! Lol. Okay, Dee – go wrap one gift and soon you will forget about anything else, like cooking supper….

   1. Welcome to the tribe 🙂 I was diagnosed last March with ADHD combined type at 33. 6 months later, I started taking medication and it really changed my life for the better. As a single mom with very low self worth prior to diagnosis, I never thought I would be successful or even just OK. This week, a little over a year after starting medication, I am finishing my first semester for accounting. Although I have my BA, it is in Psychology, and I have worked in childcare (underemployed) for several years now. During my undergraduate career, I was truly very happy with a C. I would joke “C’s get degrees!”. Yeah but they don’t get you to graduate school (which was the plan). I just finished my final exam and will be getting an A in accounting- something I never would have dreamed of prior to diagnosis and medication.
      Hang in there during the process to get medication. It’s often hard to find a good psych doc, but being persistent is so worth it. Good luck to you!!

      1. Good for you! May many more good things come your way. I waited a very long time to get diagnosed. When my daughter stopped sharing stories about her life with me because a week later, she had to repeat the same thing, and another week later…you guessed it….no recall at all! So, at 69 years old, I finally got tested, but with high blood pressure and a few bouts in the past with arythmia, my doctor is understandably concerned with meds….

6. I posted this on Facebook with a request that my family and close friends take the time to read it. My dad responded with the following. I just want to scream and pull my hair out at how much he DOESN’T get it at all!

   “Read and understood. So, what’s your plan? Life has to be lived no matter what. I think your best asset is YOU! :). What would [3rd grade teacher] tell you to do?”

7. I just want to thank you for this article. It explains everything I can’t always put into words. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

8. I can identify with every single point you made here, except one – I would take that magic wand and wave the crap out of it if it meant I didn’t have to struggle every single day to do the simplest things. It’s exhausting, I’m exhausted.

   The only way the neurotypical world will EVER afford us the three things you mentioned -acceptance, kindness and understanding – is when the world is educated to the degree of impairment that can be caused by ADHD. One way would be to show people the similarities between traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and ADHD. If you put the symptoms side by side it’s actually kind of scary!– how similar they are. Some types of strokes – depending on the area of the brain affected – can also share very similar symptoms as ADHD. If you could find a way to show people how it feels to live in our brains for a day that could be very powerful. It reminds me of what we did in nursing school to see how it felt to be blind. We were blindfolded and had to try to eat a meal without stabbing ourselves and walk across a room without running into anything or falling. That was a much more powerful lesson than anything we had read in our books up until that point.

   It also doesn’t help that in addition to most people not understanding what ADHD really is, it’s also an invisible disorder (or disability or difference ) – however you want to label it. Invisible maladies are always going to be harder for people to understand than a physical one they can actually see.

   Think about it – if people knew you had a brain injury or a stroke – don’t you think they would be a bit more understanding than if you told them you had ADHD ???

   Here is an example from my own experience at work many years ago:
   My boss called me into her office to inform me that several of my colleagues were very frustrated and upset with my productivity compared to theirs. They felt that I was being a slacker, spent too much time talking to patients, staff, and students and not taking the job seriously. By picking up my slack they ultimately saw more patients than I was. I found out that 2 of my colleagues had been keeping track of how many patients I saw each day and gave that info to our manager each week. One of them was actually trying to get me fired.

   They felt they were working harder than I was yet we were all getting paid the same and had the same benefits. They resented me for that and swore there was NO WAY it could be explained but just ADHD. They truly thought it was more of a lazy work ethic / a personality flaw or disorder, that I was just manipulative. I mean they were downright nasty for many years. And they even kept track of what time I came in every day (bc of course I am always a few minutes late wherever I go!) to build their case against me.

   I think I cried for like a month after my manager told me this. Eventually that sadness and depression morphed into an internal anger that gave me the courage to start educating my fellow coworkers and colleagues (we are nurse practitioners) about ADHD and how it affects the brain. I would bring in articles and highlight the pertinent points as I knew they were busy. I remember the day I brought in a list I had made comparing similarities between TBI and ADHD. The NP who had been out to get me the most made a face I will never forget as she read through that list. I was trying so hard not to smile I thought I was going to burst. I realized they were finally starting to get it.

   I also spent years soliciting feedback from my colleagues when they see me doing something that could be derailing me to please let me know. I subsequently would come up with strategies to implement to prevent that from happening in the future. I have always been open to new ideas on how to be more efficient. I also contribute to the office in other ways to make up for the difference in my productivity. Like the typical ADHD’er I am creative, able to think out of the box and always brimming with ideas on how to improve our department. So I routinely lead the way when it comes to trying out new ideas to implement in the office – and I enjoy it!

   Now 15 years later I am actually very well liked and one of the most respected NP’s in our office – by my colleagues, students, and our attendings. They finally realized that I do work as hard as they do and although they will likely always see a patient or 2 more than me – we are all working just as hard. My therapist told me I likely suffer from PTSD from everything I went through to keep my job and essentially prove my worth (in addition to fighting for my son and his needs at school over the years).

   I think we need public campaigns and education about ADHD just like we have seen with things like HIV, breast cancer, smoking,head injuries in football players and even autism. Right now it seems like the only time you hear people talk about ADHD is when they are telling a joke about how they did something stupid – ‘wow that was such an ADHD moment I just had!!! ‘

   1. dmu1970
      Amen to your observations…the “struggle every single day to do the simplest things. It’s exhausting, I’m exhausted.”’ Yes – it is exhausting to spend so much time every day to outwit yourself…expending so much time time and brain power in order to make ourselves compete things that seem so simple to “normal” people. Sadly, we then feel the full weight of the shame of falling short – even when we have put our all into keeping things from not falling apart. Others can’t see how furiously our legs are paddling under the water like a duck. Even if we only stay afloat, it is an accomplishment. They say ADHD is a gift. The chronic anxiety lump in my throat says otherwise.

      P.S. Way to go for taking on the negativity and sharing your ADHD truth. Would love to see your comparison of the symptoms of ADHD and (was it a stroke??) could you please share? Thanks! 🌿

   2. I’m with you. I’d wave the hell outa that wand! Spending 7 years being told that I’m just not getting enough done even though my quality is through the roof… Let’s just say that my self worth in that area has taken a hit and made looking for another job even more difficult.

   3. I’m so sorry for the hell you went through. It’s awful and inexcusable.
      When I say that, basically, I wouldn’t change my ADHD, what I’m saying is that it’s become such an inextricable part of my identity that changing it would be changing a fundamental part of myself, and I wouldn’t want to do that. Despite the struggles. Despite the misunderstandings.
      I may feel differently were I not in a flexible job, with an understanding — all also ADHD — family.

   4. QUOTE: “…several of my colleagues were very frustrated and upset with my productivity compared to theirs. They felt that I was being a slacker, spent too much time talking to patients, staff, and students…”

      You gotta love “productivity”. Speaking from the patient’s or the student’s point of view (especially the patient’s), you can be certain that those people appreciated the fact that you took that time to talk to them, while none of your allegedly “productive” colleagues would (indeed, they were too busy being “productive”).

      Something I learned about myself that I believe is directly related to ADhD neurology is that people characterized by what is called ADhD tend to be more aware of what is genuinely important, rather than simply urgent (a distinction often emphasized by the renown business and success author Steven Covey, by the way). People who ‘have’ ADhD tend to be guided more internally than externally, and while ‘neurotypical’ people are buzzing around, parroting, and loudly advancing things that the world insists are the things to focus attention on, ADhD-typical people tend to be seeing and thinking about things that are much bigger and ultimately more meaningful, even if they may not be consciously aware of it.

      I cannot help but wonder to what extent ADhD ought to be considered a “disease of civilization,” like so many others that are characteristic of the man-made world we live in. Those who struggle with ADhD the most appear to be those who never fit well in the industrialized Western ‘world system’ to begin with, usually since childhood (remember how well you did in school? —not!), and their family heritage often reflects the same, generations into the past.

      This is an area of ADhD that is not talked about or researched enough, but I think it is an essential point for genuine understanding of what the DSM calls a “disorder”. Clearly what is labeled ‘ADhD’ is a different way of seeing, thinking, and being in the world, but that does not make it a ‘disorder’ or a ‘disease’. Somehow, by this point in human history, we are now equating that which cannot be quantified as disease.

      JH.Boise

9. Sooner or later we will be recognized for the physical existence of this condition instead of not overcoming its debilitating results. 1/3 of children dont “grow out of it”? They adopt systems of behavior that eliminate enough of the condition to flunk the screening test. They may be left with 2/3 of the problems and that leaves them with many of our peccadillos , but absolutely none of the supports. Pity the child ADHDer who becomes the adult who only answers 4 of the screening test. Questions. To not qualify.

   1. I was thinking the same thing! It’s hard for me to believe that 1/3 (I have also heard 40%) of children outgrow ADHD. I was 33 when I was diagnosed…I had run out of adequate coping skills to overcome the incessant overstimulation, difficulty focusing, prioritizing, making choices, impulsivity that made choices very challenging. I was a great actress- until I was so buried by life that I couldn’t hide the mess anymore. The mess was in my head, my surroundings, and my soul. I feel so grateful that an observant counselor suggested screening for ADHD. I also wonder how many of that 33-40% of people who outgrow ADHD may be overlooked but keeping their head above water- which is a terrible way to live.

10. Doesnt sound like it to me except for a tinnitus i have developed that threatens to cut off my meds/drug supply .I have discovered that singing in groups is a wonderful way to self infuse your brain with Dopamine and serotonin. So I sing with three orgs several times a week to top up the supply. This together with a Serotonin/Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor does wonders for the reward system the feel good not guilty but not much for losing things or arriving on time.
    Unfortunately tinnitus causes you to lose hearing,and sing louder. If I dont find a cure it will lead to retiring from the musical chorus i sing with.and i will be back to accomodating everyones needs but mine.

11. Everything you’ve said here is as true for me as a man as it is for you as a woman. Is there actually a difference?

    1. I think the vast majority of these apply to men as well as to women. I think the reception is different — a woman interrupting is seen as different than a man interrupting, for example. A woman who can’t keep her car clean is a housekeeping failure, where a man might just be brushed off as a slob. It’s a subtle moral different, but an important difference nonetheless that speaks more to the patriarchy than to the manifestations of our brain difference.

       — Elizabeth Broadbent

       1. I do get the idea that the shame is different, but believe me, the pain of the shame is no less real for a man being called a slob if he is trying not to be. Sure, he may be able to shrug it off easier in social situations since it’s a little more socially acceptable for a guy. But deep down, it still hurts.

          As far as interrupting in the middle of a conversation…oh WOW do we get ourselves in so much trouble this way! Ask any guy who has blurted out (or yelled) something to his boss/wife/girlfriend/son/daughter/friend that he desperately wishes he could take back. The loss of control…the feelings of regret…It can be absolutely paralyzing.

          Not trying to one-up the ladies here. My point is that we are with you. Please don’t feel alone.

       2. Thanks for being with us. From a very messy mom.