The ADHD Aha! Moment
A mother of five recalls the emotional moment when she realized she had ADHD.
My husband, John, and I had just returned from grocery shopping. The counters were lined with bags – probably 20 in all. I was on my second bag, putting away vegetables, when I noticed a package of ground meat in the refrigerator. It was starting to turn brown. I thought, “I’ve got to make tacos now or that meat’s going to go bad.” So I grabbed the meat and a pan and headed for the stove.
“STOP!” yelled John. “What are you doing?” When I tried to explain myself, he said, “Look around. Do you see all these groceries? We have milk, eggs, frozen food, meat, and everything else. We need to put all this stuff away so it doesn’t go bad. Cook the meat later.”
I looked at John, pan in one hand, package of meat in the other, with tears rolling down my face. In that moment, my life changed. I finally understood the cause of the turmoil in my life – strained relationships, the difficulty I had keeping up with my work and taking care of my family. The following week I saw a doctor and got the help I needed.
–Sally R., a mother of five from Texas
