Re: 26 years of my life feel like a complete waste ADD, oh yay, lucky me!

[Robbo]

Hi again GaiusJulius175,

You’re still young, you’ve got options. I encourage you to go with what you really enjoy. That’s the key, really liking what you do. Your interest in science sounds a lot like mine. My trick is narrowing down my focus to a smaller number of subjects. At the same time I allow myself to read and explore many other sciences and philosophies just for entertainment. Moderation is important. Too much time spent on entertaining myself has used up a lot of time I would like to have spent learning about the few subjects I’d like to make some kind of career out of.

I’m not the person to give advice on grammar or writing, just like you decided to do, I’ve kept .rtf copies of nearly all of my posts here. I look back and see how much I’ve grown, or not, this also keeps me humble. As I’ve mellowed out and become more focused, I’ve noticed my older writing could have been edited much more than I did at the time. I’m not too hard on myself about that, just honest. It’s nearly impossible to find many old posts of my own here.

Here’s a trick on finding posts/threads on any subject you want here. Let’s say you want to find info on Grammar. Just type in

Grammar site:totallyadd.com into the google window. The search result will be a long list of old posts that include info on grammar.

Early on in my time spent here, I started writing my posts in a text editor. Many times I’ll finish a post, let it camp out on my desktop. Maybe in a first drafts folder, usually just left in an open, saved text editor window. I’ve found that after a few hours, or even a day, I have a better perspective about exactly what I wanted to say, as well as how helpful or useful the post is; then I decide if I should post it. Some end up in my own personal journal only. Many of them have been asking for help, even those could have been edited more. They were good enough, served a purpose. So I have no regrets.

I’ve been really fortunate in that I’ve found medications that work well enough for my own bundle of ADHD characteristics fairly quickly compared to many folks here. My ability to communicate would not have improved without these medications. Eating more healthy has been difficult, but it’s better than putting up with the sour batch of apples my life felt like for so many years before I got here.

The one thing I think I would have done differently, now that I’m nearly done with my first book, is to get more books on ADHD earlier on in my recovery. I’ve had the luxury of time I was able to spend here reading, that was a decent enough substitute, but I’m learning more from just the first book I’ve gotten. I’m ready for another book already.

It’s not all that clear if you’re smoking weed. I know you think it should be legalized, I don’t have an opinion on that. One word of caution I do have for you, if you do smoke it; pretty much all of the doctors that specialize in ADHD will not be willing to prescribe medication to a person using pot, be honest with them, tell them the whole truth. The side affects of smoking weed alone can make a non ADDer look as if they have it. Your brain will still be developing until your 25. I heard that just today on Dr. Phil as he was talking to a couple pot smoking teenagers. I know for a fact that the stuff made my symptoms much worse. I doubt I could have made much progress using weed, or any other recreational drug. Even alcohol can keep us from feeling the growing pains that are an important part of the long road learning to live with ADHD. Exercise is a much better way to get your dopamine levels elevated. Low dopamine is likely to be one of the root causes for many of our ADHD problems. It’s important for you to be honest with you most of all. Don’t worry about what we think. The folks that are going to help you the most here are not the ones who will judge you harshly according to your political opinions or what you believe. Dig deep into this gold mine of experience. You’ll find golden wisdom.

I read much more than I write, (usually) that works best for me. My ability to read has improved since I’ve been working my way through the threads here. Medication was like reading glasses. There’s no substitute for time spent learning what ADHD is and isn’t. Good luck, and stick it out for the long haul man.

8-21-12

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