Re: ADD and addictions

[Anonymous]

hi wally girl,

i have been diagnosed with ADHD few months ago and am on non stimulant meds as i abused drink drugs and food in the past so its aparent i have addictive nature!!! .. i am having trouble with the meds i am on but i will see how it goes and make dciesion soon on that one..

i too have suffered anxiety and panick attacks trhoughout my life and at times to extreme levels but never got help at the time for it..

the only way i could deal with my addictions was rehabilitation.

i went to rehab for all my addictions as i tried so many different ways to control them all myself to no avial and it brought years of torment into my life ontoop of everythin else..i was in rehab for five weeks and then a half way house for three months.

i also attend AA meetings but i do forget to attend alot! i havent used drink or drugs for six years and it took longer to get my head around the food issue though i am verry much in control of that now.

being diagnosed with adhd recently has expalind alot of my life experiences from school times to present day and i would even say it explained alot of my drug use and addictive nature etc..i think though if i had been diagnosed alot sooner it may have preventede alot of my distructive addictive behavour, i was into doing risky things too when driving and also doing things like runnin along high walls or verry rocky areas to see if anythin would happpen ( im guessing this is thrill seeking). i was just seen as a rebel because apaarently girls arent supposed to behave like this anyway???!..

i used to buy impulsively too, and being obsesssed with certain interests and buy everythin related to that ,then in no time when i realised i couldnt actually follow through the project and what ever interest i had at the time i would then on impulse either sell all the items or give them away for nothing. i gave away a car! hundreds of pounds worht of musical equipment etc ! all on impulse.. the not being able to follow through with any of the projects i got obsessed about i now know and understand to be down to my ADHD..

i honestly believe an early diagnoses may have prevented alot of this sort of bahavour .

but for me at the time the only way to deal with my addictions was to go to rehab and get understaind of my behavour and see the consequences it left in my life (plenty of bad ones) and to attend meetings to help me learn how to deal with life without physically acting out on my addictions.. or atleast try to..

i am probably in debate quite alot about addiction actually just being the impulsive part of ADHD but i guess i cant afford to mess with those thoughts and ideas as the reality is my addictive behavour took me to verry grim places and i just use the meetings to offload anythin i need to get out of my system! which i guess is a good thing to do for anyone , addict or no addict?! i take what i need from them and leave what i dont need..

hope this may be of some help!! chips

REPORT ABUSE