Re: About the Toronto ADD Workshop…

[Anonymous]

First and foremost, thank you! It is so difficult to access useful information about adult ADHD and now you are addressing this whole situation.

Re:The emotional Journey…

This isn’t a journey, its an out-of-control roller coaster ride which speeds up, slows down, spins you off the tracks and then settles into a pleasant ride, all without any warning. What I really appreciated were Rick’s very thoughtful comments about moving past the self-damning that follows the diagnosis. I have lately been asking myself, will I ever stop attoning for my sins? So far, that was always answered with a, “no”. I will be attoning forever. Now perhaps, that can change.

I have just recently started anger management work with a therapist and something good came out of the very first session. We were talking about core values and I pointed out that I didn’t think I had any (growing up with an undiagnosed adhd mother who had suffered other issues, too, was not fun). He responded to the contrary. He pointed out how I loved and valued being creative, experiencing and encouraging discovery and exploration…. very positive attributes. I had done these all my life but never thought of them that way. It was a big move forward for me – and it came in a way that helped in a gentle, easily-digested way. To say that I will be continuing with this work would be an understatement.

My point in offering all of this? Even at my advanced age (almost 60) I am appreciating learning more about myself so that I may life the rest of my life with a better, happier, more positive sense of myself. It doesn’t mean the adhd will go away – it is mine for life. And in some ways I like that – I call it “An extraordinary gift that exacts an excrutiating cost.” So – we learn to deal with the cost and love the benefits. The roller coaster does not have to run forever. I haven’t found that on-off switch yet, but I am getting closer to an alternative – the on -slow down switch. Hey, its a start!

cheers, and thanks again for doing all of this.

Peter

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