Re: ANYONE ELSE feel like calling up past teachers and bosses after being diagnosed?

[Anonymous]

“The past is another country; they do things differently there.” (L.P. Hartley. The Go-Between.) To me, it’s the old “What did Mozart really die from and could modern medicine have saved him?” conundrum. Yes, I’ve had a lifetime worth of this and yes, it did and does exasperate me too. But back when I was in school ADD was the little boy who couldn’t sit still, not the little girl who was day-dreaming. My teachers and family weren’t and aren’t bad people. It wasn’t lack of compassion so much as failure to understand due to this not being known by anybody at that time – which in fairness was not their fault. I’ve stopped taking it personally. Honestly, nobody was ever as hard on me or mean to me as I was on and to myself. I know I’m bright; I wanted my education so badly, tried so hard, failed so miserably, beat myself up so much about it . Learning about ADD as it applies to me was liberating. It made it possible for me to forgive myself, let go of the self-hatred and move forward in a positive way – recognizing and celebrating my strengths and accepting and managing my limitations. I’m willing to forgive my past self because this just wasn’t understood or within my control at that time, and I’m willing to extend forgiveness to others on the same basis.

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