Re: Doubts about telling my family

[Anonymous]

I have struggled with who to tell, or not to tell about this. I have a strong tendency to over share personal details of my life (typical ADD trait I believe), and I am learning to put more filters in place, but it is not easy or natural for me. Especially after first looking into this, and being diagnosed a few years ago, I think I was so happy to put a face to all the struggles, I probably told anyone who would listen.

My family is generally supportive, though I am sure they don’t “get it”. But that is not surprising, since, from an outsiders perspective, it can be hard to understand. And my happiness or success does not hinge on their understanding or lack thereof. But if you can find even one or two close family or friends that will be supportive and nonjudgmental, it is really nice. One of my closest childhood buddies is really supportive. Don’t think he entirely understands, but we can talk about it, and there is no dismissiveness. I have other people that were not so accepting, or not terribly interested in the discussion, lol.

So, I think it is worth, carefully, talking with people, so that if you find 10 people that are not helpful, you might find the 1 or 2 that are. And those one or two for me, provide a lot of moral support sometimes just by listening to me talk about my struggles, successes, and failures.

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