Re: Emotional Torment Over Seeking a Real Diagnosis

[Anonymous]

When speaking with others not knowlegeable about ADD, it might be helpful to articulate how you would like to feel/behave. For example, when I filled out the questionnaire for the consultation with a sleep specialist, they asked “What would you like the clinic to do for you?” or some such question. I said “I would like to be able to fall asleep without difficulty at night, stay asleep for the whole night, wake up in the morning refreshed, and be alert throughout the day.” That’s normal.

When I had my jaw surgeries and my sister-in-law asked why I had them, I said “so I can open my mouth to eat without being in pain”. All of a sudden the jaw pain SHE was having made more sense to her and she was more compassionate about something that otherwise looked cosmetic (I had an overbite).

So perhaps you could word a statement in a similar way that isn’t confrontive, but allows people to know what your goal is in treating this. Of course, the jerks, you don’t have to respond to. But anyone else, you might, in a few words, just be giving them some information that may lead them to investigate something that “everyone complains about” (we know better!)

I’m getting diagnosed with narcolepsy 20 years after I first investigated it, can relate to the frustration. Glad you made it through all of it!

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