Re: Not sure why I meet the criteria as an adult, but “normal” for my childhood….

[wawabyjohnah]

I’m thinking the same- normalish childhood with not many symptoms but as an adult it’s a completely different story. I was a shy, quiet kid who was academically talented at primary school. I did, however, notice that I hated any essay/ non practical subject at high school, especially senior high school and on in to university. It frustrated me that I just couldn’t study and no matter how hard I tried I left every assignment to the last minute. I just thought I was just messed up from other issues happening in my life (domestic violence etc) or it was just the way I learnt.

Now as an adult I can’t sit still for long periods (I just came back from a meeting the other day which my manager drove me the 2 hours home. He commented that he was surprised I’d sat still for so long- obviously he’s noticed my restlessness- little did he know how much effort it had taken me to sit still for that long), never finish what I start, have the most disorganised and cluttered desk at work and bedroom at home, was seriously thinking I was getting early dementia because I forget and misplace everything, always late or forget totally about meetings, tune out (even whilst writing this post I’ve been flitting between webpages and forgot where I was up to) etc etc.

Looking back now, I realise that through school and uni there were lots of symptoms that I and no one else ever identified that point to ADHD. I hated uni lectures cause I had to sit still for hours, but overcame that by teaching myself to write with my left hand- which kept me pretty much occupied. I excelled at the practical sides to my subjects but flunked out in written work or long exams. “Would do better with further home study and application” were common comments on reports.

So yesterday I did some research and found I pretty much tick all the boxes for ADHD. Reading through various forums and webpages- a light bulb moment where I saw my life a whole new way. It made so much sense and I realised I wasn’t stupid or lazy or anything else people had told me and that made me cry- happy tears because there was a reason for it all. My next step is to get it confirmed by a doctor and proceed from there (wish it wasn’t the weekend so I could have seen someone straight away- another ADHD trait- hates waiting). So thanks for reading my long post, sorry I sort of hijacked your forum Darlene (and that I talk excessively- another symptom).

Have a great day everyone

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