45, ADD and totally in the wrong job, I feel suck and screwed

What you said ADHDMoosie! A positive attitude is an exceptional tool. AND – being here on this forum with people like me (us) is a first step for me and really works. When I go about my day I find I am anticipating (not in anxiety – but a good way) when I can check for who has replied to some thread! Because of my ADD and bipolar tendancies, keeping the positive attitude going all day or for some longer length is a real challenge as I can be smacked down withing milli-seconds Thanks Moosie for lifting me up with your post, maybe I’ll print it out in mirror image and pin it to my forehead (grin) so I can remember it longer… just kidding. Thanks everyone.

Hey, just a reminder not to let us blame or use ADD as a reason we’re not achieving or reaching the goals we want. I’m one of those dreaded teachers out there that refuses to accept the lists of excuses I sometimes hear students reeling off to me (I’m talking about the older students I deal with who are ADD).

ADD doesn’t mean “I can’t” or you can’t do any job or reach even the loftiest goal. It just means we might have to put in a little bit more effort to get there but it’s not impossible. There are lots of people out there that I’ve read about with issues that I would consider to be more dibilitating than ADD and they’ve accomplished things that are astounding. My own doc hastold me of many of his other ADD patients that are lawyers, doctors or in other professions. Since I’ve got friends in those same professions, I know that to get there entails a whole lot of effort. To do it with ADD/ADHD shows that anything is possible.

Don’t let a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD fool you into thinking that you can’t do ____ . You CAN do it. It just takes effort and planning to get there. A defeatist attitude will make anyone a ‘hard sell’ to any employer.

You know guys. There is no such thing as a secure job. You may stick with a certain job because for the moment there is security in it but trust me in these uncertain times you may find yourself on the chopping block in no time so you might as well persue that dream. I myself know from experience that certain jobs that were secure were elimintaed and I had to start from square one. I deal with both ADHD and anxiety so I have two ball and chains to deal with. They have cost me jobs badly. I hate that we end up in a caste system that people with adhd can only do certain jobs and others can but trust me people without adhd don’t like the office either. I read a book entitled HACK. It’s about a woman that quit her office job in NYC to become a cab driver. She puts up with a lot of shit because you have no rights in that job but at the same time she feels freedom in being outside instead of in an office. I’ve had a whole bunch of jobs in my life. What I tell my interviewers is that life has forced me to start over and that I’ve been able to do so because I’ve always enjoyed learning something new. Don’t blame it all on adhd because the economy certainly doesn’t help. Lots of us have heard the black and feminist pundits on the news say that the bad economy is worse for blacks and women which is totally true. I just wish they had an advocate for the dsiabled both physically and learning disabled to tell our side of the story on how bad the economy is for us as well and how even in the supposed good times we suffer as well. People tell me to go after physical jobs but I have a hernaited disk so that leaves me out of a lot of things. Ever thought about joining advocacy groups for the disabled. We have experience with learning disorders so that would be an advantage because we know what it’s like. Just a thought. I myself am on disability but have tried to get back on the horse several times. I am currently working on my writing in the hope that I can publish something and make a living on that. Who knows? I’m 36 and feel that my life is passing me by. I haven’t done all the things I want to do and am living in Miami which you would think is a big city with lots of opportunites but really isn’t. It’s basically a tourist place and if you can’t make a living on that there’s no place for you. Also, nepotism is really big here. IT’s all about who you know rather than what you know. So you have to be able to network or rather name drop better than the guy or girl next to you. Anyway, trust me just try to go for that dream whatever it is because nothing is worse than regret. Watch Rocky Balboa. It covers all the things we talked about here and is very inspirational.

In reading the posts after zsazsa’s — we seem to be going down a dark alley. I look at my ADD as being a huge reason that I’ve not done such and such. But mainly because I didn’t THINK I could do it, or simply it didn’t interest me. So zsa – a well intentioned and upbeat post, I loved it! However – in the past I believe that my ADD (even while undiagnosed) actually maybe could of enabled me to achieve some things. I’ve been unemployed – gone past the checks to the point where there was no more money to pay the bills. It was at that point I DID get a job and have had that job ever since 2004. But it was years digging out of extended unemployement. You can’t lose hope, and have faith. Working for free, not even an option deucedog! Hang in there.

Throughout my career I’ve also heard the slogan “It’s not what you know but who you know”. We ADD people have an inate ability to be social, conversational, bright, smart, and very hard on ourselves. Maybe you feel you lack the social part, or others. So I lvoed that volunteer suggestion! Good one. Another is hook up onto linkedin.com, and if there are other sites, use them too. Look for job fairs or other events to meet people in your field. Use the state of the job market in your favor. Oh — get an ADD life coach of some of the books on this site and try to read them over again. Tryin to stay positive, eh?