Hyper-focus

[Anonymous]

I got let go from a manufacturing engineering job last month. Too many small mistakes. Too long for drawings to be completed. Previously, I had been doing contract work in this engineering/drafting field. Short jobs that lasted 6-months, 18-months. Was not ever permanently hired. This was finally a permanent job; that lasted 120 days. I felt I had the time to learn certain details of drafting software that promised to be faster. That just made me lose track of the fact that I had already solved the problem. I just cannot seem to do these engineering jobs well enough. The older I get, the worse it gets. I was told that Adderall was the solution. Took it faithfully. Just poor judgment to try to do it all and be valuable to the company by focused attention. Cannot continue on this career path. The definition of insanity comes to mind. (Albert Einstein Quotes-“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”) It was self-sabotage again.

But change to what? Age=55+. Disheartened.

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[shutterbug55]

Hello Davas1,

Sounds like a lot of us. I know that doesn’t make loosing a job any easier. My personal record for hanging on to a job is 18 months. I am 57 years old. I should be thinking about retiring, and I know that will never happen, because of all the time I have spent unemployed, looking for a job. I am just about to loose my current job, that your average chimpanzee could excel at with one arm tied behind its back.

We all do differently on different medications. But, medications alone, can’t “cure” you of ADD. Nothing can.

If you haven’t heard it yet, here it is:

THERE IS NO CURE TO ADD.

There is only treatment.

Our brains are wired differently. Our brain chemistry is different. ADD usually comes paired with other conditions, like Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Bi-Polar Disorder, the list goes on. (I am a wealth of good news today) Sorry. These co-morbid conditions sometimes mask ADD and sometimes sit in the background undiagnosed, until we get ADD under better control

The good news is with drug therapy, counciling, and coaching, we can learn behaviors that MINIMIZE the affects of our ADD and find environments where ADD is an advantage (they exist).

You have a diagnosis. Good. You have medication. Good. Are you educating yourself on ADD? Reading books? Going to seminars? Are you working with a councilor who specializes in adult ADD? Are you working with a life-coach who works with adult ADD?

I gather from your post, you are middle aged. It took you 30 or more years to get where you are now. Without a diagnosis, without help, without even the most basic coping tools to work with your condition. You learned how to be an ENGINEER with ADD!

We focus on the negative, the missed opportunities, all the “successful” people, and the could have beens. By whatever standards you place on your accomplishments, you did it all with a handicap. I look at it like running a marathon, wearing 10lb ankle weights.

Keep asking questions and getting information, and get counciling. It will take time and a few jobs, but you will notice a difference. I will bet your friends and family will notice before you do, so ask them. They are a HUGE resource.

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