I hope you’re reading the comments, cliking the little comment note at the bottom of each post. Lisa made a series of such great comments, really illustrating life with ADD and learning strategies, that I decided to make them into a post. But it was so much that I decided on two posts,slightly edited (or three?). Thank you, Lisa; you’re a hero!
“I sometimes feel such a sense of not being who I could have been were I more “normal.” Good to have a reminder that even some of the most brilliant, talented, creative minds have “issues”…in fact, that’s often what makes us so darn creative.”
“Ah, planning…it can be friend or foe. Saturday I posted something on Facebook about having so many things to do that I didn’t know where to start. One (obviously non-ADD) friend suggested I make a to-do list. I explained that yes, taking a FEW minutes to make a list is a great idea…but if I don’t limit the amount of time I spend on making a list, I may spend two hours writing the list, prioritizing the items, rewriting the list (because now the items aren’t in the correct order, and we can’t have that!)…it can easily get out of hand. I did make sure I made a list before hitting WalMart…that place is dangerous otherwise!”
“I often feel like I’m trying to “pass for normal” in my day to day life. As the single mom (with ADHD) of an almost 17 year old son with bipolar disorder, various anxiety issues, and probable ADHD and a 12 year old daughter with ADHD plus a yet to be definitively identified learning disorder(s), we’re pretty darn far from normal most of the time! Intellectually, I know that my focus should be on being FUNCTIONAL, not normal, and a lot of the time I’m OK with that. My kids are fed, clothed, cared for, and most importantly loved…yeah, my house is a mess, and I might have to fly by the seat of my pants, but it’s OK. But some days I feel really low because I don’t live up to the ideal that I have in my mind of the mom I thought I’d be and wanted to be. “
Tips: Focus on what you can do and what you have accomplished. Limit the list to five items. Good enough is good enough.
doug
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homey – yeah, it’s like childbirth or marriage, you cant really explain it to anyone and no one really gets it that hasn’t been there. it’s frustrating, isn’t it.
as always, thank you for commenting
doug
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It’s so true that non ADD folks just don’t get it. When I was younger and struggling big time with time management problems, I used to share my struggles with my friends and they all looked at me like I was from outer space. Nobody got it. Nobody understood. And the strategies they offered worked for them but not for me. If I could just make a list and do it, I wouldn’t be struggling. It’s just a lot more complicated than they can understand.
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Successfully used this as inspiration yesterday, got some things done and enjoyed my family… thanks for the help! I’ll try to remember these words of wisdom!
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