I do wish people would stop trying to trivialize ADHD.

[NATIVE762]

When I was (probably can be considered as still...) growing up, my ADHD was never presented to me as an issue so now I can't destiguish it from anything (both good and bad) about myself.....

[fracturedstory]

It's about keeping a balance. I know I have impairments and I do my best to overcome them. Well, fight really. I do all I can so they don't rule my life and I become a less functional member of society and start hating myself every time I fail to write 1000 words in a couple of hours.

I take advantage of the symptoms too. A highly distracted mind is more creative. There are more ways to think of many number of things.

I just never get too down or too positive about them. I just live with them, keep both the god and bad in mind as I get through my day.

I mean, seriously, lately I've been struggling. I don't even have my computer on me. My routine has been turned on its head. But what else can I do but keep on trying? And if one method doesn't work I'll try other ways until they work.

[Geno]

Originally Posted by LindaGreen

I asked my son who is 13, if it bothered him that some of his teachers have called him lazy and stupid, and he said "no, cos I know they are right" - that really broke my heart.

That's why my dad always told me as long as I could remember never to get personally offended when a teacher says things like that, because teachers are just people too and what they say means absolutely nothing to anyone else:P So I never got upset when a teacher called me lazy/stupid, I just responded to them with indifference. That ****** them off more because they wanted a reaction out of me. They never got one

[Conman]

another aspect of stigma is how 'popularized' its become since the possibly late 80's through the 90's and 00's. overdiagnosing or underdiagnosing kids, medication as a main solution, the cultural phenomenon of study drugs from AD/HD medications like Ritalin and especially Adderall.

i fear it will never be taken seriously, even in the efforts to educate people it's hard and doesnt work very well.

[Lunacie]

Originally Posted by Geno

That's why my dad always told me as long as I could remember never to get personally offended when a teacher says things like that, because teachers are just people too and what they say means absolutely nothing to anyone else:P So I never got upset when a teacher called me lazy/stupid, I just responded to them with indifference. That ****** them off more because they wanted a reaction out of me. They never got one

What a great dad. My dad was the one who thought I was stupid or lazy.

Wasn't long before my older brother picked up that attitude and treated me the same.

[naissele]

I think it will be a while before people accept ADHD as something real. I even had a doctor tell me I was lazy. But this is life...it is hard for a lot of people to empathize because they have never experienced it. If something is difficult, they just push a little and it gets done. If I tell them what it's like for me, I still get that "well, you're just being lazy then" look. I think it's horrible that teachers will tell kids they are lazy or stupid. What is their basis for such a judgement?? Are they considering all the facts?

I remember a while back, talking to a friend about autism. He had not understood what it was and like many people, thought it was mental retardation. There are a lot of things being done to get people more informed about what autism is and now, there is better information out there. I feel that ADHD is still behind in terms of informed members of the public. We are not lazy people. We try 3, 4 5x harder than other people sometimes just to initiate a task - all of our struggles are internal and what they don't see, they don't give credit to.

[meadd823]

Originally Posted by Geno

The people who only focus on the fact ADHD CAN have beneficial traits(such as hyperfocusing on something productive) and the people who try to say ADHD isn't a disability and is just another way of looking at things/doing things **** me off to no end. The fact people continue to say those things is probably the main reason why ADHD isn't taken as seriously as it should be in most places. Sure, some people can hyperfocus on their job and become great at it, but not all of us can do that. I've never been able to hyperfocus on anything even close to productive. The disorder really has done nothing but make my life much harder and much s***tier than it had to be, and hasn't helped/benefited me in any way, shape, or form.

Okay, rant over.

As fracturedstory pointed out ADHD isn't the only condition that is misunderstood - Dyslexia is misunderstood, the health care profession is misunderstood, every religion is misunderstood every race, cred culture is misunderstood heck feral cat sterilization and colony management is misunderstood - Humans have misunderstood things long before I was born and they will continue to do so long after I am dead -


so please do not insult my intelligence by claiming that having a positive outlook regarding my ADHD symptoms is the cause for human misunderstanding


ADHD has done nothing but make your life harder it is nothing but a disorder without benefit to you - Okay and ???? That is your experience.


I can accept that but I refuse to share in your perception. I am one of those who sees the positive as well as the negative side of my ADHD traits.

Non-ADHD people who represent the majority can focus on what they want as long as they want to so they expect every one else to be able to do the same - It even pi**es them off when you claim you can't

The reason why ADHD is not takes as seriously as you think it should is because most people truly believe that just because they do not experience some thing then that some thing, in this case ADHD can not "really" exist. It is the tendency to deny the existence of experiences outside of ones own that is the cause of many misunderstandings!

I find it ironic that you just made the same assumption regarding people who see their ADHD traits in a positive light



Welcome to being part of your own problem , welcome to "typical" humanity!

[fracturedstory]

People misunderstand communism too. They misunderstand everything. And these people rather not be told. Very few will be open to finding out more information. Still I try to educate them.

I have said before if I only see the negative I will crash and burn. Perhaps it's a sensitivity thing, but when I'm happy I'm always overjoyed like I had just won the lottery (we say Lotto over here). When I'm angry I'm breaking things. When I'm sad I can become suicidal or just completely give up on my goals. I need to stay positive and creative just to feel good about myself. Other people may not be that affected by thinking only something they have, can't get rid of, as negative.

But I'm adamant about ADHD meaning I never experience writer's block. Writer's can't damn focus maybe. Writer's burnout, definitely. And distractions can really lead to some life changing stuff.

And I agree. ADHD is less understood than autism. I'm hoping to change that by writing about ADHD for ADHD Awareness Week this October. And I'm even writing about it in my novel.

[DvlsAdv0c8]

Originally Posted by meadd823

The reason why ADHD is not takes as seriously as you think it should is because most people truly believe that just because they do not experience some thing then that some thing, in this case ADHD can not "really" exist. It is the tendency to deny the existence of experiences outside of ones own that is the cause of many misunderstandings!

I find this to be true about many, many things. Some people just can't believe that life is really DIFFERENT for everyone else - that their experience is the way it is for the whole world.

I have actually had some people in a certain part of the country tell me that I had to be making up the things that had happened to me in my travels - people who had NEVER left their own state, even their own COUNTY - until someone they knew had the same experience, came home and told them about it.

Lots of narrow-minded people who are afraid of any kind of paradigm change.

[fracturedstory]

I've known people who don't believe depression is real. I wouldn't even need to experience it (though unfortunately I do) to believe its something real.

People never fully understand the severity of my sensory processing disorder too. I cannot experience the outside world without medication, sunglasses and a head full of music from my iPod. And even then I can be overloaded.