ADD in the Bay Area!

[maryam]

I signed up for the forums many months ago, and even responded to some posts, but I never introduced myself!

My name is Maryam, and I'm 23. I was diagnosed with ADHD (combined type) in late 2006, after years of being treated for depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder. The diagnosis made perfect sense, and at first, it was a mix of scary and relieving. Since then, I've had a love/hate relationship with the diagnosis, and with ADD meds.

I graduated from college in the DC-area about a year ago and started working for the government. I erroneously thought that a government job would be structured, but I basically didn't do anything for three months. The ambiguity of what was expected of me was so anxiety-provoking that I developed terrible gastrointestinal problems. I took a risk, quit the job, and started volunteering at a farm animal sanctuary five days a week. I LOVED it! It was by far the best use of my time in years (including college)!

Around that time, my husband and I decided that we were going to move to the Bay Area at the end of the summer for his work (he's a programmer) and because I thought that, culturally, it would be a good match for us. We moved in August. I started looking for a job starting in July. Now that it's pretty much December, I haven't found anything. My days are unstructured, I can't clean the house (because I just don't see the mess until it's a really inconvenient time to notice it, and when I do notice it, it's overwhelming!), and I'm losing my motivation.

I have a degree in sociology and I wanted to get a job that would lead up to going back to graduate school in demography, but now that I'm not doing anything, my mind is going wild with ideas of what I should do next. This week, I've been thinking about getting an internship and becoming a radio producer someday. A couple weeks ago I was thinking of going to art school. Before that, I seriously considered public health. And before that, I wanted to work at an animal rights non-profit!

I started going to cognitive-behavioral therapy a couple weeks ago because I wasn't even leaving the house (except to run, which I love doing) and I started becoming really negative. It's been up and down since. Hopefully, therapy plus using my ADHD resources will help me move forward and start doing something, anything.

I forgot to mention this - I've very clearly had ADHD all my life without being diagnosed for a good part of it, and the diagnosis really helped me in a lot of ways. I am generally more forgiving of my "mistakes" and I know that I need to put more effort into things (and I give up less). It's just periods of time like this one that test my patience and make the easiest things into serious projects.

Anyway, hi! You'll be seeing a lot of me around here. Hopefully I can be helpful in some way to others and learn something along the way.

[chowmix]

Welcome!

[Lady Lark]

Welcome to the forums.

[ginniebean]

Hi maryam

[sarek]

Hi maryam,

Welcome to the forums.

Yes, choices, choices. Can't live with them or without them.

[xraylady33]

Welcome, enjoy your stay.

[ndnbutterfly]

Hello and welcome!

[maryam]

Thanks everyone!

[Bluerose]

[Silver Gemini]

Hello and welcome. I wish I could run and not get bored after 5 minutes