After being diagnosed with ADHD in January of last year, I've learned so many things about what this disability means and how it affects my life. It's been a life changing experience and I wouldn't want my life any other way.
1. People will tell you, "you don't actually have ADHD".
I was diagnosed late in life, at age 18, and many people never expressed any sign that they thought I was ADHD. However, I have learned that there was a reason for that. From age 11 to 18 I was very active in different sports, including softball, basketball, band, horse showing, and many other activities that required me to be physically active. This held off the symptoms enough that I could function like a person without ADHD. I've also been told that I can't have ADHD because I'm a woman. I've been told that boys are the ones that always get ADHD. While it is true that boys are the ones most commonly receiving the diagnosis as children, adult women receive it more than adult men. I'm not making this up, it's a true disability.
2. The symptoms present differently in an adult than they would in a child.
The "hyperactivity" as it presents itself in a child can include being "driven by a motor" and the child may find themselves unable to sit still in a desk or climb things when it isn't the appropriate time to do so. As adults, this presents itself as restlessness, this can cause a person with ADHD to get bored doing the same job for too long, or be unable to sit behind a desk without getting up or tapping their foot. Inattention in children can cause them to forget their homework at home, or forget to do it entirely. As adults, this can cause them to constantly lose things such as keys or their cell phone, sometimes on a daily basis. Finally, impulsiveness in children is shown when they tend to answer a question before it has been finished, but as adults, this symptom can cause them to cross streets without looking or engage in gambling or other risky activities.
3. Being on medication is not a blessing, but it is.
It's a horrible thing to have to wonder if my brain will allow me to be able to operate properly long enough to get what I need to do done. My mind acts in two states, one of those being the "normal" one. Once I take my medication, I don't need to drag myself to clean the kitchen or do my school work. Instead, I actually look forward to it and have fun doing it. On the flip side of this, however, if I am unable to get my school work done before the end of the 12 hour period, then finishing it can be a true struggle. As I'm writing this I am doing my best not to let the cars passing by or the planes flying overhead distract me from what I need to finish. I'm also sitting in my half-cleaned living room as I lost the motivation to do it, half way through. My twelve hours are up and the ADHD is rearing it's ugly head.
4. There are too many people that abuse the medication that I need so badly.
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in class and whispered to myself, "God I can't focus today." and the girl sitting next to me asked me if I wanted a Vyvanse- the exact medication I was supposed to take that morning, but I woke up late and forgot it. I was stunned and offended. Here she was, offering me an ADHD pill without even batting an eye, like it was nothing to her. I had always heard the stories of people getting it from a friend to be able to pull an all-nighter, but I had never met one. These people are all over every college campus thinking that it's okay, but it's not.
5. This is something I will have to learn to control.
This disability will be with me for the rest of my life, as it has been for my entire life so far. I will either have to learn to control it without the use of a stimulant, or I will be forced to take medication every day for the rest of my life. While I enjoy being able to finish a complete sentence without my train of thought derailing, I don't want to be taking 50Mg of Vyvanse every day for the next 60 years. I will eventually have to learn how to focus and get motivated without its help. This is lifelong, not something that "started" just because I got into college and I refuse to let it run my entire life.
