“Unfortunately, like most people with ADHD (and many doctors who treat ADHD), I didn’t know that emotion dysregulation was part of the deal because the DSM doesn’t list it as part of the diagnostic criteria“
“This is the reason people with ADHD are often misdiagnosed with mood disorders, and why we don’t get the support we need even once we’re diagnosed correctly: we don’t know the extent to which our struggle with emotions isn’t normal. Emotions hit us harder and faster, and take us under, in ways most medical providers, teachers, and loved ones don’t understand.“
“Most parents of ADHD children have observed the phenomenon called after-school restraint collapse, where their child comes home from school and melts down. After a long day of trying to hide their symptoms and stifle their emotions, they all erupt to the surface. In adults, psychological symptoms like irritability, mood swings, or even panic attacks can occur. Physical symptoms like sleeplessness, chronic pain, gastrointestinal problems, and even sexual dysfunction can result when you persistently suppress intense emotions.“
I’m reading her book How to #ADHD, following a comment made by @dramypsyd in an another thread, and I recognized myself so much in chapter 1.
“These judgments—even once I learned how inaccurate they are, even now that I understand the biology behind the invisible obstacles I kept tripping over and blaming myself for—are long solidified by decades of neural pathways wiring together and firing together.“ (Jessica McCabe)
“How could a condition that is so well known be so poorly understood? Why were so many of us still struggling so much, even after years or decades of diagnosis and treatment? And why were so many people learning about their medical condition for the first time from some college dropout on YouTube?” (How to #ADHD, Jessica McCabe)
(I know, I know for the “medical condition“ terms 🙄)
“So we learn to mask our #ADHD behaviors and do what’s expected of us—be quiet, sit still, pay attention—when we’re in public. We pay the price later—melt down, feel exhausted, stare blankly at a wall, or scroll through social media for hours just trying to recharge. Even when others are aware of our diagnosis, we’re often taught how to hide our struggles rather than effectively cope with them."
“For those without enough supports, #ADHD can be a nightmare. They constantly need to defend themselves against criticism and shame from their families and friends. They burn out at work and struggle through tasks that everyone tells them “should” be easy. They take longer to succeed, and it comes at a much greater cost.“
“Spending time with people whose brains work the way yours does is an incredible experience. The shame begins to fall away, and we begin to see ourselves through one another’s eyes—as the funny or talented or curious or ambitious humans we are, with struggles that are perfectly normal—because while they might not make sense to those who are neurotypical, they are normal when you have #ADHD.“ (Same goes for autism. ❤️)
“What allows us to keep going when the failures pile up is the encouragement of others. It’s like the quarters you use to keep playing an arcade game after you run out of lives. Sometimes, someone says something so perfect, so powerful, that it’s like a magical quarter—one you can use again and again.“
“For twenty years, I thought I had a deficit of attention. I mean, it’s in the name of my diagnosis: attention deficit disorder. Brains need a full tank of attention to work properly, so I must be a few quarts low. Right?
Wrong. The reality is, we have plenty of attention. What we lack is the ability to regulate our attention. You know how lizards can’t internally regulate their body temperature? ADHD brains have difficulty regulating their focus (and emotions, and sleep, and…okay, yep, we’ll get to that later).“
De 🇫🇷, 🇨🇦 depuis 2002, ON. Prof. FLS, étudiante Diploma Egyptology. ➡️ posts 📍Réalisation très tardive d'être autiste à 49 ans. J’apprends à faire avec le validisme de la société ayant un handicap invisible. J’ai eu un cancer du sein, 2024.From 🇫🇷, 🇨🇦 since 2002, ON. FSL teacher, 2nd Y. Diploma Egyptology. English is my 2nd language, I make mistakes.Very late realization being autistic at 49, learning to deal with ableism. Breast cancer in 2024.elle/she#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD