After beginning my ADHD journey a year and a half ago, I’ve often considered creating an online space where I can candidly discuss my experience navigating life with a disorder like ADHD. Somewhat ironically, I’ve never quite had the motivation or focus to put this into action – however, thinking about the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on people who, like me, struggle with motivation and concentration, has left me with a lot of thoughts that I would love to share on here.
I have a huge variety of topics that I want to discuss, both in relation to my time in lockdown and my experience with ADHD in general, however it is probably best to begin with an introduction and some background information.
I began my ADHD journey around December of 2018, when I was half way through my second year at University. Obviously, ADHD had been a big presence in my life for a long time before that – but it was only around that time that my symptoms began impacting my life in noticeable and detrimental ways.
Shortly after this, I began seeking help for my various symptoms. This eventually led me to getting officially diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) in March 2020, at 20 years old.
I am planning to do a separate, in-depth post about how I got my official diagnosis, so I won’t go too much into detail about that right now – but a year and a half after I first began my path to diagnosis, I am finally beginning to receive support and treatment for my ADD.
As a 20 year old woman with a condition that is normally associated with ‘naughty little boys’, I have found my ADD invalidated many times (by my peers, employers and medical professionals). To many people, I don’t ‘fit the bill’ of someone who is neurodivergent, and because of this I sometimes feel ashamed or embarrassed about my ADD – therefore, I am combating this by creating a blog for anyone and everyone to read.
Prior to my diagnosis, I had very little knowledge about AD(H)D, perhaps due to my own ignorance or a lack of discourse on this subject; so creating a space where I can discuss my experience with this is incredibly important to me and I hope it will be entertaining and insightful for you!
I still have an incredibly long way to go in understanding the way my brain works, and I aim to candidly discuss my upcoming experiences with external treatment (medication and therapy) as well as sharing the work I am doing within myself to establish healthy strategies and dismantle unhealthy coping mechanisms.
My experience, like the experience of all people with mental health conditions and other neurodivergent people, is very unique to me – we all experience and exhibit symptoms and tendencies differently. The last thing I want to do is to speak for anyone else with ADD, or claim that other people feel the way I do.
I do, however, hope that by sharing my experience openly and honestly I can shed some light into how ADD impacts all areas of my life (in positive and negative ways!)
I promise this page won’t be filled up with negative stories and struggles, there are so many positive things that I want to document on here – such as the many benefits of having ADD and the amazing ways I have been supported and encouraged by my friends and family. I also will be opening this space up to anyone who wants to write about their own experiences with mental health conditions.
I can’t promise these posts won’t be inconsistent or full of rambles (I’m nothing if not on brand) but I can promise that everything posted on here will be genuine and honest.
If there are any topics you are curious about, please let me know in the comments - nothing is off limits!
Thank you for reading this – I will be back soon with a new post.
Issi x
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