ADHD Stories

I was too impulsive as a kid. Breaking my bones, making bad jokes, damaging things. Once I attempted suicide. Things didn’t change much in adulthood. Driving aggressively, buying stuff without thinking. I’ve never kept my room straight. I’ve changed three universities. Regardless, emotional dysregulation was the worst thing in my life. That anger was making … Read more

Having being diagnosed with ADHD at 40 was a shock after a breakdown after years of struggling in silence. I remember my teacher saying to me I wouldn’t do anything with my life but luckily for me a youth club helped me as school was designed for me. Even though I left school at 15 … Read more

Overwelled by stimuli as a kid; my copying mechanism became to focus on one ; put it in the background and then simultaneously listen to the teacher. I became a swimmer -which had similar effects. Here is a poem to describe what this felt like. A coin splash 💦 , then a plop on the … Read more

So when I was a little kid I used to hate cleaning. I would always think of other things I could do. So I used to try to make myself believe it was a game. I used to shoot basketballs of clothes into hampers, put hangers into color codes, Sing lots of songs, Clean windows … Read more

Ever since I was young, I had known I was different. I have more energy then a normal person does, even as the adult I am currently. I struggle with my thoughts and feelings, feelings of failure and rejection that triggers my anxiety and makes me lose hope. But, the sliver lining is that I … Read more

I knew something was wrong, but what? I earned good grades. I was in sports. I was in academic clubs. I hung out with jocks, dorks, geeks, the in crowd, the out crowd. But I was scattered. If I was busy, I was happy, and my grades went up. If I wasn’t participating in a … Read more

When I was in 2nd grade, my father drove me to a brick building once a day for 3 days. A lady there would ask me questions. When the three days were up, she handed my parents a large stack of papers. My diagnosis. I love to read, but sometimes I can only focus on … Read more

A lot of people do not understand what ADHD is. My son has ADHD. He was diagnosed at 5 years old. We had many moments of melt downs in stores. Many sleepless nights full of tears. We would get stared at. Many people would glare at me judging. I had been told many times why … Read more

As a musician, one of the things I miss most during lockdown is making music with friends. But I came up with a creative solution, that went on to be a bit hit for Father’s Day: I got together with a pianist friend (she in her house in Esher, me in mine in Guildford), and … Read more