I was always told to pipe down. To sit still, talk slower, I was told I was “a bit odd”, but doctors and teachers still believed I “completely normal.”
Normal, but very forgetful, and it felt like I was running in a dream – you know, one of those nightmares where something’s chasing you but you can’t move?
My whole life, I was stuck there. I got good grades, I found a few friends, and I guess I managed, but I was exhausted. Until someone saw me there, saw the thing chasing me, and asked “have you ever read about ADHD?”
Who, me? Suddenly it was all I could think about; was there really a reason? An explanation? A solution? Or at least, some sort of toolbox for me to figure out how to move. Imagine you’ve been drowning your whole life and suddenly you learn how to breath under water – that’s how I felt the first time I got the meds. So calm, so quiet, and I could think each thought from start to finish. I just wish someone had noticed back then. Maybe I didnt have to drown at all.
Milie Fiirgaard