ADHD & being a Pastor

[roghill]

Now I know in today's society the word pastor can bring out many thoughts and emotions. So before I begin, please know I am just like you...I am trying to find my balance in a lifetime of ADHD , yet being diagnosed at the age of 53, I am 55 now. Please know that I have no other agenda than to find community in this ADHD world, and try to understand and know that I am not the person that I grew up thinking I was, and trust me, they were not good thoughts. For me the greatest struggle is " OK, I have ADHD, big time. I'm on meds, but now what? "

[Francin3]

Wow lots of over 50 folks in the same place... I'm with ya...

[dgs2018]

Hi Roghill,

Happy to hear from you and I can assure you that VERY few of us turned out the way we thought or hoped we would. It's not easy to manage ADHD symptoms and I greatly admire pastors. They have opportunities to spread light and truth in a world that really needs it. You still have to manage your own symptoms. For example, I was told so many un-truths about life by those I trusted and believed in. Just over the last several years, I realized that 99% of those were told in order to protect me from some of the more facts of life. Life is so inherently and unabashed unfair, that it's hilarious when you think about it. So what, we have ADHD and we're still here. That tells you something. Have a great day.

[roghill in reply to dgs2018]

Thank you, that is encouraging...

[Shamany66 in reply to dgs2018]

Agree.

[happy_kitty]

I like to say the last D in ADHD stands for Difference rather than Disorder. That’s really all ADHD is. Society would like for us to think that we are broken or lazy, but really we’re just different. We are perfectly capable of climbing the same mountain as everyone else, we just have to make our own path rather than follow the one that’s already made.

You can do whatever you want to do as soon as you find your own way of doing it.

Best of luck wherever you go from here. God bless.

[roghill in reply to happy_kitty]

That is a GREAT way of looking at it. Thank you

[Shamany66]

It doesn't even phase me anymore because I understand the complexity of the brain and the reality of modern day pressures. When I found out so many things fell into place because for the first time I could understand why I did some things I would never do again. Hang in there, the best is ahead.

[Shelley11]

Hello Roghill, I was also diagnosed at age 53 after struggling for years feeling like I was from another planet. I would love to chat you about your experience. Perhaps it might help to feel more positive your future.... Right now it's very late so I will sign off and look forward to catching up another time. Meanwhile I hope all the replies you have received helps you to know you're not alone.

Blessings to you.

Michelle

[MPG123]

Hi roghill. I have been struggling with getting through Seminary and everything else I have going on. I am an associate pastor and I'm trying to go into the military to be a chaplain and I have 3 kids and have a lot of responsibility at home. I haven't been diagnosed but when reading the DSM 5 for a counseling class I thought wow, I meet almost every requirement in the DSM-5 for ADHD and knowing my struggle to stay focused and it seems like it takes me double the time to get done. It was refreshing to know that it isn't that I am just being lazy but it is my brain. I was wondering if you would like to talk sometimes and relate about the struggle and encourage each other?