I am a newby here, but not to ADD!

[StoneJeweler]

I knew I was different most of my life, but tried to hide it. Hurt my back at work, had a spinal fusion which worked very well. But i was at a conference and was given a fruit smoothie which turned into the worst food poisoning I could ever imagine. to keep it short I lost consciousness and my forehead slammed into marble flooring several times That exacerbated my ADD and it felt like hell. I was aware of Dr Amen by going to a few of his lectures on ADD and how he used his SPECT scan to diagnose damage done to head trauma and his favorite ADD/ADHD. It depends on the type of add you have ,to use the right treatment. NOt all types of ADD respond well to stimulants, in fact, it can make some types a lot worst. Right now I am unable to take care of my bills and other necessary paper work. I really need advice on how to manage my life right now.

[cjnolet]

I've said this a lot but I'll say it again. Being different is what changes the world. You cannot change the world by doing the same thing everyone else is doing.

Seth Godin (a fellow ADHDer and author) said it wonderfully in his book that ADHD people tend to be the ones who end up ahead because they are the ones who have always been pushed and driven to success from their childhoods of being made aware how different they are.

I'm not sure how ambitious of a person you are, but it's interesting to think how much abundance this world can offer us, especially with our natural talents for creativity.

Welcome! I really hope things are able to get better for you. I know for myself, all it takes sometimes is for someone to remind me how special I really am and that's enough to make me move mountains.

I'm only in my mid-30's, but the amount of thinking I've done in these 34 years I doubt some have done in an entire lifetime. As far as life advice: Be different & focus on your strengths. As far as structure / ADHD coping: Meditate, get exercise, and eat properly.

I've been using an app on my phone with my wife called Wunderlist and it's been great for bringing more structure to our daily routine. As an entrepreneur, father, data scientist by day, PhD student by night, friend, lover, etc... I have really had success using this app to manage my current state in all of my affairs. ADHD allows me to take on so much (I'm a combined type so energy is my thing) but it's the tools and techniques that I've gained over the years that have taught me how to succeed with this special power.

I also really do not believe ADHD is a disorder. I believe we produce dopamine differently, based on our genes, which causes us to think and act differently. We're creative, visual learners, who think a lot.

I've seen people go from dead broke living on the street to a beautiful house thriving in money mostly because of their internal models of reality. I think too many people today rely on others to provide them their reality and they become too dependent on everyone and everything else, external to themselves. Walt Disney, for instance, lived on the street for some time because he allowed the world to influence his model of reality. When that occurs, you have no choice but to cast further influence based on your perception.

Everyone has it in their power to 1) choose how they will perceive the outside world, and 2) choose how they will influence it. If your influence is coupled too strongly to a negative perception, you will just reinforce that negative perception. A feedback loop. Hope this helps.

[StoneJeweler in reply to cjnolet]

yThank you.Those are good ideas. I have never had anyone help me. I have asked a few times but, it never worked. So I do the best I can do and and accept my best. But i continue to look for better solutions. In 2 weeks I have to go to the water board. They claim that I used over 2,400 dollars of water in 2 months. My usual usage is $60-80 in 2 months.

I don't need to water usually because the rains here are mostly sufficient to keeps things green. There is no earthly way i could use that much water. They lie to my face., and do not believe me. I have kept all papers, and have witnesses. Plus many other people have gotten larger bills. And I think it's strange that most of the people will not complain and just pay. Oh well. Even if I wanted to pay, I do not have the money anyway. i get so tired of being lied to and stealing from me. But I will do my best.

So what do you do when your faced with people like this?

[Nick1913 in reply to StoneJeweler]

Greetings Stonejeweler,

I noted that you mentioned you had a brain scan done via Dr. Amen, I am working through one of his books now, as well as some other authors, mainly I am focused in on diet and input vs output.... my father always says we are what we eat... I am beginning to see and understand..

Anyway you had asked for help, me vs clutter clutter wins hands down... but not verses bills. There I have the edge and usually win. I put all my monthly bills in auto charge to my credit card. I added an app to my phone so I keep an eye on my credit card. Every Friday I check my card and pay it before it’s due. My mortgage is also on an auto payment with the bank. So at least I know everything gets paid on time. The only down fall is if you use the card in addition to the bills, going out, groceries and or whatever..... so I stopped that and only use cash. The old cash and carry or no cash no buy.

Once I get the diet down I think I will attack the clutter issue.......

Good Luck

Hope you find something useful

[cjnolet in reply to StoneJeweler]

To be fair for a moment- and I’m saying this with my very limited knowledge of where you live and what your living situation is (own/rent, etc.), the last time I got a bill like that, it was becuAse a polybutylene pipe from the county water supply to my home had burst and it was causing excess water to flow underground. We only found out once my foot sunk into my front yard one day while mowing the lawn. Made total sense and he county fixed the bills and understood the excess usage once I fixed he pipe, which wasn’t horribly expensive.

Perceptions. Not arguing, just trying to bring light to an otherwise (seemingly) dark outlook.