Hey everybody my name is Sedrick. I am a forty three year old African-Jewish American. I have lived in the Midwest just about all my life. I was diagnosed with A.D.D. when I was very young. Around eight, or nine years old.
I hope that sharing these parts of my story will show people the severity of this condition and how it can take control of your life. A.D.D. /ADHD is not something you can "will" your way through. You cannot"medicate" your way through. You also have to be weary of people who view the fact that you are "bright", or "intelligent" as a means of saying that you are lazy, or a quitter, or any of that string of negative reinforcement. The people that may offer this input may be family and friends. People whose opinion you value a great deal.
They do not understand what your condition is. Everyone with this condition will not have the luxury of having people that sympathize with your feelings and you have to be careful if you do, because your biggest fans can easily become the people you work the hardest to make your biggest haters.
This is your fight now and it will be for the rest of your life and if you have children it may very well be there fight to. Do not sacrifice your inherent intelligence to look for a place to belong and be accepted. Be different. Be stubborn. Fight for your mental health and train for the battle of Thermopylae as you default position.