All my life, I knew there was something wrong with me, but could not figure out what it was. I knew I wasn't like most other people, but, for the most part that didn't bother me. I liked being different and not feeling like I had to keep up with what everybody else was doing. I was weird and that was ok. I was a good, honest, thoughtful person, I thought, so that's all that matters. And I had ONE Best Friend, which was all I needed. (I realize how one-sided this was now, but at the time....)
But I never fit in anywhere and I felt like nobody liked me and that I was somehow unacceptable. My mind was a constant whirl; one "great" thought after another. Hard to stay focused on anything for long enough to become good at it; like playing an instrument, being a BIG reader, having a successful, meaningful career. All of these things I really wanted, but somehow my self-destructive behaviors always led the way to ensure my falling far short of those goals.. I had no self-esteem at all; the only time I felt like I was worthy of being alive was when I was helping someone else. I lived a very isolated life. Still, I felt like I should be able to "fix" myself if I tried hard enough, so I just got into the routine of getting through the day.
In my mid 50s, I hit such a low in my life that it felt as though the only solution was to kill myself. I knew that I could NEVER do that to my son and that it wasn't a real possibility, but it prompted me to finally go see a Psychiatrist. He diagnosed me with Major Depression and, when I questioned his suggestion of taking meds, he said "well, if you were a diabetic, you wouldn't NOT take Insulin! ".
That new thought astonished me and I began taking Prozac. To my surprise, it helped a lot, so I continued for years that way. However, I would always comment about how I couldn't get things done, how I knew if I did them I'd be happy, but I just couldn't get myself to do it. Other problem behaviors continued as well. I only saw the psychiatrist once a year to continue my meds and one year he asked me: "Do you think you may have ADHD?". This surprised me, and my only knowledge of ADHD at that time was of little boys who couldn't sit still in school, so I said "I've never heard that, before, so I don't think so". And that was that. He didn't say anything more, and to be fair, neither did I ask him why he asked that. Oops. An earlier opportunity missed. Oh well.
Speed forward (sorry I'm so long-winded), I had a fellow doing some electrical work for me and he was very talkative, which opened me right up and off I went in discussing one thing after another with him. Finally, he said "I think you have ADHD" and my mind rushed back to what the psychiatrist had asked me. So, I immediately started researching all I could find on the computer about adult ADHD. I got some books as well. The one book that felt as though he was talking directly to me was "The Silent Struggle". I had NEVER seen myself so clearly documented and explained. I had the answers for all the questions I had been asking all my life. I understood myself like never before.
In my mind, now, I only had to have the Official Diagnosis done with adequate testing and intensive conversations with an ADHD professional in order to have people FINALLY understand me.
At 69, being officially diagnosed with ADHD was the most wonderful experience I think I had ever had (except maybe the birth of my son, can't deny that!). That euphoric "honeymoon" lasted about 2 weeks. Since then, I've been struggling to find people who really understand what this is. I have so many thoughts and ideas that I think could be helpful, and would love to discuss them with people who may be struggling like I am. Also, I am very anxious to hear about other thoughts or ideas that you may have.
Lastly, HUMOR. I love it and want to believe it's one of our strengths!
Thoughts, anybody?
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I can so relate. I have always felt out of place as well. I attributed it to growing up around the world. My father moved us a lot (I think he also had ADHD).
I am 60. I was just diagnosed last year. At many points through my life (starting in college when I flunked out of my pre-med program), I tried going to therapy to find out what was wrong with me. When I was going through peri-menopause, things became really bad for me. I went to a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with generalized anxiety (GAD) and put on medication (Cymbalta) which helped.
When I realized my symptoms might be menopause related, I went on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) which helped me so much, I was able to get off the Cymbalta. In the last few years, I was told by my gyn to come off the HRT and my symptoms came back big time. I once again went to a therapist who told me I had anxiety.
It was only when the son of a friend of mine was flunking out of his first year in college, I had long discussion with him to tell him I could relate and try to give him some advice. I suggested he go to a psychiatrist. He was diagnosed with ADHD. He came back to me and told me to get tested for ADHD. So, I was finally diagnosed at 59.
It has been very helpful to know that I have ADHD - but i have really struggled with the medications. I suffer a lot from fatigue, lack of motivation, procrastination and disorganization. These have all gotten much worse in the last few years.
I am happy to know I have a condition that explains my behavior. It makes me feel less guilty and more able to look for solutions to my ADHD related problems. I do believe that there are ADHD traits that make us special. But, there are also traits that make life very hard.
The positive traits are (I think) courage and a sense of adventure. A certain integrity. In the few ADHD people I know, who are mostly family members (ADHD is very hereditary), I see quick wit, intelligence, creativity. I do love my people - but there are the sad sides too. Destructive outbursts of anger, moodiness, frustration, and for some of us, failure and financial troubles.
Would love to hear more about your thoughts as well. I just joined a WhatsApp group on Menopause and ND run by Matt Guppwell and his wife, Catherine. He has a podcast called TalkADHD which has some good episodes on women and ADHD.
Hello Samami! Thank you SO SO much for your wonderful reply; it brings me to tears, really. It will be so wondrful to have you to toss thoughts back and forth with.
First, if I can digress for just a second, let me say that I have had the hardest time trying to login to CHADD and then to navigate around it. Not having ever done
this type of communication, I wasn't sure how I would know if anyone answered me at all. After I wrote my thing the other day and sent it in, I scrolled through a bunch of posting, and each listed how many relies they had gotten. I saw mine and it said 0 replies. Of course, my RSD kicked in and I got a bit of a chuckle out of ADHD people being in a situation where they could encounter RSD first hand. Later, I checked again, and still had no replies, so it was no longer funny and I was a total loser. I had written too much. I had started it with "Potential Chosen Family"; such a clingy turn-off. I felt like I wasn't even acceptable even amoung the people where I hoped I could find acceptable. I spent a full 24 hours feeling hopeless, worthless, more down than I'd felt in a long time because I allowed my ADHD brain to rule the roost.
So, then I tried to log in so I could change my message; either erase it completely, or definitely make it shorter and less needy. But I couldn't get logged in. I tried everything I could think of, but I could never get back on. Yesterday, I called CHADD and the receptionist helped me log in, butI still couldn't find my way around or find communications. Today, I tried again. This time was the charm and I could see the message I sent. It still said I had no replies. Then I looked further down and saw that I had 4 replies! You're my first and I just had to write back right away! Thank you for your kindness.
When you were in school, and beyond, did you ever consciously ask yourself why you undermined yourself so much? You wanted to be a doctor? It must have been devastating to fail at what you really wanted to do. I ask because I don't think I was aware, at the time, that I was undermining myself actively and that that was the reason I couldn't seem to do the things I really wanted to do. Why they always got dropped. I just wonder, now, if I'd realized what I was doing at that time, whether I would have been able to use it as a tool to fight against it. It's just a thought I had in terms of a specific thing counselors could focus on to help younger people dealing with ADHD.
Does it bother you when people are dismissive of ADHD? "Well, everybody feels that way sometimes", etc. I have really struggled with this. In my tiny group, no one seems to understand the depth of emotional pain there is with living with this condition. I was reading something recently in which they talked about how RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria) is a fairly recent concept being discussed and thrown around, although, at this point, is not part of the evaluation part of ADHD evaluation. Historically, all the money/research has gone into the behavioral aspect of ADHD - hyperactive behavior - which can be studied. Drugs produced and used which helped that. The emotional aspect of it has largely, I think, been expressed as a "depression" component of it. I think, however, that the emotional component of ADHD is really at the base of all the troubles. Healing the emotionals component, which allows oneself to feel ok exactly the way they are, then allows you to grow your self-esteem and confidence. Then, you can evaluate those behaviors you need to work on in order to be a better person, but don't need to have that constant negative around you that you need to "fix". I don't know if that makes any sense to you; I get angry when I feel like everyone else can go around and say and do whatever, but we have to double and triple check everything we do and say before we do it. Lots more on that stuff, if it makes any sense or is of interest to you. I'd like to hear your thoughts.
What is the WhatsApp group? Are the people you talked about through CHADD?
I hope you're doing well today and thank you again for reaching out a friendly voice!
Thank you so much for your reply as well! I am so touched that you appreciated my reply. Thank you for writing back.
I haven't had time to really write a full answer to your recent questions, but I will this weekend!
It will be great to toss ideas back and forth. I feel like I am on a voyage of discovery since this diagnosis. So many things are explained by ADHD, it is just wild!
Thanks, Samami, for getting back so quick to let me know you needed some time to respond. That is so thoughtful of you! I'm really excited to hear from you. I feel like we'll have some really great conversations, as I, too, feel like I'm on a voyage of discovery! (I love your phrase!)
Hello and welcome!your story sounds very similar to mine. A very brief answer but it is estimated that 1 in 20 may be neuro divergent so the good news is there are lots of people like us! Once you find those people it's amazing that suddenly you are not the only one on the planet like you. Finally you will find a place where you belong and no longer have to fit in. It's not easy but the hard work will pay off. I firmly believe that my best days are ahead. GL and Keep us posted.
I would have answered right away; I so appreciate your sending me a message- thanks.
Being technologically very challenged, I only just saw today that I had some replies!! Yay!
How long have you know about your ADHD? What have been your challenges with it? Do you have thoughts/opinions/concerns about how others see your ADHD? Do you have suggestions you've felt were very helpful for you?
I am so happy to have a compatriot in this journey. Thank you.
A lot of what you've written sounds familiar to me. I got my diagnosis at 45, just a few years ago.
I had a few coworkers who have ADHD, and took training made by someone who was open about having "off the charts" ADHD. My experience with them, and finding that I have a lot in common with them, gave me reason to get assessed for it...but I still didn't do so until I finally went to therapy for severe anxiety.
I've been on here with this great community almost since my diagnosis.
Thank you so much for replying to my super-overly-long message! I was so sure I had really blown it with just too much talking. I'm working on that now.
What did you think and how did you feel when you were formally diagnosed with ADHD? Are you a guy? (STEM_Dad sounds like one). If so, not being diagnosed until 45 seems a bit unusual. What was life like for you growing up? What's familiar from my story? So your therapist for anxiety suggested you may have ADHD? What do you think about the interconnectedness of these issues? Any thoughts you'd like to share with me?
I hope my tech inadequacies won't cause me to lose contact with this community. I'm thrilled to be a part of it and can see it as being the support I need to manage my thoughts, feelings, emotions, et al. Thanks again!
Well, first of all, I should let you know that at least half of us here leave long posts at some time or another... especially when we first join the forum. I've certainly done so in many occasions.
Many people are getting diagnosed with ADHD in 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, even 70s.
I was born in 1975, so I started grade school in 1980, when the diagnosis of ADD was new. (The disorder had a different name before that.)
• It was mostly kids who were both Hyperactive-Impulsive and Inattentive (which we now refer to as the Combined presentation) who got diagnosed back then.
• I'm Predominantly Inattentive. I was also self-accommodating and masking, as I'm sure you'll see. My ADHD traits include: inattentiveness, distractibility, poor working memory, time blindness (including an extremely variable sense of the rate time passes, or just not being aware of what time it is), poor time management and organization skills, difficulty making decisions, difficulty with planning and prioritization, and persistent brain fog.
Here's how school went for me:
• My First Grade teacher was the first person to say something about my tendency to get distracted. (She labeled me a "daydreamer". Not as a negative label, but to relate to my mom how I was in class.) But I loved learning, and usually got caught up very quickly with whatever I missed when I got distracted. I was one year advanced in Reading, and I got my work done, so I don't think my teacher was too concerned about me.
• In Fourth and Fifth Grades, I was placed in Gifted and Talented Education. What my parents and teachers didn't know was that I was always forgetting to do my homework, and then would finish it in a panic on the bus to school in the morning.
• In Sixth Grade, I lived in a new place with a 5 minute bus ride. I started getting in trouble for incomplete homework.
• In 7th-12th Grades, I started my homework in any free time at the end of class, and finished it the next school day in a panic in the 10 minute passing period just before it was due. I took almost every advanced class, and graduated with a 3.5 GPA. (I even got accepted to a big name university, but couldn't afford to go there. I only applied to two colleges, do I ended up going to the other one.)
*** A lot of "Gifted Kids" like I was grow up to be struggling adults. The term for someone who is both "gifted" in some ways and "deficient" in others is "Twice Exceptional" (2e). ***
College was more difficult, because I couldn't keep on top of my studies and my homework. Long story short:
• 5 schools, 5 majors, 9 years of undergrad education spread across 22 calendar years, about a 2.5 GPA...and still no degree to show for it.
I've struggled in my career, often getting passed up for promotions, working a lot of lower paying jobs. I tried a few career fields before stumbling into my current one (Information Technology), where I finally found my niche. Without a degree, I've had to work my way up from the bottom.
I was married for 20 years, but my long-undiagnosed ADHD caused a lot of problems in my marriage.
~~~~~
Since my diagnosis and getting onto an effective medication, my ADHD traits are much improved, but I still have difficulty with time management and organization (because those are skills I didn't develop when my peers did), and I tend to lack "common sense" when it comes to planning and prioritization.
• The biggest improvements from my medication are that the brain fog is gone, my working memory is almost on par with the average neurotypical person, and my sense of time is much less variable. I can also direct my attention much better, and can recover myself from distraction.
You're cute and funny, STEM! Humor. Another of my questions: do you think ADHD people have good senses of humor? I read somewhere that humor was a big part of ADHD, but no one else I ask seems to think so. I generally see something funny in almost everything.
So, tell me about your kids! I would guess you're a good dad, in that putting "dad' in your user name shows it's important to you.
I have one son who is 38. He is a wonderful person and I love him more than anything else in the world. For me, having a child sure showed me a love that I'd never experienced before! Do you agree?
I think I have a good sense of humor, but I'm not a great joke teller. I will make puns and tell "dad jokes".
But I also don't find the teasing or "roast" type of humor very funny. Maybe it's because I got teased by bullies a bit much as a kid.
I used to be very easygoing most of the time. Life has hardened me a fair bit, unfortunately. So, I tend to be a bit cranky these days. (Post-divorce, I've been trying to smooth out those rough edges.)
~~~
I knew as young as 5 years old that I wanted to get married and have kids.
I realized that dream at 26. I only had one girlfriend ever; we met in 8th grade, and I fell in love with her in 9th grade... it's a long story, but I waited for her.
I have 4 kids. One step-child, three biological children. Current ages: 30, 21, 11, & 9.
• My eldest is my stepdaughter, by I got the pleasure of raising her. (She calls me "Dad", and calls her birth father by his first name. She phoned me today for help with her college homework.) Much like her mom in many She's now 30, and has two kids, the same ages as my youngest two.
• My second eldest is my older son, who is very much like me in many ways and very much unlike me in a few specific ways. Both nerdy and geeky. I'm a sci-fi geek and he's a pokemon and DnD geek. He also goes by 'they/them' and is bi, while I'm definitely a 'he/him' and 100% straight. He/they has all my Inattentive ADHD traits
• Younger son in a gamer, and a bit of a Napoleon in personality. He likes to try to be on charge of everything (a trait he gets from his mom), but he's prone to anxiety (like me). He wants to be a leader, wants to be a hero, but his fears He seems to me like he has mild Combined ADHD.
• Youngest daughter is quiet and artistic, but brave and independent minded. She has a big heart, and can be very sweet sometimes, but she can be very willful at other times. (She's very unique in this family, personality-wise.) She seems to have mild ADHD, edging into moderate range.
Thanks so much for being so open with me. Your corresponding with me is such a gift! To be able to talk with someone who really understands the emotional pain we've had to endure living with ND and the toll it's taken in our lives is invaluable to me.
I do not feel anyone in my life really understands that and instead of actively showing concern, interest, support, clearly show they would just prefer that I don't mention anything about it anymore. My son is the closest to understanding it, but he's fighting it because he doesn't want to accept that he has it as well.
You impress me with your confidence when you speak of thing academic. I certainly understand how much easier it is to talk with people when you're knowledgeable in a subject. You're the teacher, the info imparter; there's no vulnerability in that, unless you meet up with someone who knows even more about the subject!
Your "epiphany" about bathrooms in your first job was hilarious to me and got me really laughing. I don't know if you meant it to be funny, but that's my type of humor; seeing the oddities and ironies in daily life. Attaching a bathroom to an epiphany is just funny. (Truthfully, I wonder how many of our epiphanies actually do have such humble beginnings....)
I don't think, though, that I missed the important point you were making. That was a very important epiphany to have: Educate yourself with useful and / or interesting information and you won't be at a loss when talking with others. That was insightful of a young you and equipped you to better protect yourself from falling deeper into the ADHD abyss. I applaud you!
I've had some epiphanies too, but only in the last several years. Before that, my "ADHD Brain" called all the shots and was phenomenally successful at allowing and encouraging me to do everything and anything I could so as to undermine myself.
My thoughts are like a big classroom of students ALL clamoring for my attention at the same time, so I'm sure I'm all over the place. Sorry.
I wanted to say that I would have answered you before now (when I actually saw you had written, it said it was 16 hours before) except that I am having so much trouble navigating CHADD in general and communities as well. I don't know how it works. Do you have any problems with it or do you have any useful suggestions?
Ok, you wrote a lot and I want to discuss those things as well, but just this much has taken me a few hours......so, I'll send this now, as a "checking in" thing. More to follow.
Yes, one more thing I wanted to tell you, just in case it explains anything (like typos etc). I am legally blind and so typing and reading on the computer can be really tricky. And slow. But so worth it.
My "Where's the bathroom?" epiphany is something that I share as both a funny anecdote, and also an example of growth.
Like I said, I'm an introvert. I was a painfully shy introvert until I had the epiphany. I was in my first "real" job, and was struggling to learn about the products that I was selling in that store. I had a major case of "Imposter Syndrome" at the time (which is actually named the "Imposter Phenomenon").
Realizing that I didn't have to have all the answers, as long as I could help people, really helped me to grow into my role as a salesman then...and the same thinking has helped me grow into my role as a husband, father, and worker in various other jobs. (I wish I had adopted the mindset when I was a college student. I might have done better.)
~~~~~
No worries about your time to respond.
I check before work, after work, and sometimes on my breaks at work. This forum and other ADHD communities have given me connection and encouragement, and the chance to encourage others. It has helped me a lot since finding this community shortly after my diagnosis a few years ago.
This form of correspondence is slow by its very nature. It's not as fast as a phone call or texting, but not as slow as mailing a letter.
~~~~~
Learning a new site always takes some time. This site has a search feature, but it's not the easiest search to use.
If you want to see what a particular user has written, if you select their username or profile picture, you should be able to see their post and response history. (I've posted a lot since I've been here, but I repeat a lot of the same things I've said in this conversation.)
Thanks for sharing so much of yourself with me (us). I have so many questions!
So, as a kid, it sounds like you felt good about yourself and had a supportive teacher (in her own way) and mom. Being placed in the Gifted and Talented group also seems encouraging. How were you socially and how did you feel emotionally?
I always felt "smart" and didn't have trouble in school, although the only effort I put into it was to get good grades, which my parents expected. I didn't retain a lot of the complex details of much of what I was "learning" because, I guess, I didn't focus on them as very important. Writing this is a bit eye-opening to me now. I've been thinking that I didn't pay much attention to details as my way of keeping aloof and protecting myself.
Over the years, I grew to equate discipline and routine as uptight and contrary to being spontaneous and genuine.
One quarter in college, I decided to break with my usual tactic of doing everything at the very last moment and to "force" myself to keep up on all the work daily(ish) instead. I remember sitting in the library, reading, keeping up, but it was not "normal" for me. In the end, despite my hypothesis that I would do better if I kept up, I did not do any differently (grade-wise). So, I went back to my old ways: reading the whole text book in the days before the final. Staying up for 2 or 3 days straight. By the 3rd day, I was pretty loopy! But I did do well enough, (3.5-ish) so nothing changed. I graduated in 4 years (may have been easier to do back then), but I did not continue on to get a masters, which I needed in that field. (Speech Pathology & Audiology)
I've never heard the term "Twice Exceptional". Interesting. I'll look into it further. You can expand on it with your thoughts, if you want to. My impression of what a lot of neuro-typical people understand and think about people with ADHD is quite a hot button issue for me.
What meds do you take? I take methylphenidate and it does help activate me to get moving and get something accomplished. That's helpful, but pretty specific. I think the emotional component of ADHD is far more integral and important to focus on in dealing with our ND condition. I'm glad to see the emergence of RSD discussion in those researching/working with ADHD. Your thoughts?
I was particularly struck with your saying that you think your un-diagnosed ADHD caused a lot of the problems in your 20 year marriage. If I'm not being intrusive, would you tell me more about that? In June, I will have been married for 49 years. We got here mostly by just living laterally and getting through the day. Since my diagnosis, though, my husband has delighted in telling me: I've had to deal with your SICKNESS (all caps to show that he spit the word out at me) for 50 years!!!!!!!!!
I'm glad you found work that you are comfortable doing. I always felt like an imposter in everything I did and, looking back, was not a very good employee, although I thought I was.
Do you have a very strong support group outside of this community? Your thoughts?
Thanks for taking the time to communicate with me. I appreciate it.
You asked how I was socially as a kid. I was usually quiet. I got along with almost everyone, but didn't have a lot of friends. As an introvert, I've only ever needed a few friends at a time in my life.
In elementary school, I basically just played with anyone who would include me. I don't remember the names very well, besides the fact that I was one of three boys in one class with the same first name, so we had to include last initials.
My memories became more distinct starting in 6th grade. That teacher noticed my forgetfulness and distractibility. She was kind, but firm. I got good grades on everything in class, but kept forgetting to do my homework. She gave me detention at least a couple of times, so I could do all the work I was missing. (I don't remember if I changed my habits, but I stopped getting detention, so I just have.)
• In 7th grade, I realized that I was not part of the "in crowd", so I started trying to fit in... emphasis on 'trying'. I've never fit in very well in social groups, other than being a natural fit with the other social misfits.
• At age 19, I started working in my first retail job, and was scared to death to talk to people for the first 5 months. (Don't ask me how I managed to keep my job through that time...I don't know. But I made the effort to talk to people, all the while feeling like a total fraud.) I had an epiphany one day that the most asked question was "where's the bathroom?", and since I knew the answer to that question, I soon developed my own sales technique. (I'd tell customers about the current promotion, as I was required to do, as a conversation starter. But then I'd genuinely focus on the customer's needs, not the store's profit margin. I got more repeat business than any other sales associate, simply because I genuinely cared about my customers.) To this day, in a work or volunteer setting, I can talk to almost anyone. But in other social settings, it still takes a lot of effort for me to break the ice.
• It wasn't until I was in my 30s and 40s that I realized what the common factor of the people that I clicked with was: neurodiversity. (They were mostly people ADHD, ASD, OCD, dyslexia or other neurodiversity. I realized they connection before I suspected that I have ADHD.)
I have always been eager to please. It makes me well liked, but I end up giving and giving, until I've got nothing left.
Then, I do the other introverted thing ...I isolate myself for up to hours at a time.
~~~
I came across the term "twice exceptional" only in recent years, since my ADHD diagnosis. I don't know how new it is, but I doubt it goes back very many years. (I just looked it up, and it was first introduced to educators in the mid-1990s.)
It's a much more appropriate sounding term than "idiot-savant", which has been used before to describe some people who were gifted in some ways and deficient in others.
I too can relate. I was diagnosed with ADHD in my mid-fifties. I'm still struggling with "getting started" with assignments, whether work or home projects. The meds help, but they alone haven't solved my problems. I started coaching sessions, we'll see how it helps.
I enjoy this site. Knowing that I'm not alone, and others share similar issues makes me realize that we do have an illness, it's not laziness.
I want so much to be able to say hello to a person.....so I'm using anything I can to personalize it. Maybe that is not the way things are done here. Maybe someone can let me know if it's supposed to be more anonymous.
Anyway, thanks for replying to my long message. It's so wonderful to have like-lived people to compare notes with!
Mid-fifties means an awful lot of behavior is firmly planted inside you from years of missteps (struggles!) We learned to cope, often in ways that drew from us and we build thoughts and actions that only insured our falling short. We can learn new behaviors now when they make things better for us and those around us. At the same time, however, we can also learn to embrace our special strengths because of ADHD. They are gifts and we should be able to feel pride in them.
You say it was a relief to learn ADHD was an illness and not just laziness. Generally, today, people do not understand the mental frenzy of competing thoughts that constantly rush through our heads and keep us from finishing or even starting something we really want to get done. It's far from being lazy; we're overwhelmed with noisy distractions.
I want to suggest because I think it's very important: ADHD is NOT an illness. Illness needs to be cured or fixed. ADHD does not need EITHER of those things. We can learn to manage it, as needed, to live a happy life. To live well among people who aren't neuro-divergent. But we should also accept ourselves as ok just the way we are; entitled to the sense of pride we should all have for overcoming the tremendous emotional struggles we have had to endure our whole lives. I've got more on that for another time if there's any interest. I'd appreciate others' thoughts.
This group is wonderful and I feel we can do much to help, support and build-up each other. Please share your life experiences, if you're comfortable and any other thoughts you may have. Thanks again.
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