Hello!

[free2bcherih]

I am a 60-year-old woman who has recently been diagnosed with ADHD (better late than never, ya know!) I am trying to reach out to others who understand my brain type (cuz my family really doesn't!). But also find out how I can help support others with this type of brain pattern. Not dysfunction or mental illness, just a differently wired neurodivergent brain. Looking forward to interacting with people on this page 😊

[Pro-masker]

Welcome to the tribe.. I've been on a couple forums/discord ect...this place is by far the most informative for adult ADHD...I've learnt more here because its not all off topic nonsense...plenty of advisors with experience and training so whatever you need to know about adhd just pop a post up...a lot of Americans and British so times for replies can overlap but just be patient...you will get the answers you need...just depends who's still in bed and who's not lol..

From your post...all I have really got as advice is, you really need to have your household on side...talk about it as much as possible...now I'm understanding adhd better and not just saying it's my adhd, which just got invalidated over and over...I'm explaining the chemistry and medical point of views, my wife now see everything so different, she now realise why I can be the way I am and how tough I'm really finding it...with her on side the kids are starting to understand why I'm so destructive too...when we change everything around you, everything will change with it..none of this is our fault and if others don't understand or won't listen then your fighting a battle that just can't be won...there's more power in numbers 😉

[Mamamichl]

I love helping other people with neurospicy brains. You would love these you tubers and their books (audiobooks are read by authors)… how to adhd (book by same name), adhd_love (books are small talk and dirtylaundry), and the holderness family (book is adhd is awesome). The last two go about supporting a loved one with adhd and their perspective as well as the one by the person with adhd.

I’m a sped teacher too, so I have a lot of experience working with various conditions. I can gove other ideas but the main one is to treat everyone with compassion and individually based on their needs.

[ArtsyBrain]

I got you beat! I am 68 and was just diagnosed with both ADD and bipolar disorder last summer! I've always had the symptoms of ADD (unbelievably poor memory, distraction, losing track of what I'm saying in mid-sentence as well as what people are saying to me, and severe insomnia due to not being able to “turn off my mind”, etc.) but, as an artist, I always thought I just had an "artistic personality" (which there is actually some truth to, as creativity is often one of the “gifts” of ADD.) Unfortunately, I also suffered from severe chronic depression with suicidal ideation, high anxiety, and zero self-esteem most of my life, and ended up turning to drugs and alcohol to “self-medicate”, that landed me in rehab in my early twenties (which is also quite common among those with ADD.) While my inconsistent level of motivation and energy, from this combination of conditions, greatly hindered my early academic progress and career advancement, I eventually developed adaptive skills that helped me survive, to succeed academically, and to maintain independence and employment... well, that is except the one job I lost due to throwing an angry temper tantrum and telling off my boss (can you say “extreme emotions” and “impulsive behavior”?) As I began to learn more about ADD, I sometimes wondered if I had it, but one reason I thought I couldn't possibly have ADD is because I could concentrate REAL intensely for hours on end, sometimes all night. But I now know that's called "hyper-focus", another one of ADD's "gifts", sometimes called one of it's "superpowers"!

So, finally getting a diagnosis came as a relief, as it explained so many of my problems, and suddenly my whole life made sense! I was glad to find out I wasn't a defective, irresponsible, or lazy person; that I was just a person with a unique type of brain (and, yes, I still believe that both ADD and Bipolar Disorder are part of the "artistic personality") I do sometimes wonder what my life might have been like if I had been diagnosed earlier on, but I'm not sure I would even want to change it (well, maybe the suicidal depression part!) After all, it's our experiences, both good and bad, that help make us who we are today and I think it all made me a stronger, more adaptive, more innovative, and resilient person... in a word a "survivor."

So, welcome to the wonderful world of late diagnosed ADD survivors!

[Queen_of_Tara]

Hello! Thanks for your message. I am almost 55...diagnosed a cpl yrs ago. Sometimes I feel like i have it somewhat together and other times I'm a complete mess. lol. No in-between. It's scary and confusing when I don't feel like I know myself or how to act around others. I do have depression and anxiety to boot and I'm on meds for all. Good to meet you. PS Check out books or reading on Google about relationships and adhd and the suggestions from Mamamichl in terms of videos and reading are good ones!