Last week I talked about the double edged sword of ADHD intensity. It could bring you to great creative heights, but also be hard on the people below. Ofttimes, however, that intensity is unintentionally released like an elemental force upon our loved ones when we are emotionally upset.
Frustration
A reader asks "How do I stop myself from making social gaffes?" Good question. I've got three solutions for you.
Maybe because I was once diagnosed with minimal brain dysfunction, I don’t find the newer label of ADHD so bad. MBD sounds like something the cast of Monty Python and the Flying Circus came up with. ADHD on the other hand sounds somewhat more descriptive and less post lobotomy-ish. This is why I was so surprised to encounter somebody yesterday so embarrassed by the ADHD label, they censored me. Is someone else's ADHD self-stigma something I need to better understand?
I have to admit that I completely failed to stay upbeat and positive. All I could think was "When will this end‽" It always ends, like a passing storm in the night. Terrible while overhead, but soon forgotten in the beautiful morning that follows. My "morning" started at 7:15pm Thursday night.
An ADHD meltdown isn't pretty, but it happens. Not often for me, and yesterday was not normal. But I had so much to do and my ADHD brain kept sabotaging me. I usually laugh to keep my spirits up, but yesterday I had an adlut ADHD meltdown instead.
At the beginning of May, my Twitter stream was on fire with angry ADHDers. They were sick and tired of ADHD being stigmatized and they weren't going to take it any more! And what had set their tweets a'fire? A YMCA ad.
Adults with ADHD often have anger issues, and nothing brings them steaming to the surface like lousy traffic. In a follow-up to my blog on anger management and driving, I show Bug Out Bob in action and talk about different techniques to help manage road rage.
A popular complaint for adults with ADHD is "I just can't get my act together!" What is not commonly known is that both the underachievers and overachievers with ADHD share the same complaint. How can that be?
It is said by those in the know that adults with ADHD have a low tolerance for frustration leading to road-rage. That they are impatient and quickly prone to think "Oh, no! Here we go again!" Then they either withdraw, or get behind a wheel and take their anger out on the world like I used to do. I say "used to" because my mother reads this and we wouldn't want her to get the wrong idea. My daughters on the other hand . . . well, it's too late for them. My frustration and road rage is an event that just can't hide.