Content warning:
Self blame and mental health
Living with ADHD when the world thinks you are lazy
I always knew I was smart but my school reports said I was not reaching my potential. As an adult it turned into unpaid bills, missed deadlines and a constant feeling that I was letting everyone down.
I thought ADHD looked like naughty boys bouncing off walls, not a grown person staring at a simple email for two hours because pressing reply feels impossible.
Getting an ADHD diagnosis gave me language for something I had been fighting my whole life. It did not magically fix it but it changed the voice in my head from 'you are useless' to 'your brain just works different'. I use timers, body doubling and small checklists now. I still drop the ball sometimes but I have stopped calling myself lazy.
I thought ADHD looked like naughty boys bouncing off walls, not a grown person staring at a simple email for two hours because pressing reply feels impossible.
Getting an ADHD diagnosis gave me language for something I had been fighting my whole life. It did not magically fix it but it changed the voice in my head from 'you are useless' to 'your brain just works different'. I use timers, body doubling and small checklists now. I still drop the ball sometimes but I have stopped calling myself lazy.