| > 3. That the "abnormal" set of people requires intervention to help move them into the "normal" set Your whole argument falls apart here already. I don't care about "normalcy". I don't care about improving my productivity at work. I already went through a process that selected me a job where I can perform pretty well with my ADHD, and where I believe my ADHD can actually be my strength (although I do recognize that I've been extremely lucky in this regard). What I care about is being able to do things I want to do but can't because of my executive troubles. I would like to be able to clean up my desk, so I can actually use it instead of sitting on a sofa with laptop on my laps, hurting my back. I would like to be able to remember that my partner has asked me to bring something upstairs when I go there. I would like to be able to go get my documents from my accountant that they asked me to retrieve years ago. I would like to be able to remember to call back my mom after I noticed that she tried to call me but couldn't do so immediately. I would like to be able to not drive myself into the edge of physical burnout whenever I go into hyperfocus. I would like to remember to drink water when I do so and not suffer for the next week when I don't. I would like to be able to override what I find myself working on when there's a serious need to do so. I would like to be able to return that damned broken UPS I bought before it's 2-year warranty period ends (I think it already might have ended...). I'd even like to be able to finish playing some video games or watching TV series I started long time ago that were too long to keep me focused on them till the end. Those are not things that happen "sometimes". That's my everyday struggle. I got expelled from the university because I haven't managed to go ask for my old grades to be copied when I switched from full-time to part-time for a whole semester - and I have literally no excuse for that. I could just go and do it, but didn't. I still attended all the other lectures, labs, exams. Through my life I came up with a set of elaborate habits and tools and self-made appliances that help me go day by day. I found myself an environment where I can get some support. I'm managing to exist and to do things and maintain some relationships. But whatever I'll do in this regard, it will never cover everything that needs to be covered. I would also like to be able to actually go get myself diagnosed, so I could actually test some meds and see whether they can help me when I struggle the most. I decided to do so more than a year ago, haven't managed to do so yet. I already have access to some meds as my partner has similar struggles and already managed to get them for themselves (which was a huge challenge, and still is because of shortages), but I'm too afraid to try them on my own without any medical screening, so I don't. Or at least that's the excuse I'm telling myself, perhaps it's just another symptom of executive dysfunction. |