I was diagnosed with ADHD in 3rd grade. I was out on Ritalin and later Adderal and in my teens I weaned myself off of my meds.Things were going great until college and I struggled again. After college things didn't get better but I couldn't afford medication or therapy.Then it got a little better, but not by much.Then I had kids! Two wonderful boys who I love so much. However they proved to be quite a handful. Then things got harder, and more difficult to manage. I thought my ADHD was getting out of hand over the last four years so I finally got professional help through a re diagnosis and hopefully could get on medication again to help me get through the day to day.I had my appointment with my psychiatrist today to get the info and her words left me dumb-founded."You don't have ADHD. In fact you aren't anywhere close to having ADHD."...what...It turns out that my entire life I have had anxiety and persistent depression.I wasn't having trouble focusing enough to handle situations at home. My anxiety was flying through the roof and my depression was causing me to disconnect from my family. My boys are crying for attention and I'm so flustered that I couldn't give them the attention they needed.I would wake up, and give up right away on doing household chores and projects because I figured I needed my energy to handle what the day brought.Coupled with the that my oldest was diagnosed with ADHD and disruptive behavior disorder. So imagine trying to deal with that while struggling with untreated depression.Things make sense now.So I know it's not like everyone here looks out for my posts and watches me like a hawk, but I want to thank this sub for giving me the advice I needed when I needed it. The tips I learned here have been great and you guys have been one of my biggest support systems.I just started Prozac tonight and I can't wait to see how things turn outAlready I feel a weight off my shoulders in knowing that I'm not an inept father who can't just raise my kids like everyone else. Not to use this as an excuse, but knowing I had a barrier that's now broken (or at least there's a peep hole) gives me hope that I can be a better dad.So now I ask, does anyone here have any insight to parenting children while struggling with anxiety and depression? What are some tricks you have learned to try and break past any walls you face, especially when battling fatigue and the blues?I used to try and battle the day with a lot of ADHD techniques, but it ignored the real symptoms. (Making lists was useless when I didn't even have the motivation to pick them up!)Maybe I just needed a place to let it out because I don't want to seem like I'm seeking attention amongst my friends and peers and I know I can get some objective input here without a pity party.Thank you /r/parenting via /r/Parenting https://www.reddit.com/r/Parenting/comments/4pqre9/hello_ive_come_on_here_flustered_to_no_end_from/?utm_source=ifttt
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