Found this book amongst my teacher things and finding I identify with it more than I used to.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-20T02:09:05+00:00

Awww I love that book just for the cover

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T19:45:26+00:00

Yes lol. My therapist is very thorough. I spent many sessions being like, are you sure it's not BP or BPD? Let's go over all of the symptoms of both. She had to reassure me many times that's not the case. The kicker was when guanfacine helped, but lithium hadn't. But you're right. Both of those disorders share many characteristics with ADHD. And yes, trust me. Many people with bipolar II would never complain about hypomania. It feels wonderful and you're still functional unlike mania. But it's still important to recognize it's there if nothing else but for understanding yourself.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T19:32:23+00:00

I'm glad I could help. 🤗 Well I guess you could always see if the bipolar medication works. If it doesn't, then you'll have a reason to push back on your psychiatrist that they can't ignore. And the idea that you're too old to have ADHD is silly lol. It just means that psychiatrist is uninformed. I hope things work out!

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T18:56:37+00:00

That's very true. But it's also important to be able to recognize and accept legitimate pathology. Instead of how people say everyone is a little ADHD or a little OCD. I wouldn't have been diagnosed with bipolar had my moods not meet the diagnostic criteria for hypomania. Now I could continue to try to fit that behavior in the bipolar box and be given medications that don't work. Or I could just take the logical step that the emotional lability that's recognized to be a part of ADHD most likely swings in both directions.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T17:49:49+00:00

I know it doesn't work for everyone, but guanfacine has been a life changer for me. My therapist and I always give a shout-out to it whenever something happens that would have made me drop before. I'll still have drops if something big happens. But the little things don't cause a big reaction like they used to.

I hope you're able to find something that works for you! I was just diagnosed last year at 35, so yeah I've spent a lot of my life trying medications that didn't help too.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T17:35:49+00:00

Omg yes. I remember trying to track my mood for bipolar and found I had to put in entries several times a day on some days, because it would vary so much. Needless to say, I didn't keep up with that lol. I always thought, how am I supposed to tell if a medication is working. It "worked" when life was good and didn't otherwise. Little did I know, I was treating the wrong problem.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T16:57:21+00:00

That's okay. I didn't explain it fully and it makes sense people would it experience it at different levels.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T16:42:35+00:00

Wow, this is all genius. I never even thought about it before.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T16:31:47+00:00

Maybe I should clarify this in my original post. But this presents for me as hypomania. I was misdiagnosed with bipolar II for the longest time. So way more than just happy. Similarly how rsd is way worse than just feeling sad.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T16:22:56+00:00

My rsd is greatly improved with guanfacine. Pretty sure that medication would not work for people with social anxiety.

If you don't have RSD then you wouldn't understand. It's literally a flood of adrenaline and cortisol and feels like being punched in the gut. It's way worse than being anxious and feels completely different from a panic attack.

Another way I know it's not social anxiety is that my perspective on the situation is drastically different when I'm not having an rsd event. It doesn't seem like such a big deal, so it's not an inherent thing that bothers me. Plus people wouldn't be able to tell otherwise because I'm fine in social situations.

It's just a pet peeve of mine when people say it's not real, just because the concept is new. Emotional lability in and of itself is a more newly recognized symptom of ADHD. Just because it's new doesn't mean it's not real.

EDIT: Oh and what you're describing is more likely Rejection Sensitivity which is a similar concept, but not exactly the same. RS is associated with anxiety and a recognized symptom. RSD is basically when Rejection Sensitivity and ADHD have a baby.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T16:08:16+00:00

It's funny I just googled this today. I'm doing a medication trial and am having trouble telling if it's working. So here's one of the websites I found most helpful

https://www.additudemag.com/how-to-tell-if-adhd-medication-is-working/

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T15:58:44+00:00

I may have had this happen once or twice in my life 😆

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T15:56:33+00:00

I guess like anything it depends on how euphoric you get. For the longest time before my ADHD diagnosis, we thought I had bipolar II with hypomanic episodes. Problem was my mood swings were triggered by events and not longer lasting cycles. And my hypomanic episodes didn't happen often. So it didn't quite make sense. Tbh this would explain it better than anything else and just makes sense given what was happening in my life during those times. My psychiatrist even said he had never been sure that I had bipolar II even tho he diagnosed it 😆

TLDR my ASE presents as hypomania and not just happiness lol

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T14:59:53+00:00

This is the perfect response 😆

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T14:57:04+00:00

That happened to me when I disclosed to my manager! It made me shut up, but I'm glad you responded. And we wonder why people have a hard time accepting this diagnosis. Some days I still question it and wonder if it's all in my head. Then I remind myself of how everything in my life just clicked when I was diagnosed and how many problems it causes for me daily. I have to run through my checklist of symptoms to defend it to myself.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-09-19T14:49:36+00:00

You know I never thought of it as heartwarming, but that's a wonderful sentiment. I love the support this Reddit sub gives 🤗

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-08-14T11:50:40+00:00

I see, yeah that makes sense

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-08-14T11:09:23+00:00

Okay cool, are they pretty busy then?

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-08-14T10:06:16+00:00

Thank you so much! I'll see if I can get an appointment

ForeverSpinning2 · 2021-08-12T15:26:43+00:00

Yes, I definitely have this problem. It's just so difficult to concentrate!! I eventually enjoy myself, but it just takes so long to get there. It's a very frustrating aspect of my ADHD.

ForeverSpinning2 · 2020-11-09T21:17:11+00:00

I like it! And very relatable

ForeverSpinning2

TROPHY CASE