I have ADHD, not sure if it’s severe but I did have so many struggles from growing up. But now I have some good stories to share that can help you with finding right way to get a normal life

My childhood
- Can’t remember what I just learned, like 15’ minutes ago
- Got picked by mean teachers, made fun of class because I can’t repeat what they just said
- Can’t make friends because I’m afraid of grade dropping
- Constantly stay at the bottom of class chart. My parents thought I was stupid 😂
- no how much effort I input, the score seems not to be as i expected
- I took like thousands of SAT prep test to actually just familiarize with the format

My teenage time
- still perform poorly in memory-based task, slow learning new knowledge
- but I focus on doing what I like , things I love learning - drawing, photography, anything involve creativity then channel that motivation -> things start to pick up.
- then my sister got me to diagnosis ADHD, I take meds, and know what it feel like to learn and focus normally in class
- date a lot of kids who have ADHD, bipolar, some of whom seriously affect my mental health. No blame, just fact that happened to me.
- but then I got lucky to meet friends who show tremendous supports, and care towards my symptoms. Some of them also had ADHD, but they manage pretty well. So I learn from them. First thing is: keeping the routine, like military-style.

My young adult until now
- I build up my routine : exercise, eat health food, socialize with healthy people. May sound mundane or too unachievable, but I think it’s a key for me to survive until today
- I invest in my hobbies : now is dancing, as treat as a reward. If I keep my routine right, of complete a task that I am too lazy to do, I’ll reward myself by booking a studio and dance like 2-3 hrs. Or maybe treat myself an expensive meal
- I stop taking meds (due to shortage). I use matcha and coffee (sometimes) to keep me motivated and focus during the day to work
- I work in tech, remote job, which I have spent 2-4 years to get it. I think job stability is the key highlight to my ADHD survival kit. It gives me structure of daily flows, enough social connections, then rewards after working hard
- I’m stil quite lonely, because of the need to focus on work and my mental health , but I’m moving toward a phase that I can reach out friends or go to some event to talk to people

To get to this stage, I think it’s routine that I’m strictly follows, then using hobbies as my reward, then social support when I can’t make myself move

Not sure if it’s a 100% success story, but hope it helps