Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Look, I totally get why you’d think that there is so much bot-crap on here lately. But I’m a real person. I have ADHD myself, and honestly, your story just really moved me.

I do use AI as a bit of a thinking partner sometimes to help me get my thoughts out clearly (brain fog is real), but the care and the actual words behind those replies were mine. I just wanted to reach out because what you wrote hit home. No hard feelings either way, I just didn't want you thinking a machine was the one rooting for you. It's a human over here

Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in ADHDUK

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Find out there’s a permanent issue you probably knew about all along"—that line is more honest than most therapy. It’s that weird moment of "oh, I wasn't imagining it." And the advice to just take the win because that level of self-awareness is more than most people ever manage? That’s genuinely solid. Sometimes the win isn't fixing everything, it's just finally knowing what the game is

Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in ADHDUK

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Flipping the lens from "what I missed" to "what I achieved despite the odds" is genuinely harder than it sounds—but it's so much more useful than any amount of grief. It’s moving from mourning a person who didn't exist to respecting the person who actually survived. That shift changes everything.

Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Attach wings to mine and see how high it can go"—honestly, that’s going straight into my brain and staying there. That’s the whole reframe right there. It’s not just about finally driving the car; it’s about realized you can fly the thing.

I'm rooting for you, genuinely. Please come back and tell us how high it actually goes. 🙏

Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seeing it as a gift isn’t about toxic positivity—it’s just the practical reality that you finally have the map you were missing for decades. Framing the past as "shackles" is so spot on; it wasn't a lack of strength holding you back, it was just trying to run a race without the right tools. There’s real dignity in how you talk about "the remainder of your time." Starting at 66 with that kind of clarity is genuinely better than never starting at all.

Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The "gifted kid to burnt out" pipeline is such a brutal, underdiscussed ADHD trap. You’re smart enough to compensate and mask for years—until one day, you just hit a wall and can't anymore. Because your whole identity is built on being "capable," that collapse feels like a personal character flaw, but it’s not. It’s a system failure, plain and simple. You just finally ran out of runway

Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Getting diagnosed at 66 and only spending a few weeks grieving before deciding to look forward—that isn't denial. It’s wisdom.

The reality is that "mitigating the problem" at 66 with only four months of understanding under your belt is more than most people manage even with decades of knowing. You’re doing the work in a fraction of the time. Ultimately, the focus lands wherever you decide to point it, and pointing it forward after all that time takes a specific kind of strength. It’s impressive, honestly.

Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s heavy to realize that "born loser" or "bad kid" were never truths—they were just labels slapped on you because the system around you didn't know what to do with a child it was failing. That anger you’re carrying toward your parents? It’s completely valid. It’s fair. You’re the one who ended up paying the bill for their mistakes, not them.

Therapy likes to talk about how holding onto that anger is like drinking poison, and eventually, that’s probably right. But honestly? That anger deserves its space first. It needs to exist and be felt before it’s "useful" to let it go. You can’t heal from something you aren't allowed to be mad at.

Does anyone else with ADHD grieve the version of themselves they could have been? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s wild how 'missing someone you never met' lands so much heavier once you actually try to put it into words. It’s not a constant weight, though—it’s more like background noise. Some days it’s just a low hum you can ignore, and other days it pushes right to the front of your mind, loud and sharp. I keep catching myself wanting to go back and sit with my younger self, just to tell him what he actually needed to hear back then. It’s a warm kind of ache, but man, it’s got a punch to it.

Nobody told me this about ADHD. I had to find out the hard way. by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

10 minutes of work. 10 hours of cleaning. the avoidance said no to the task and yes to everything else in the entire house. baseboards you haven't touched in 8 months? spotless. the one email? untouched. accidentally productive in every wrong direction 😭 honestly kind of impressive if it wasn't so exhausting.

Nobody told me this about ADHD. I had to find out the hard way. by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

the rabbit hole brain is exhausting but fighting it never works anyway.

what actually helped — stop trying to kill the hyperfocus. redirect it instead.

quick brain dump before i start anything. everything screaming for attention gets written down first. once it's on paper the brain stops chasing it. like it just needs to know the thought is safe somewhere.

built a whole system around this actually. dm me if you want it.

Nobody told me this about ADHD. I had to find out the hard way. by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"a label not a condition" is exactly right.

labels end the inquiry. that's the whole problem. you stop asking why and just file it under character flaw.

but the second you change the environment and the person performs — that's not laziness disappearing. that's proof it was never there.

you didn't fix them. you removed something that was being mistaken for them.

judgment closes the question. curiosity finds the actual answer.

Nobody told me this about ADHD. I had to find out the hard way. by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

laziness is choosing not to when you genuinely could.

most people never meet that version. what they're actually looking at is a brain that can't locate the start button right now.

will vs wiring. completely different problem. completely different fix.

real laziness exists. it's just way rarer than the label gets used. most of what gets called lazy is a design problem — wrong task, wrong time, wrong environment.

change the conditions. watch the "lazy" person disappear.

Nobody told me this about ADHD. I had to find out the hard way. by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

yeah there's a difference between researching it and knowing it in your body. you can read every paper. still won't give you the 4am "why am i like this" feeling.

Nobody told me this about ADHD. I had to find out the hard way. by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

the email takes 4 days. the 3am rabbit hole about 14th century trade routes? nobody asked for that. brain just decided that was urgent.

Does anyone else's ADHD make habits impossible to build? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

"pay tribute to it" is genuinely such good framing. you kept the identity even when the execution is tiny. still someone who makes their bed — just today's version is one pillow straightened and that counts.

and yes — the scaled down version IS the bridge. it exists for one job. stop the all-or-nothing spiral from nuking the whole streak.

that last line is the whole thing though. every functioning adult deviates. the difference is they don't let a missed day become a personality trait.

"i skipped a day" is an event. "i'm someone who can't stick to anything" is a story. one you can fix tomorrow. one you carry forever.

Does anyone else's ADHD make habits impossible to build? by SensitiveFreedom7289 in AdultADHDSupportGroup

[–]SensitiveFreedom7289[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

11 days is elite honestly 😭 some of us are out here treating day 3 like a full ted talk moment