Please don’t feel like your diagnosis is a death sentence!  It truly can be a new beginning for you!  Now you can do the work of learning “why” you struggle where you struggle—how your ADD brain wiring (your neurobiology) affects you in ways that are challenging for you—and detach some of those negative emotions and self-talk that come from not knowing why!  People always say that “knowledge is power,” but I believe that self-knowledge is where the REAL power is! 

The more you learn about ADHD in general and how it affects you as an individual, the more power you have to make changes to improve your life. 

Where you are now (a stay-at-home Mom) can be a very hard place to be for a woman with ADD. The lack of structure and stimulation that can come along with being a stay-at-home Mom can be like kryptonite for a woman with ADD until you learn how to better manage it.  For me, that was when my ADD challenges were absolutely at their worst! Especially when my kiddos were young.  Those years were hard until I realized what was going on with me and I started to get some help (medication, coaching, introspection) to make big changes in the way I did things. BUT I WOULDN’T HAVE MISSED THEM FOR ANYTHING, and I wouldn’t trade them either! 

The reason I’m saying this is to give you hope!  (I hope it’s coming off that way!)  Now you have answers.  What you do with the information, however, is completely up to you.

This might be a great time to start a journal or a blog or talk to someone who “gets you” and get some of this fear out of your head.  You are the same person you were before the diagnosis, but with more information!  The same dedicated Mom and the same creative woman. 

And you will be an inspiration to your kiddos some day. 

Just my 2 cents!  (FWIW)

Lynne Edris, ACG
Life & ADD Coach
http://www.CoachingADDvantages.com

You are getting some great advice here. I agree this is not a bad thing - you’re finally getting insight on what’s been going on with you! This is positive!

You are also dealing with depression, which is difficult. One resource I found that helped me was Undoing Depression ... When You Have ADHD. Depression is surprisingly common among ADD adults, so you’re definitely not alone.

Ok, so I started medication yesterday. I needed an anxiety pill to take my anxiety pill. My husband couldn’t believe how my mind was working about it. I tried to explain that’s what goes on all the time in my brain about everything.

How do I structure my day? I realize from my reading everything needs to be structered. I have spent 25 years trying to get structure and routine, and can do it for a day, but then i’m so overwhelmed i can’t continue.

How do I do it? Where do I start?

HI i agree when i got my test,it took a weight off me knowing am not lazy or retarted etc,now you have it the road you have started will be less bumpy,first thing id say meds ,i take anti anxity drug, anti d and ritilan ,last one id say complets what need go on and try build ur self up, i start with goal list one or two small things once ur done stop ,chill ,also read read ,theres so much stuff learn and understand what you have your not alone people will help ,but what will say is you will still have ur off days and people can be very negative and v not understanding it will get to some times more than others but with your meds and understandng what adhd it will cushion blow ,keep looking ahead and good luck