ADHD and Mental Health

[BrantB]

I joined UK Workshop a while back but I am unsure if I made an introductory post. I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD after 20 years of mental health diagnoses. I was diagnosed over 5 months ago and still I await medication. for 20 years I have been unable to work, and yet I have managed to do some woodwork, some metalwork and I collect old unwanted machines. I am very limited in my ability to function just now, but I think I have quite a bit to contribute. Please give me some time. The wait for medication is excruciating but hopefully I emerge with greater ability to function in the end. Thanks.

 

[RobinBHM]

Hi Brant, a very warm welcome to UKworkshop, Im sure you will enjoy being part of this community and I am sure you have much to offer

 

[Peter Sefton]

Welcome to the forum, I hope you find working with your hands and being creative helps your condition.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Sideways]

You are very welcome here. Thanks for introducing yourself

 

[johnnyb]

Hope this place brings you some joy fella. Hope the Meds work as they should .

 

[Bingy man]

Hello and welcome, what can I say - 20 years of waiting for the correct diagnosis is a complete disgrace on the shoulders of this and previous governments. My son suffers with sensory processing disorder and we are 2 years into waiting for his diagnosis regarding PDA . His issues are on a daily basis and the last 2 years have been pretty dire .he’s 14 now yet when I told the appropriate people - doctors, school , social services they didn’t want to know , refused to consider he had a problem of any type but saw fit to put the blame on us his parents,, of course this has taken its toll on me and I had to leave my job of 30 + years due to my mental health. There is something about woodworking, gardening, and fishing to name but a few interests that can cut through all of the doom and gloom and the stress and anxiety of dealing with mental health issues be they your own or a family member. Take your time and enjoy your efforts and most of all remember- it’s ok to have a bad day and if you don’t want to contribute just yet then don’t worry about it . If you need help or just want to listen in then we are here to help and support each other..

 

[BrantB]

I feel for you, your son and your family. Upon leaving school, I had the entry requirements for law, medicine etc. I chose a form of engineering, I was told that it interested me. I earned a degree. The twenty years that followed were a blur of diagnoses and suffering.
I am yet to come out the other end but I like to rescue old unwanted machinery, repair boats, cars, plant, machinery. I like to make peculiar furniture, strange doors etc. Wood and metal have no limits to the creative mind.

 

[Bingy man]

I feel for you, your son and your family. Upon leaving school, I had the entry requirements for law, medicine etc. I chose a form of engineering, I was told that it interested me. I earned a degree. The twenty years that followed were a blur of diagnoses and suffering.
I am yet to come out the other end but I like to rescue old unwanted machinery, repair boats, cars, plant, machinery. I like to make peculiar furniture, strange doors etc. Wood and metal have no limits to the creative mind.

I agree , I do a little metal work but basically nuts and bolts and rivets etc . I’ve seen some crazy awesome creations from nothing more than scrap . My worst visit to a so called health professional who just sat there ticking boxes on a list while my son was sat in the corner destroying a display board of information leaflets etc ( she herself was about 17) was then told by said 17 yr old that my son has not got any mental health issues whatsoever- it’s your parenting skills that’s the cause . I won’t post what I said next .. there are times when I’m proud to be British but nowadays it’s more like shame - post office scandal , contaminated blood scandal, hillsbourough disaster, but it’s ok cos r/sunak has said sorry .!!! But not wanting to turn your thread political I’ll stop there . Look forward to seeing pics of your work when you are in a better place - best of luck to you and your family..

 

[Bobs Gates]

I joined UK Workshop a while back but I am unsure if I made an introductory post. I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD after 20 years of mental health diagnoses. I was diagnosed over 5 months ago and still I await medication. for 20 years I have been unable to work, and yet I have managed to do some woodwork, some metalwork and I collect old unwanted machines. I am very limited in my ability to function just now, but I think I have quite a bit to contribute. Please give me some time. The wait for medication is excruciating but hopefully I emerge with greater ability to function in the end. Thanks.

Hi, I suffer myself and I'm awaiting confirmation of the ADHD. I run a business manufacturing and installing gates and some days are very difficult! The amount of lists and todos I make is ridiculous and very rarely do I complete them... But keep going and don't give up!

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I am unsure how these matters function in the UK, but I can shed some light on why "20 years". Note that I am a clinical psychologist and specialise in ADHD, as well as having grown up as an ADHD kid (I recognised this when I was 40. I am now 74).

ADHD was considered a diagnosable only in children until 2013, when DSM V (universal diagnostic manual) was published. This opened diagnoses up to adults as well. I have been working in this area for about 30 years.

What needs to be stated at the outset is that (1) there is a spectrum for severity, from mildly affected to severe. The prevalence is around 10%, but there may be many undiagnosed at the mild end of the spectrum, who only become overt when there are life challenges. (2) While most people believe that ADHD (previously known as ADD) is about Inattention and Hyperactivity, that is an increasingly outdated perspective. It is really about disorganisation and related emotional dysregulation (or emotional sensitivity).

Diagnosis should be broad and aimed at excluding other look-a-likes. There are many reasons for the symptoms and not all lead to ADHD.

Medication is not needed except for the more extreme end of the spectrum, and even so psychological methods are important - pills do not develop skills. I have never had ADHD medication. I emphasise this as there has been a world-wide shortage of Vyvanse, the most popular ADHD medication for adults, and many were in a state of panic that their lives were going to end. That is a total overreaction. Find a clinical psychologist (called consulting psychologists in the UK) who specialises in ADHD.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Fred48]

I joined UK Workshop a while back but I am unsure if I made an introductory post. I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD after 20 years of mental health diagnoses. I was diagnosed over 5 months ago and still I await medication. for 20 years I have been unable to work, and yet I have managed to do some woodwork, some metalwork and I collect old unwanted machines. I am very limited in my ability to function just now, but I think I have quite a bit to contribute. Please give me some time. The wait for medication is excruciating but hopefully I emerge with greater ability to function in the end. Thanks.

Welcome to the forum BrantB. I wish you all the best. There are a great number of members on this forum who are very helpful and supportive.
Cheers Fred

 

[BrantB]

Cheers Fred I really appreciate that. I hope to be able to contribute something soon. In the mean time, Here's a miniature Chinese cupboard type thing I hope to stick back together for my lady friend...

 

[BrantB]

I am unsure how these matters function in the UK, but I can shed some light on why "20 years". Note that I am a clinical psychologist and specialise in ADHD, as well as having grown up as an ADHD kid (I recognised this when I was 40. I am now 74).

ADHD was considered a diagnosable only in children until 2013, when DSM V (universal diagnostic manual) was published. This opened diagnoses up to adults as well. I have been working in this area for about 30 years.

What needs to be stated at the outset is that (1) there is a spectrum for severity, from mildly affected to severe. The prevalence is around 10%, but there may be many undiagnosed at the mild end of the spectrum, who only become overt when there are life challenges. (2) While most people believe that ADHD (previously known as ADD) is about Inattention and Hyperactivity, that is an increasingly outdated perspective. It is really about disorganisation and related emotional dysregulation (or emotional sensitivity).

Diagnosis should be broad and aimed at excluding other look-a-likes. There are many reasons for the symptoms and not all lead to ADHD.

Medication is not needed except for the more extreme end of the spectrum, and even so psychological methods are important - pills do not develop skills. I have never had ADHD medication. I emphasise this as there has been a world-wide shortage of Vyvanse, the most popular ADHD medication for adults, and many were in a state of panic that their lives were going to end. That is a total overreaction. Find a clinical psychologist (called consulting psychologists in the UK) who specialises in ADHD.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek, If I may, my functionality is limited to alm in 2014ost nothing without the tablets. It is all I can do to go to the toilet sit on the floor, smoke and eat chocolate. this is basically my life right now, I can't leave the building. It is pretty bad that the DSM took only legitimised ADHD so recently. Mind you, I was diagnosed with F68.1 Factitious disorder in 2013...

 

[Fred48]

Cheers Fred I really appreciate that. I hope to be able to contribute something soon. In the mean time, Here's a miniature Chinese cupboard type thing I hope to stick back together for my lady friend...

View attachment 181606

Pleasure. That cupboard should keep you busy for some time. Good luck with it. Cheers Fred

 

[justinpeer]

I was diagnosed 3 years ago at age 55, still processing how different my life looks from this new perspective and how obvious so many things now seem and how much easier so much might have been. I hope you’re able to find a medication that works for you soon.

 

[TRITON]

still processing how different my life looks from this new perspective

I'd say to this exercise caution, and not get into a 'oh if only' mindset.
You are the same person you were prior to diagnosis.

Same answer I'm giving to the OP.

 

[SammyQ]

BrantB, I taught many teenagers labelled "A.D.D." and "A.D.H.D." over a 37 year career. Derek is absolutely right: there may be more than one 'game afoot', more than one cause or treatment; those two acronyms are just a convenient 'catch all' bracketing. Everybody's different.
May I please suggest you tackle something utterly basic - like that gorgeous wee cabinet - and post on here as you go, even if it is what you regard as minimal progress? The old lags (and noobies) on here just love to chat and comment, tell you what worked for them and not. It's digital gossiping, but 'mazin' how much comes out in the nattering. If you can't come out, let us come to you.

Just don't mention sharpening.

 

[okeydokey]

HI BrantB
I don't have the life experiences that you have/are having and can only wish you the very best.
How big is that cabinet dolls house size? Take your time with it no rush
Ask on this site if you need help as there will be people who make/tinker with these on a regular basis.

 

[justinpeer]

I'd say to this exercise caution, and not get into a 'oh if only' mindset.
You are the same person you were prior to diagnosis.

Same answer I'm giving to the OP.

Yes, there’s a certain amount of grieving that you go through for what might have been but it’s also important to think about the ‘superpowers’ that adhd gives you. The most important thing for me has been learning to be kinder to myself about some of my shortcomings. For years I’ve felt shame and guilt about some of the things I’ve struggled with and been criticised for that other people seem to find so easy. You can feel so utterly retched when struggling and that ‘I’m just a dung human’ and to finally have some understanding of it is helping me to do that less.

 

[Bingy man]

Yes, there’s a certain amount of grieving that you go through for what might have been but it’s also important to think about the ‘superpowers’ that adhd gives you. The most important thing for me has been learning to be kinder to myself about some of my shortcomings. For years I’ve felt shame and guilt about some of the things I’ve struggled with and been criticised for that other people seem to find so easy. You can feel so utterly retched when struggling and that ‘I’m just a dung human’ and to finally have some understanding of it is helping me to do that less.

I don’t know that much about adhd but I did think my son had something similar. I saw signs when he was a baby and as he went into toddler age he slowly got worse, my at the time partner ( his mom ) was having none of it . Health professionals dismissed us as poor parents etc . At Around 7/8 after multiple issues for my now x - lying down in the middle of the road refusing to get up , screaming the house down refusing to get dressed, hitting himself repeatedly etc she finally accepted he had something wrong. Eventually diagnosed with sensory processing disorder we got very little help , his mom just couldn’t cope with him it all fell to me . Speaking to customers with children with similar issues the common reply was- sounds like he’s got some sort of autism. Long and short he went to senior school and he had a meltdown- every day I’m fighting to get him up , to eat his breakfast, and then the dreaded school run - physically trying to force him into school . Ended up speaking to the school physiology teacher and answered multiple questions, gave her numerous examples of his behavioural problems etc and she asked me to read up on pda psychology demand syndrome in kids . Asked me to come back the next day to discuss- and there it was basically his life story . She assessed him and he scored high 70 where a score of 46 indicates he may have the condition. So 2 + years in and we are still waiting for the official diagnosis and every day is a challenge for him me and his mom . So and sorry for the long post but it’s important that you don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed because it’s not your fault just like my son now 14 it’s just how your brain interacts and interprets things. I used to judge people like you in conversations with work colleagues but absolutely not now . My son can explode over the smallest tiniest detail but in his mind it’s the end of the world. Be proud and stand tall @justinpeer
Edit - of course the same advice to anyone suffering with any form of mental health issues unlike women we men often just bottle everything up and for some including myself this can go on for years but eventually you just can’t keep it all in and then it all hits the fan..