A bit over a year ago, I had a psych assessment and it confirmed I have a form of ADHD: the inattentive form. I have problems keeping my attention on my work.
Throughout my working life I’ve gotten bored with my work. When bored I look for distractions. The web at my fingertips, I can find distractions easily. I don’t finish work timely, which increases my boredom. I have left jobs with the hope the next one will interest me more.
Five of my eight employers have laid me off for lack of productivity. I find a job easily. I’m motivated and interview well.
I found 2020 overwhelming. The COVID shutdown and work from home overwhelmed me. I got a counselor to help me.
A year of sessions later, we recognized I was depressed, and I got my doctor to diagnose me as mildly depressed. Another medical event prevented treatment. My doctor didn’t want me on both medicines.
Nine months later, I got off the other medicine and asked my doctor for anti-depression medicine. One morning, after a month on the medicine, I arrived at my desk, and said to myself, “I will work today.”
From that point on, my work interested me. Distractions fell away. I thought I had things together.
One day at work in the cafeteria, a coworker who used to sit near me in 2019 commented I needed to made less happy. I smiled and said “Prozac will do that to you.”
A company internal website held an ADHD meme day. Coworkers with ADHD described their struggles in meme form.
I looked at some of their memes and said to myself, “isn’t it that way for everyone?”
After another few sessions with my counselor, we decided to get me tested.
- Summer 2020 got a counselor
- Fall 2021 diagnosed as depressed
- Fall 2022 started on Anti-depression medicine
- Winter 2023 ADHD diagnosis
- Spring 2024 today