1y ago

On hard mode

69 comments

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was a young child; my parents didn’t like it that ALLEGEDLY to keep the diagnosis on my IEP I had to be kept on ritalin so they raised me to believe it was a misdiagnosis.
So, my entire life I just thought i was a bad person. That i can’t do things like keep my living space clean or take in information accurately and retain it because I’m just a stupid piece of shit. My self esteem was destroyed growing up because my parents didn’t care about working with my ADHD diagnosis because “legal meth”. It makes me feel better that I’m not just an idiot, I’m still kind of steamed that when i told them i wanted to get rediagnosed in high school they just wrote me off and I could’ve gone to college and had a more successful life than I do now but it’s whatever. I know getting diagnosed as an adult is much more difficult than when you’re a kid, but I’m ready to start living my life.
- I didn't get diagnosed ADHD until I was 27. I would have had the chance when I was in kindergarten, but my parents fiercely held onto the negative stigmas associated to mental health care. They regularly screamed at me asking if I wanted to go to the fucking loony bin doctor or will I get my act together and behave. I finished high-school with C's and B's on the report card, then I dropped out of college. How would I have done if my parents would have listened to my teacher when she told them she suspected I had ADHD?
  
  I'm in the same boat with ADHD and anxiety. Finally getting myself medicated for anxiety at age 30. Would have been nice if I hadn't been yelled at about those "black box" pills when I talked to my mom about it when I was younger. But here we are and I'm just grateful I've gotten started healing. Best wishes friend.

I got my diagnosis as a teenager. I am now in my 30s. To this day I continue to have realizations about how I’m not actually just a lazier piece of crap than everyone else around me.
- My shrink told me he regularly has middle age people break down and start crying when they get their diagnosis. I guess thinking you're a lazy piece of shit your whole life has a bit of a negative emotional impact, lol.
  
  I was lucky enough to have a Mother who was aware enough to get me a diagnosis when I was 10. My dad still no matter what thinks im lazy and what didnt work for him should magically work for me.
  
  Haha, makes sense. For me, I just learned to accept it.

Very good analogy!
Looked up the source. Tweeter goes by another name now but left their tweet intact.
https://twitter.com/artistAuDH/status/1469709326965219332?s=19

Just remove the PCB and put a bit of tape over the Game B contacts. No more hard mode.
(note that this applies to the Nintendo Game & Watch. This skill may or may not assist with neurodivergence.)

I wanna play with cheats on...
I was diagnosed with ADHD and BPD. I didn't even know wtf BPD was before I was told I had it.

Ah, the Devil May Cry 3 of life difficulty modes!
- Get fired from 3rd job in life
  “Easy Mode is now selectable”

Diagnosis is being given a paper that makes dickbags believe your lived experience is legitimate.
You don't, and shouldn't, need a diagnosis to know you are neurodivergent.
- That's a really stupid take.
  A diagnosis is very important because almost all mental/personality/executive functioning disorders share similar symptoms (anxiety, depression, etc.), but require different approaches for treatment.
  It's very possible for someone to be diagnosed with ADHD and depression when really they're bipolar 2, and common depression medications (SSRIs) can have extremely adverse reactions with bipolar disorder.
  It's also super common for women to not be diagnosed with autism, but instead be given a laundry list of other diagnoses instead.
  A proper diagnosis is imperative to getting the right treatment, whether that's meds, therapy, or self help.
  
  The process of diagnosis when it involves actual testing is legitimate. Which does include ADHD. Provided your comfortable gatekeeping it behind only people who can pay hundreds of dollars for neuropsyche testing.
  But the process where it concerns anxiety, depression and bipolar? It's not. These do not have any biomarkers in diagnosis, and psychiatrists are not actually experts at identifying this stuff by asking a handful of questions for 15 minutes. Their years of training doesn't make them have some magical ability to identify a soup of random incoherent symptoms accurately, and they are not significantly more accurate than moderately well informed patients at identifying themselves. That's why people are so commonly misdiagnosed. It's literally just the person's opinion. And you shop around for the right opinion. Then they actually diagnosis you with whatever is required to get the insurance to pay for the medicine. That's what diagnosis actually is. It's a paper to have insurance pay for medical care. And it is not science.
  Some books on the subject if you want more authoritative sourcing:
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4817669/
  https://www.bps.org.uk/member-networks/division-clinical-psychology/power-threat-meaning-framework
  I think we mostly agree, given you acknowledge misdiagnosis is rampant within psychiatry. Is it rather that you see the DSM itself as legitimate, and doctor are just misunderstanding it which causes misdiagnosis?
- Are you high? Self-diagnoses leads to an incredible amount of poor choices, and your condoning, much less outright championing that bullshit is disgustingly irresponsible. Do better. Be better. Next time.
  
  Nah I'm championing it. I've spent decades in this system and worked with people who do the diagnosing. Your position of reverence for the process of diagnosis or the authority of those doing diagnosis is not well founded. People who are too poor to get diagnosed are still needing help regardless of wheather an academic has weighted in on the subject. Diagnosis is an opinion, to get insurance to pay for healthcare. That's all it is. I can recommend you some books on the subject if you actually care to learn more about the topic of how diagnosis actually works.

Getting diagnosed as autistic as an adult was/is a hell of a ride. It explains so much, and it's good to find my people and know I'm not "broken" but yeah, life still seems that much harder, now I just know why.
- My wife is going through that journey at the moment. It's surprisingly hard to find a therapist who doesn't just whip out the DSM and say she can make eye contact so she's not autistic.

Life is hard for anyone with below average intelligence.
- Looks like you're doing ok to me.
  
  Just keep grinding away at being a better person is all anyone can do. Would be nice if we treated stupid people better too and help them cope.
- I get it, life is hard for you. I wish I could help! It’s probably extra hard to be dumb and have no reason for your difficulties!
- Intelligence doesn't exactly correlate with success either though.
  There are plenty of breathtakingly intelligent people who either can't or refuse to play the social game that is required for success. Many of them are neurodivergent.
- And yet you learned to type. Truly, this timeline is full of wonders.
- woH buddy this is AdHd board we are very delicate flowers

69 comments