ADHD

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Relevant Lemmy communities:

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founded 1 year ago

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Advice on sharing your diagnosis with others (self.adhd)

submitted 1 year ago by oOAlteredBeastOo to c/adhd

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Is it generally considered a bad idea to share with others that you have been diagnosed with ADHD? How have others handled sharing diagnosis information with friends, family, work, etc?

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[–] Rhynoplaz 30 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Only you know what ADHD means to you. There's so much difference in symptoms, and severity, there is no concrete definition, so when you label yourself ADHD, you automatically become whatever THAT person thinks ADHD is.

If you told me that, I'd assume we'd get along well, and I'd expect you to relate to a lot of the stuff that others don't understand. Others, however, might just think you're a lazy spaz that doesn't listen.

I think you'd be safer casually mentioning symptoms, like, "if I don't write things down, I'll forget," this way they'll understand that this is a part of who you are, instead of making assumptions.

[–] TangledRockets 12 points 1 year ago

Absolutely. I casually drop symptoms and behaviours into conversation all the time with no indication it is anything other than "just the way I am". Noone ever blinks an eye.

Telling them I eat a bucket of pseudo-amph every day just so I remember to eat my lunch would be something else.

[–] oOAlteredBeastOo 6 points 1 year ago

Thank you. I'm still very new to all this. I was on the fence about whether or not telling others would lead to negative outcomes. People in my close circles have known that I had been struggling at work and that I was trying to improve my overall physical/mental health. I've cut out alcohol, started exercising more, and have been monitoring my health via apps and gadgets to track sleep and other metrics. I'm doing much better now. I'm more focused at work and my symptoms are becoming easier to manage. I agree with you and others in this thread that there isn't really a need to discuss my diagnosis with anyone. I appreciate the advice!