₦airaland Forum

Mindlog:
Have you been officially diagnosed?

For those diagnosed and already on medication, you need to incorporate one on one therapy sessions and support groups as part of your treatment plan

BrownCarton:
Hi Guys,

I may not be as coherent as you will want, but I will try my best to narrate all that I can.

I just hit my mid 20's and although I have always suspected, I now acknowledge that I have been a victim of ADHD.

For those of you who don't know what ADHD is- Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. It is a mental block that is accompannied with anxiety, low attention span, brain "slowing down" Inability to focus on any given task or excessive impuslse on a given task, disorgarnization, inability to plan for the future... etc. It affected me so much, growing up, I would have classified myself as dumb, except that I was quite good in maths, which many seemed to be bad at, so " I should't be the dumbest afterall"


However, people bullied me, whenever I get into conversations, I was always slow to process whatever someone said that I was often tagged slow, but not completely slow as I was usually in a "higher position" in class than whoever was calling me such name. Now, growing up where I have to be more responsible for myself and other things in my environment, I find this being a daily pain. Examples of this is and not limited to:


1. Not knowing where I keep things I was literarilly holding a second ago, feeling very frustrated about it, trying to prove to myself that I am not that slow, then forgetting the next thing I was holding in the process of looking for it, or completely forgetting why I needed it in the first place.

2. Being slow to process whatever someone is telling me, cos it seems my brain takes too slow to just understand, so basically, whenever someone tells me something, I reask or repharase to actually completely understand the message being passed.Making me appear dumb at times. This happens more when people use more pronouns in conversations as I just completely lose the plot of whatever is being said.

3. I can't understand things without visualizing them and I am always baffled whenever I see people easily grasp a concept so fast, espescially in the industry where I work where a lot of things are so abstract, I totally get lost most times.

This has led my dad tofeeling frustrated and insulting me growing up, as I always draw him back, or I am usually slow to just understand whatever he is explaining.

I basically learn best whenever there is a visual representaton of the subject matter.

I basically wonder how people learn and accept new concepts, while I struggle to understand how they do

I ll post more as I remember

Tadeknkeepcalm:
https://medium.com/@Abu_hafs/in-how-many-ways-can-the-colour-yellow-smile-bc983f74bc41

OP please read this. This is where I wrote about living with ADHD. It's quite a long read but I'm sure you will relate

Cchuks27:
Just read your post on medium. Very nice creative writing skills you have got. It is almost like you're there with the person taking him/her through the story. I wish I was a good writer, I cannot sustain writing for long, almost like my thought process with writing or reading are terribly disorganized or paralyzed.

Anyway, in all, nice write up. I wish more awareness could be done for the mental health community in Nigeria.

BrownCarton:
Hi Guys,

I may not be as coherent as you will want, but I will try my best to narrate all that I can.

I just hit my mid 20's and although I have always suspected, I now acknowledge that I have been a victim of ADHD.

For those of you who don't know what ADHD is- Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. It is a mental block that is accompannied with anxiety, low attention span, brain "slowing down" Inability to focus on any given task or excessive impuslse on a given task, disorgarnization, inability to plan for the future... etc. It affected me so much, growing up, I would have classified myself as dumb, except that I was quite good in maths, which many seemed to be bad at, so " I should't be the dumbest afterall"


However, people bullied me, whenever I get into conversations, I was always slow to process whatever someone said that I was often tagged slow, but not completely slow as I was usually in a "higher position" in class than whoever was calling me such name. Now, growing up where I have to be more responsible for myself and other things in my environment, I find this being a daily pain. Examples of this is and not limited to:


1. Not knowing where I keep things I was literarilly holding a second ago, feeling very frustrated about it, trying to prove to myself that I am not that slow, then forgetting the next thing I was holding in the process of looking for it, or completely forgetting why I needed it in the first place.

2. Being slow to process whatever someone is telling me, cos it seems my brain takes too slow to just understand, so basically, whenever someone tells me something, I reask or repharase to actually completely understand the message being passed.Making me appear dumb at times. This happens more when people use more pronouns in conversations as I just completely lose the plot of whatever is being said.

3. I can't understand things without visualizing them and I am always baffled whenever I see people easily grasp a concept so fast, espescially in the industry where I work where a lot of things are so abstract, I totally get lost most times.

This has led my dad tofeeling frustrated and insulting me growing up, as I always draw him back, or I am usually slow to just understand whatever he is explaining.

I basically learn best whenever there is a visual representaton of the subject matter.

I basically wonder how people learn and accept new concepts, while I struggle to understand how they do

I ll post more as I remember

Cchuks27:
Just read your post on medium. Very nice creative writing skills you have got. It is almost like you're there with the person taking him/her through the story. I wish I was a good writer, I cannot sustain writing for long, almost like my thought process with writing or reading are terribly disorganized or paralyzed.

Anyway, in all, nice write up. I wish more awareness could be done for the mental health community in Nigeria.

BrownCarton:
Thanks brother.

I always thought I could train my mind... But it feels hard... Like a constant battle with my mind... A never ending spinning wheel.
But thanks again

Mindlog:
�

Cchuks27:
I have ADHD as well and it has been a never-ending battle for me. Just tired of it.

kirchofff:
do you procrastinate too Kindly mail me at keepdoing10@gmail.com let's talk better. I have adhd and I understand you very well.

Hausa:
How're you doing, bro?
I was reading through this ADHD thing and it seems you're among the few that has been online lately.

Please how did you solve the ADHD thing?

Cchuks27:
Hey buddy, I see you've been doing a lot of reaching out to folks with ADHD, well, that's a good starting point. As for me, I was not able to solve or cure my ADHD. Personally, I do not think ADHD is curable, but what I do know is that it is completely manageable. Aside the intellectual aspect of ADHD which is completely terrible, it is actually not bad. How have I been able to manage mine? I started accepting more of what I could do, rather than things I couldn't do. I focused more on things I am more likely to excel at versus things I might struggle with.

If you need more resources on ADHD, visit this growing ADHD community on Reddit, you will learn a whole more about ADHD and its abilities; https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/

Please always feel free to reach out to me if you ever need too.

All the best.

Cchuks27:
Hey buddy, I see you've been doing a lot of reaching out to folks with ADHD, well, that's a good starting point. As for me, I was not able to solve or cure my ADHD. Personally, I do not think ADHD is curable, but what I do know is that it is completely manageable. Aside the intellectual aspect of ADHD which is completely terrible, it is actually not bad. How have I been able to manage mine? I started accepting more of what I could do, rather than things I couldn't do. I focused more on things I am more likely to excel at versus things I might struggle with.

If you need more resources on ADHD, visit this growing ADHD community on Reddit, you will learn a whole more about ADHD and its abilities; https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/

Please always feel free to reach out to me if you ever need too.

All the best.

Mindlog:
Glad to read how you have been managing it, actually do have deep interest in it thus it was the neurodevelopmental disorder I focused on it in one of the assignments in my clinical child psychology program class.... ADHD-I, ADHD-HI, ADHD-C.

Hausa:
You doing Masters in Cli.Psych?

Mindlog:
Yes.

Hausa:
Interesting.
I did my first degree in it.

Hausa:
Thanks for your response.
Inotherwords, you didn't use any drugs?

Cchuks27:
I did not. Mainly because the mainstream ADHD drugs are not accessible in Nigeria.

BrownCarton:
A very significant part of my ADHD is the way I drift out of attention. I basically find myself drifting and living in my own head.

I could be having a conversation with a friend at home, then the next in my head will be thinking why my colleague at work said "the item list is in the database" then I am there thinking what is a database and the different types of database and how the particular database was being used in that context, and how the database was being fetched.

I basically swim in my head trying to resolve everything I know so as not to feel dumb as I see people around me easily using words and terms and concepts, while I am questioning why don't I get it... Why whyyyyyyyyyy?

It affects me so much I try to resolve theories I learn with practicals around me, and if it doesn't fit, I am literarilly walking accross the room or house playing this up in my head. Basically, I never full inderstand stuff, till I take the information in my head, then walk around the house htinking about it. Then i begin to swim around it in a virtual world.

Cchuks27:
Hey buddy, I see you've been doing a lot of reaching out to folks with ADHD, well, that's a good starting point. As for me, I was not able to solve or cure my ADHD. Personally, I do not think ADHD is curable, but what I do know is that it is completely manageable. Aside the intellectual aspect of ADHD which is completely terrible, it is actually not bad. How have I been able to manage mine? I started accepting more of what I could do, rather than things I couldn't do. I focused more on things I am more likely to excel at versus things I might struggle with.

If you need more resources on ADHD, visit this growing ADHD community on Reddit, you will learn a whole more about ADHD and its abilities; https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/

Please always feel free to reach out to me if you ever need too.

All the best.

Cchuks27:
I did not. Mainly because the mainstream ADHD drugs are not accessible in Nigeria.

hawksford:
Hey brother, it's glad to hear you are able to have a good hang of it

r/ADHD has also been an immensely beneficial resource for me, it really has made me feel less alone and helped me find the grace over some challenges I've had

There's also this other telegram group of Nigerians with ADHD (I think /ADHDNG or /Adhdsuppng}, although, it's not 'everyday-active', but it has equally been helpful too



...In my case though, I'm medicated...here in Nigeria

Honestly though, it took me serious sweats, tears & blood to be able to get diagnosed and get treatment after about 7 months of seeking one

I reached out to a number of "OG's" on here who could have helped with some guidance, but got nothing. Glad I didn't give up on the chase.

My treatment has helped with attention majorly, it's not an absolute fix though, but that area got quite settled, I have to wrestle the others.

Just thought I should add my 2cents to help others who may stumble on this.

Cc : Hausa

Hausa:
Thanks, bro. I appreciate your comment.

I spent almost the whole day today in the Hospital.
I went to NAUTH new site (Akammiri), Nnewi, Anambra, to see a Doctor, who wrote me a referral to the old NAUTH site. I went there and spent hours before I could get someone to attend to me. After taking my notes, a consultant saw it and said it wasn't ADHD and that it might be something else. I was kind of pissed because everything about ADHD is consistent with what I'd gone through since childhood.
But to get a better perspective, he's asked me to bring someone that has lived with me for an appointment fixed in a month time. I'm also going to give a contact for my aunt, who I lived with for the longest period of my life, so they can put a call through to her and ask some questions.
So let's see how the appointment goes for the month of June. I hope to get this over with and get a grip of my life.


How did you do yours?
Was it a psychiatrist or a psychologist that diagnosed you?
Also, what's the price of the drugs like?

Hausa:
Hi, there.
Do you have ADHD, too?

Kobojunkie:
Drugs such as?,

BrownCarton:
A very significant part of my ADHD is the way I drift out of attention. I basically find myself drifting and living in my own head.

I could be having a conversation with a friend at home, then the next in my head will be thinking why my colleague at work said "the item list is in the database" then I am there thinking what is a database and the different types of database and how the particular database was being used in that context, and how the database was being fetched.

I basically swim in my head trying to resolve everything I know so as not to feel dumb as I see people around me easily using words and terms and concepts, while I am questioning why don't I get it... Why whyyyyyyyyyy?

It affects me so much I try to resolve theories I learn with practicals around me, and if it doesn't fit, I am literarilly walking accross the room or house playing this up in my head. Basically, I never full inderstand stuff, till I take the information in my head, then walk around the house htinking about it. Then i begin to swim around it in a virtual world.

BrownCarton:
Growing up with ADHD was never fun.

I made so many silly mistakes which always made me question my brain. My dad always insulted me as he was the complete opposiite of me. He was highly orgarnized, never impulsive, always in control, very smart, never fazed.. etc. And although I studied a technical course in school, I still often acted dumb. More reasons why I consider myself slow is that:

I did not understand that people do business to make profit till I turned 20. I just had no clue what a business was. Always used to see business as some shitty thing where everyone adds "profit" to a product from the manufacturer, amking it unneccerily expensive and always questioned how the whole world, with different race and tribe, accepted that as a norm.

I struggled to understand how a civilian government works, where an ordinary person can control highly trained military. I always questioned why body guards, never ofetn shoot their masters and just flee- afterall, you have the gun, you have the power.

I know this may seem dumb, but it is just the way my brain works and whenever I cannot find a resolution with these questions, my mind begins to wonder. I cannot study such subject matters further as I do not even believe the fundamentals.

This affects me a lot.

BrownCarton:
More often than not, I am in a state of incompleteness... Feeling that my mind will never settle down... I will always be a noob trying to prove to myself that I am not one. It never ends.

Now, unfortunately, I work in tech sector where I sit closely with my boss who is quite the all techy nerd with elaborate techvocabulary, and there I feel rattled. I often can't focus, as I am thinking I do not deserve to be in that position... Maybe I am not smart enough. Maybe I am dumb... So I am in a constant chase for perfection at the most tiniest of things.... Not cleaning spilled stuff, not putting my bottel in the right place, not being able to recollect whatever questions he asks with details and in clarity. Sometimes struggling for breadth while talking..

I am a shadow of myself.