Many of my clients get their ADHD diagnosis in midlife, after working hard for decades to cope with various ADHD or ADD symptoms at work, at home, in relationships, in financial dealings. Getting this diagnosis at this life stage can be shocking because people have lived their whole lives under the assumption that their ways of dealing with and being in the world are just part of their personality, as opposed to coping strategies of various effectiveness.
The article below describes how the author was diagnosed in his 40’s, the implications for him of this diagnosis, and the benefits of treatment. “ADHD, my doctor explained a week or so later, is currently theorised as an insufficiency, or systemic malfunction, in the distribution of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Popularly associated with pleasure, dopamine is now more precisely understood as conferring ‘motivational salience’. It forms our sense of how much time, energy and risk a particular desired outcome demands. It shapes our attention towards achieving our goals. It helps us put thought together with action.”
“Somewhere between wanting and getting, between aspiration and achievement, we often become distracted and disorganised. We might forget the things not immediately occupying us. We might find it hard to manage the consequent frustration.”
After getting treatment, the author writes: “But none of that really gets at the thing which to me seems magical, but doubtless just approximates everyday experience for most. The only way I can put it is that there seems to be more time. More time in each day, so that more things on the list get done. But more time, too, inside each second, more time to conclude each passing thought. More time to make good choices, moment to moment. More time to recognise and avoid distractions. More time to breathe.”
Elaine Korngold, LPC, offers ADHD counseling and ADHD assessments to adults who are either diagnosed midlife or seeking a diagnosis. Elaine’s approach integrates Brainspotting therapy to treat emotional distress and traumas that people with ADHD tend to have accumulated over a life time of struggling at home, at work, and in relationships, with elements of Cognitive Behavioral therapy to design and implement specific strategies which address gaps in executive functioning. Contact Elaine to learn more.