Do you have a group of supportive ADHD adults in your life? Other creative, zesty people who understand you without sideways glances or raised eyebrows?
In other words, do you have your own ADHD support group?
Without the support of others, living with ADHD can be lonely business. It’s not uncommon for ADHD adults to spend their lives feeling different. An oddball who doesn’t quite fit in.
Thinking and acting differently than everyone else isn’t easy. It can lead to depression and isolation. It can hammer your self-esteem.
Feeling different makes living with ADHD even harder than the already overwhelming tasks of getting organized, following through, and managing time.
You don’t have to suffer your ADHD symptoms alone. The trick is finding other like-minded, supportive people who understand you and your ADHD life.
Some people are drawn to join official ADHD support groups such as CHADD or ADDA. Yet you may find some groups aren’t your style. I went to one for a while populated by folks who monopolized the conversation and overly complained about their ADHD challenges. It wasn’t a positive experience.
The purpose of a support group is not to leave you feeling even more lonely and hopeless. The best ADHD support group lifts your spirits and allows you to be understood and loved for who you are.
If the bigger, structured ADHD support groups don’t work for you don’t give up. You can piece together your own small group. Perhaps five or six ADHD adults who meet once a month for coffee. (For goodness sake meet at a restaurant so no one has to clean the house.)
What do you do in your ADHD support group?
You talk and laugh. Perhaps you each share your wackiest ADHD experience from the month. Or, each person brings an ADHD challenge to talk about and work through with the group.
You can also use your support group to call each other in-between meetings. Those times you hit a rough patch and are certain your third grade teacher was right about how successful you’d be if only you would try harder. Call someone in your group who thinks you’re clever and funny and understands what you’re going through.
We think we have to suffer in secret yet we don’t. Living with Adult ADHD can be challenging and discouraging but it doesn’t have to be lonely. Having a built in ADHD support group of understanding cheerleaders to take the sting out of marching to a different drummer can make all the difference.
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