My very funny friend, Dobie Maxwell, says – Today is ‘Star Wars’ day – “May the 4th be with you.” Tomorrow is Alcoholics or ‘Bar Wars’ Day – “May the 5th be with you.”
Starting the blog with a laugh!
Thank You!
Yesterday’s blog was on kind of a serious topic. I wanted to take a minute to thank those of you who left supportive and positive comments, as well as those who emailed my privately. I really do appreciate you.
I have a telemedicine visit with my doc today to discuss this further. I may have to do a medical release so that my doc and therapist can discuss things together and formulate a plan. I will keep you posted.
Update
I guess I am a poor planner. I missed National Library Week and National Librarian’s Day last month. I had mentioned in a past post that my brother, who works as a librarian, will be writing a guest blog soon. If I had looked ahead, I could have had that blog ready to tie in to one of those events. Whoops. It is coming though.
Two Pictures
My daughter came into the living room the other day wearing a pink dress and one of my baseball hats. All I could think of was A League of Their Own –
Andrew loves to help clean. He helps pick up the toys, load the dishwasher and is obsessed with the vacuum. Sam found one that actually works online. It plays some really annoying music at times, but it is fun to watch him vacuum with us.
I cannot believe that we’ve turned the page on the calendar again and it is May! I’m not complaining, because May means nice weather is on the way. I’m looking forward to my neighborhood walks and sunshine.
Those walks and the nice weather will certainly help me. I have been struggling a bit. I noticed it a while back, but thought maybe it was just related to not getting enough sleep. However, after having a discussion with my therapist, I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at things.
I have felt like my temper is a bit shorter than normal lately. My patience level is sort of nonexistent. This is unacceptable to me. The littlest things are setting me off. After some discussion, she asked if I have ever been screened for or diagnosed with ADHD. I haven’t.
She mentioned quite a few things that I felt would apply to me. So I’m going to follow up with my PCP. I did some reading online and some stuff really hit the nail on the head.
“Emotional sensitivity and trouble controlling emotions are more signs of ADHD. Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is common in adults with ADHS. RSD is extreme emotional sensitivity that occurs when someone fears they are being criticized or rejected by someone else.“
This is totally me. I tend to be defensive. Part of that is because of my past relationships. Constant criticism and rejection caused me to become very defensive. I hate that.
“Another aspect of emotional control and ADHD can be a quick temper. Someone with ADHD may get extremely irritated but move on from it quickly. ADHD can co-occur with mood disorderslike depression, bipolar and anxiety.”
My wife says that I can go from 0-100 when I get angry. That is so true. The anger is there quickly. I already have anxiety and some depression, so I wonder just how much of this plays into my quick temper.
“Staying organized can be difficult for anyone, but those with ADHD will have a more challenging time keeping track of things and logically completing them. That’s because ADHD is associated with weakened function of the prefrontal cortex, or the part of the brain that controls behavior, emotion, attention and organization.“
Sam can tell you I am NOT organized at all. They joke with me at work about how my work station is set up – its a mess. I can be organized to a point, but I would say I am one of the most unorganized people. “I know it is here – somewhere – I just don’t know where!”
“Someone with ADHD may jump from task to task because they’re excited about those things, not because it’s a logical order.”
I will tend to do the things I WANT to do first, rather than the things I NEED to do. This happens ALL the time.
“Another extremely common symptom of ADHD is difficulty managing time. You may often be late for things or have difficulty sticking to your schedule. It’s not always being late or not showing up, but it can be more subtle, like procrastinating tasks and working on tight deadlines. You also may be regularly forgetful to the point that it causes disruptions in workflow or damages relationships.”
My wife likes to remind me of how I love to put things off. Things I need to do, but just don’t for whatever reason. Some of those things I put of to avoid confrontation.
“Trouble concentrating is one of the best-known ADHD symptoms, thanks to the reduced function of the prefrontal cortex. According to the DSM-5, a diminishing attention span is a core symptom of ADHD. Anything can draw your focus from the task at hand — noises, people talking or daydreaming. Because of this lack of focus, you may overlook important details, lose chunks of conversations and have difficulty completing tasks.“
I often find myself zoning out. My wife has had to call my name three or four times while I get caught up in something on TV. Everything else just fades out and my focus shifts to that.
My therapist thinks that if it truly is ADHD, if those things are treated, everything else will start to get better. More control over my emotions and more patience. I hope she is right.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 