this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2025
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ADHD memes

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ADHD Memes

The lighter side of ADHD


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When I was a kid, I was punished excessively. My diagnosis occurred when I was 25. In the 1980s, I got paddled every day at school and was punished constantly. It made me feel rejected, leading to rejection sensitivity dysphoria. By the time I was 9, I decided life was not worth living and have not changed my mind at 45 years old. I would never have a child to suffer the way I did. I still feel like nobody wants me around. My mental health issues have severely impacted my quality of life. I'm just now figuring out that this might be why I have never felt my clock tick, or thought for even a second of my life that I wanted kids.

Has this happened to anyone else? I wonder how many in this forum might have decided against parenthood due to ADHD effects without realizing it.

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[–] happydoors@lemmy.world 3 points 14 hours ago

As awful as yours and other may have experienced, I have trust that society and my own opinions of ADHD have progressed. I’m sorry for your experience and what you went through. I also was diagnosed in adulthood but I had little to no issues growing up. The education system isn’t nearly as regimented or abusive as it was back then. Paddling and hurting children physically doesn’t happen at public schools anymore. I grew up in the late 90s and early 00s and it was certainly a topic for little kids to talk about who or who didn’t have ADHD and how their medicine affected them. Maybe is still wasn’t fair and some parents or teachers mishandled it but at least it was an open conversation for most. The support system and way I will parent my child will come from a place of support and understanding. There are many more studies and books, etc to help now. I try and hope for future or else I would just crumble into lazily making the planet worse through apathy.