2 Life-Changing Lessons in 2 Years

We established in the first post that we are all here because we feel, or have in the past, felt like something is missing. I told you that I believe I can help you with that. Why? Because I’ve been there. No matter where you are in your process, I’ve pretty much been there.

I want to step back for a moment, for anyone who might go all the way back to the beginning on some future date and read these posts in order. (Is there anyone left on the planet who actually does that?) I think it is important that I call time-out to tell you “Who I Am, What I Do, and Why I Do It.”

My name is Tracy. I have a coaching service called Ignition. I’ve got two kids who are young adults now, and I’m facing the empty nest. That’s a thing that exists, btw. Over time, I’m sure I will have occasion to tell you about my whole life, but the part that is important here starts about two years ago. I have a long history of battling depression. Over time we have discovered that for me, the condition is clinical – if it isn’t treated then I’ve got 6 months to a year before I would rather throw myself under a bus. Since in reality I’d rather NOT throw myself under a bus – I take an antidepressant all the time. Like a lot of other medication, after a while it stops being as effective and needs to be adjusted. I was in one of those periods when I went back to my family doctor and said, “It’s time to try something else.” My doctor, in her infinite wisdom, said “We should try a specialist for that,” and promptly referred me to an actual psychiatrist.

That doctor asked some questions, and then did two things that changed my life. First, he said, “I recommend seeing a therapist. In fact I recommend EVERYONE see a therapist at least for a little while.’ And second, at the end of our interview he handed me a sheet of paper and told me to fill it out and come back in a week. It was a screening form for Adults with ADHD.

I internally rolled my eyes and gave it the “whatever” treatment. For the heck of it, I did stop at the front desk and make an appointment with a random therapist on staff while I was on my way out. Then I got in my car and REALLY read the screening questions……. Oh My Word. I’m off the damn chart on most of it! WHAT?

And that’s how I met the guy who I will from here on out refer to as the World’s Greatest Therapist or WGT. It’s also how I began a medication journey toward having ADHD symptoms under control.

Because I know that you don’t want to be here reading forever – here are the two lessons I learned in 2 years.

Just because you are not hyperactive does NOT mean you can’t have ADHD. This is especially true if you are female. VERY few women are diagnosed with ADHD as kids, because the studies have always been conducted with almost all boys. Boys and girls exhibit very different patterns of symptoms, even though estimates are that we have ADHD at nearly the same rate as boys.
Consider therapy. Seriously. I always said I would never go to therapy because there are things I just don’t want to talk about. As it turns out, it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Also, see the first therapist two or three times to see if you click. If you don’t, just politely say so, and ask them to refer you to someone they think would be better for you. Do that until you find someone you DO click with. Their feelings won’t be hurt, this is what they do, and they know that they can’t be the right therapist for everyone. I got lucky and I knew this was the right guy before the first hour was up. That almost never happens!

Learning those two things led me to specialize in three areas.