Recent forum posts (all topics)

I no longer feel I love my ADHD husband, not for about 6 months now. I feel terribly guilty about it because I know he's now trying to make changes (after telling him I want a separation) but it feels too late for me. He's no longer aggressive, but he is still very defensive and irresponsible and I struggle to find any positivity in our relationship to look back on. 

Has anyone felt this way and made a recovery? I feel so ambivalent about working on my marriage and running as far away as possible. 

The Bible I grew up on had quote after quote about how a woman should "obey" her husband as head of the house. Timothy and Paul especially demanded that a woman "stifle" and "submit" and be quiet because the woman was made "for" the man.  THIS is one of the main reasons I have been weak and do not like myself in my marriage.  I tried so hard to be a good girl and looked to the Bible for direction.

My Husband and I have been together for 17 years, married for almost 10.  I have always known he had ADHD (untreated) but had no clue the damage this was causing our marriage.  Like many others on here, I was feeling ignored, overwhelmed and lonely.  I work full time, and we have 2 young children and I had to take care of everything.  He is an electrician and started doing jobs for people in our community about 2 years ago.  Because of the praise and validation he receives from the people he helps, he became hyperfocused on the side jobs and spent very little time with us, his family.

Except when he couldn't.  Then he didn't want to do it at all.  

This is just a quick update on the progress of the things that have transpired of late, and again, with the same cycle.

So I'm one of those wives who likes to hug and cuddle in the morning as part of connecting with my husband. It's hard for me to just wake up and go on my phone to do stuff or watch a show without quieter time to wake up and connect with him. I've found its what I'm drawn to in the morning because it helps me feel connected and loved, helps me get a sense of our day, get our relationship secure again as it can very up and down and opens me up to more connecting things with him. When he's okay emotionally he has enjoyed these type of mornings as well.

Long story short -- Married 20 years.  Lots of ups and downs.  I knew my wife had ADHD but didn't realize it was contributing to so many of our bad times, making bad things worse.  There were many problems she perceived as real but I now realize that it was a problem with her perception rather than an external situation that could be resolved.  Fighting these imaginary battles squandered our energy, youth, finances, careers, and friendships.

I have come to the conclusion. Self absorbed minds, are the biggest blocks in relationships (Parent/Child, Spouse to Spouse, Friend to Friend, Co-worker to Co-worker) that I've ever come across...The person who lives in a self absorbed mind, can not put their selves in another's shoes...It creates denial when it comes to their own actions. They can't take corrective criticism w/o turning angry. It is almost impossible for a self absorbed mind to have a healthy relationship of any kind...

Deleted. 

Things were going well for a bit between ADHD spouse and I, but recently the demands on me and stress has increased greatly. My older son started a new med and I have had to keep close watch on his for side effects (which did happen as we raised the dosage), which meant taking him everywhere with me.