Recent forum posts (all topics)

ADHD ruining new-ish relationship already.

Hello all. I have been browsing through this site for awhile now, and have finally decided to post. 

My boyfriend (33) and I (31) have been dating since March of this year. Shortly into the relationship he had to move 700 miles away for work. Because of hyper-focus, we were able to make it work, and then I moved there with him in August. We have been living together since. 

The Marble Game

Some of you may be experiencing "The Marble Game" with your partners.

 

Imagine that you and your partner each had 100 marbles at the beginning of your relationship...when you first met.  Each time, one of you "loses" an argument or is seen to be the "less knowledgeable person," that person has to give their spouse a marble.

 

Over time, especially early in the relationship, the mentally-unhealthy person had to "give" you lots of marbles...one at a time...each time he/she was shown to be wrong, or he/she forgot something, or he/she screwed up in some way.

Anxiety/ADHD with a female: Catastrophization, hairtrigger, walking on eggshells

Hello!

My partner (I am a lesbian) of 3 years was diagnosed with ADHD & Generalized Anxiety Disorder. She has not yet started medication or treatment yet but will soon! I am 32 and she is 30.

I am trying to come up with some different ways of dealing with her moods.

When ADHD spouse causes Physical Harm

What is a healthy productive way of dealing with this ?  I might just be brain foggy but I'm not seeing any resources concerning this. Could some Kind point me to some?

Today I am having an allergy attack, and I have taken the WRONG medication !  Why ? Because my ADHD spouse brought home the wrong medication and I didn't have my glasses on to double it in the middle of an allergy attack.  I am Anaphylatic so this is extremely dangerous  for me, It won't kill me this time, but it could in the future.  This time it will just cause me extreme pain.

Cycle of anger and low self-esteem - How to break?

Hi gang - joined this forum today in hopes of getting some advice or at least a sympathetic ear. Melissa Orlov's "ADHD Effect On Marriage" book was an eye-opener for me when I read it last month. In the book, and on this forum, I see sentence after sentence that resonates deeply with me and my situation. To know that I'm not alone has helped me calm myself and think things over more carefully (I hope).

Why we long term non-ADHD spouses question so much.

I needed to start a new thread, when I still need to answer a couple things from other threads, but I felt this was important. It's why we (often) long term spouses of ADHD hang in there so long, and try so hard.  First I will answer that, then tell you why and how I came to my finding. I don't know if anyone else thinks this or not, but it's a possibility I've come up with for my own situation. I believe I've stayed so long, because first, I truly have been "in love" with my husband and not ONLY "loving him". We both have believed we were brought together and it was the right thing.

Personalizing husband's rejection

My husband has ADD.  Our marriage has been on the brink of divorce for the last five years.  We have attended counseling, etc.  Some things have improved.  However, the core issue of my husband not wanting to be vulnerable and put himself out there remains.  I am unsure we can get past this issue and I am realizing I will either have to live with it or leave him.  He is very self-centered and hardly ever acknowledges my needs.  He withholds his love and affection, because he doesn't want to be the first one to put himself out there and risk rejection.  I am growing increasingly tired of bei

Growing up

For those new to the board, I am the non ADD person in my marriage. I have spent years crying and ranting about H. Feeling powerless and stuck. I have come to realize that I can't change someone else.  I can only change me and my surroundings. I thought I would share this reading I found on the internet:

HOW TO MATURE AND GROW UP FASTER by Lawrence Wilson, MD.      Google this and use it as a tool to get past the stage I was in when I began learning about ADHD.  Ranting, crying, being incredulous....looking for a knight in shining armor to save me from my distress!

Being kind and being real

I love Rick Green!  And I love the Totally ADD webiste.  My most recent e-mail update from them was so in-line with my life experiences this week.

"This is about how a small thing can feel so big, or perhaps how a small trigger sets off a huge explosion… of sadness.  Hmm. That doesn’t sound right. Anger explodes. Sadness… feels more like quicksand, pulling me down, and under."  ~Rick Green~  

Lashing Out In Anger

Recently in another thread on this forum....I heard a heartfelt cry for something that really made me stop and think.  Saying your sorry repeatedly as a means to somehow make up for the times that we ADD'ers fall short in our relationships....somehow loses it meaning if it is not recieved in a way that the other person really feels that it is sincere.

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