Can’t focus? you might have ADHD
I’m frustrated. I couldn’t open a book for the last couple of months, and what the hell am I going to write on tomorrow’s O/L paper? Maybe I should try studying at least now to do something tomorrow. I turned a random page in my science book and read the first paragraph. Oh shit, I didn’t understand what I was reading. I read the same section repeatedly and again, but nothing goes to my head. My head was only racing through thousand thoughts. Maybe I’m giving up? no point in studying now. I’m going to fail the exam anyway. I wonder if my friends are playing cricket on the ground. I took my bat and went to play cricket while everyone else was studying for the exam. This was my first memory of my struggle to focus.
I was a hyperactive, rebellious student across all of my five schools. On the first day, the first hour of my school life, my teacher had to put me outside the class cause I was fighting with a student. After three days, I used to protest in my class because the class teacher wasn’t hot enough. A few months later, I stabbed my friend with a drawing compass in the face. In grade 2, I started writing by pen while we weren’t allowed to use it. Teachers cried and left the class because I was out of control. Because of these daily fights and chaos, my primary head decided to send me, who was in the 2nd grade, to the principal since she couldn’t handle me. It didn’t stop there. It was usual for someone to see me kneeling in front of the classroom or the principal’s office. For teachers, I was an unorganised, careless, troubled student; they were looking for opportunities to get rid of me. But it wasn’t easy since I was good at sports and got high marks for all the subjects, including maths and science, without even studying. So teachers started accusing me of copying my exams, separating me from all the exams, and this was the case throughout my school life.
Anyway, I passed my O/L exam and thought of starting fresh with lots of energy and determination to pass my A/ls, but after three months, I dropped out of school. From that onwards, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I started following several courses, but I wasn’t consistent. I start something well with total energy, but after some time, I don’t have the motivation and consistency to push it forward, or I wait till the last minute to get it done, and most of the time, it is too late. It affected all aspects of my life, business, relationship and social life. I thought I was lazy, that I was not trying enough. My family thought I was careless, but from inside, I was pushing myself like hell. I tried doing everything I could to get rid of my bad habit. But I failed
I had some good habits in my life too. I was always hungry for novelty and dynamic activities. I see and tolerate/appreciate new ideas, new movements, new visualisations, and new concepts. I was curious to go places and find things that a more rule-tolerant individual might not consider. In situations where others panic, I can keep myself calm, so I have been able to help lots of people when they are in trouble.
While doing some research, I recently came across an article regarding a disorder called Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder(ADHD). I felt the symptoms were very familiar to me, so I went to a psychiatrist and said I believed I had ADHD, but he snapped at me for trying to diagnose things on my own and gave me meds for OCD. But my arrogant self didn’t want to take that as an answer. So I went to 3 more doctors, and finally, I was diagnosed with ADHD. The doctor gave me medication and explained how it affected my daily schedule. Then I started to feel my whole life turning around. I started feeling I could concentrate on something for a long time and understand it. It was like magic, how I finally ticked off my calendar. Finally, I’m consistent and motivated, and I’m just wondering if I’m capable of doing things that I was not earlier. I feel like this was the best thing that happened in my life.
When I look back, I feel it was not fair how teachers called me a careless student. It was not fair my ex blamed me that I didn’t listen to her. It was not fair how my family treated me as if I didn’t care. It was not my fault I screwed up things in life. If I had been diagnosed ten years ago, my life would be 100% different, but I don’t have any regrets about how I spent my reckless life because I had spent my past ten years to a dangerously incredible level like no other. Now it’s time to turn the next page of my life where I can use my disorder as my superpower.
I thought of sharing this story with everyone because in this country, the knowledge of ADHD and other disorders is minimal to a level where all the parents blame their children as careless, and teachers accuse students of being useless. Even when people get diagnosed, society tends to say something they are not. So the next time you blame someone as careless, maybe try to look at that person and see if he has ADHD. If you want to know more about symptoms, you can go through this link.
And if you have already been diagnosed with ADHD, believe me, you are a gifted person to this world like Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Socrates, Thomas Edison, Bill gates and other thousands of world-changing people. So if someone says you are different, yes, you can’t change the world without being different. Find a way to bypass your weakness and let your extraordinary brain wander around this world without limitation. If you want to learn how people with ADHD changed the world, use this link.
