Ooh, a parcel!

What is it, I wonder.

Don’t remember having ordered anything.

It’s a dress!

A pink dress.

January, February, March, Winter in and out. A tricky time of year. A tricky time in life. My mood takes on the weather as I fail to warm my bones and mind up.

I often talk about the bounties of my ADHD diagnosis. But what that doesn't tell is the tale of struggle and hurt and constant battle I fight with myself daily, glaring back through the reflecting glass of my brain chemistry.

As I now stand with quite a substantial career in working in education, and as an author behind me, I can fully savour the irony that got me here. I doubt Mr Chausseray, the headteacher at Pierre de Fermat, the third best secondary school in France and incidentally my school would ever have seen me in that path. Or any path for that matter.

Things that help online and on paper!

ADHD qualifies as a mental health condition, you can apply for government support in the form of grants through Access To Work.

Getting medicated for ADHD still receives a lot of stigma, and not rightly so. Finding the right medication can be life-changing, but it’s a trial-and-error process. ADHD medication is not ‘SPEED’ and not always stimulants. So if you have a heart condition, there are still options to explore.

ADHDers will be familiar with the concept of self-medicating, through food, booze, fags, drugs, shopping, gaming, high speed pursuit, risk. It’s not that this is wrong in itself, but for people who find it hard to regulate themselves, this can lead to some pretty serious issues.

There are still many misconceptions about ADHD, the first that it’s only something that only children have, and generally disruptive boys. The second is due to the poor naming of the condition. ADHD is NOT a deficiency of attention and doesn’t always include hyperactivity OR disruptive behaviour.