I was diagnosed with ADHD in January of this year, at the ripe age of 30. And my first thought wasn't relief.
It was…I just told them what they wanted to hear.
I'd paid for a private assessment. I was super nervous for it, weirdly. I then spent two hours yapping away to every question they asked. After the confirmation came that I did in fact have ADHD, I spent the next two weeks convinced it wasn’t true, I had lied to them, and they had just told me I had it because I paid them.
Isn’t it funny how our brains work?
I’m Alex Cross, I’m 30 years old, and I’m from the UK I’ve been self-employed, running my own recruitment business for the past 3+ years. I’ve got a wife, who holds almost every part of my life together (I feel for her) while I bounce between hyperfixations and forget to unload the dishwasher. We've got a 3-year-old and a six-month-old. Life is full in every direction.
For most of my teen years and twenties, I thought I was just strange and chaotic. My impulsiveness and obsessiveness were controlling my life. I’m someone who’d decide to learn Spanish randomly, then suddenly it would consume me. Duolingo, books (that never get opened) YouTube rabbit holes, looking at homes in Spain…this would be my life for three weeks. Then, poof - no interest in it.
I have countless examples of things for this.
I know you’re reading this and nodding along, and understand exactly the feeling.
The worst part is, I’d have no brain space for anything else in my life. Work would take a back seat, my family wouldn’t get the full attention from me, as my brain was checked out.
I’d go through (and I still do - it’s something I’m desperately trying to fix) periods of hyperfocusing on work (12-16-hour days) for months. Then completely burn out and have zero interest in anything for a few weeks. Then go again…repeat.
I thought I was just broken. Turns out, I’m different. And there is a word for it.
This newsletter is called Fog Free Fridays. Every week I'm going to tell you about one thing I tried, what actually happened, and what I think it means, even when I have no idea. I'm not a doctor, a coach, or an expert. I'm just someone figuring this out in public and writing it down every Friday.
Sharing what works (and mostly what doesn’t work) so we can figure it all out together.
I tried a day off my Elvance for the first time ever this week, i’ll talk about that on Friday’s edition.
If any of this sounds familiar…reply to this email and tell me when you first thought something might be different about you. I read every one.
See you on Friday.
Alex