I recall many nights lying in bed, thinking I am going to have a nervous breakdown. My brain can’t stop thinking about work, the girl’s homework, questioning if I am being a good role model, being the best wife to my husband, my body was working like a machine moving from one task to the next. I often felt like a hamster running on a wheel and could just never stop and that was only with two cups of coffee a day. My body was in constant overdrive and I would work until I could only melt into my bed. Looking back, that was a really sad way to live. I was just rushing through it to get to the next thing.
Studies have shown those with ADHD are accident prone. I can relate to this.
Russell Barkley’s research shows a shorter life expectancy for those with ADHD by as much as 13 years. I wasn’t surprised by this metric given the way I was living my life. It became real to me and I was scared that if I didn’t change someone or something would change it for me and the consequences would have been irrevocable.