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Relationships

Adult ADHD

11 replies

RokChik · 23/07/2017 20:01

I've recently started a relationship with a new man after my non entity of a marriage broke up over a year ago. I'll be honest I've been swept off my feet a little bit with this one and we've been seeing each other almost constantly for just over a couple of months. There have been some issues though. He has ADHD. And I never realised how much of an issue this can be in adults. He's fun and impulsive (and it helps he's hot at hell 😁) but the flip side of this is his anxiety. He is very insecure and feels I'm always looking for someone better. He's needy but I don't mind that. He's been very honest with me about how it affects him and I wondered if anyone else had any experience of a partner with ADHD? It's particularly relevant as my son as just been diagnosed with autism and ADHD so I'm looking at this from two angles really. Any advice or suggestions would be good as I feel I need to make an effort to understand this better.

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Greenicicle · 23/07/2017 22:11

Is he on medication?

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scoobydoo1971 · 23/07/2017 22:34

Although he may have ADHD, the symptoms you describe are also compatible with other diagnoses such as bipolar mood disorder, cyclothymia...

My husband was diagnosed with bipolar, and later downgraded to cyclothymia...not easy to deal with for them, or anyone living with them. It has certainly affected me deeply as you struggle to relax around highly symptomatic (irrational) behaviour. Under treatment, he is a different (lovely/ calmer) person. He would certainly seem to have ADHD but when you know him well you can see the emotional aspects as well as a behavioural disorder.

Worth exploring assessment with him if you see this relationship progressing to a live-in or marriage type relationship later on.

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RokChik · 24/07/2017 21:13

Greenicicle he isn't on medication. He said he tried it but it didn't suit him and he has learned better ways to manage it. He works in mental health so is quite knowledgable about it himself. To be honest the main issue for me is his anxiety and his forgetfulness!!!!! His memory is shocking!! I'm trying to get used to it. And understanding that some things I do may aggravate his anxiety. Not that I'm changing the way I behave, more that I'm trying to recognise when he needs extra reassurance from me.

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BertieBotts · 24/07/2017 22:43

I have ADHD. It can be tough on relationships, but the flip side is, don't get sucked into everything being related back to the ADHD - sometimes it's just a person's personality.

IME forgetfulness is absolutely normal and par for the course. If he isn't willing to take medication for it, don't expect that to get better. You will have to work around it. Anxiety can be a comorbid diagnosis. Some ADHD patients find that anti anxiety medication is helpful to them. Some have developed the anxiety as a result of making constant mistakes and receiving criticism, etc.

My biggest piece of advice would be to try and forget "disorder" and instead think "person" but just be aware that in some areas he's absolutely going to be on the edge of the bell curve, and he might not be able to help that. So whereas people might say "Oh if he forgets your birthday, he clearly doesn't care!" that's not necessarily true; his memory probably just is that poor, it's not a useful gauge of how much he cares in this instance. But, he should show that he cares in other ways. You might have to look in unconventional places to find it. But that can end up being something you love about the person.

But yes, when you're thinking "person" rather than "disorder", that also means that you're allowed to say, you know what, actually this insecurity/messiness/forgetfulness just doesn't work for me, I really need a partner who is more reliable and organised. You must not feel guilty about that. Only stay with him if you can genuinely handle it. It really puts an enormous strain on a relationship if you're just pretending to be okay with these things because you think it's unfair not to be okay with them.

He should take responsibility for his own issues in the sense of insecurity and anxiety. It's okay to lean on a partner for support, but it's not okay to expect a lot of a partner in terms of alleviating anxiety and insecurity. If you find you're curtailing your activities or acting differently in order to placate his insecurity, that's a problem, and he should really be looking for support with it outside of the relationship. Certainly, if that kind of thing continues and/or he's unwilling to seek help in that area it's not a good idea to continue the relationship.

People with ADHD are impulsive as you have found and can feel things quite intensely. You might need to be the "brakes" in the relationship. Fast moving relationships are a red flag not only when the person trying to move the relationship has nefarious intentions. It's also risky and unhealthy to force a relationship into deeper territory when you haven't mastered the shallower depths first. Especially as you have a child involved, you may need to put up boundaries here. Seeing each other constantly is a bit of a red flag - again not necessarily that his intentions are bad - but that he might be obsessing a little bit over you which isn't healthy for the relationship. It's important for you both to maintain outside interests and take things slowly if this is going to last.

Don't go all out into research into ADHD in relationships as this is such early days, it's inappropriate. Give it six months or so to get to know his quirks, his patterns, which bell curve ends he's on and see how you feel and where you think it's headed. Then if things are still positive you could look into some more in depth information, but I think it's important to keep a sense of distance to begin with, in any relationship, but with ADHD involved you might have to add this sort of superficially, if that makes sense.

Hope that helps and feel free to ask anything.

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DailyMailDontStealMyThread · 24/07/2017 22:52

Bertie what a fantastic post. I can't offer any further advice and agree, slow it all down, learn more about each other and what each person needs from the relationship.

It's about people, not disorders.

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BertieBotts · 24/07/2017 23:03

I don't mean to say just ignore the disorder because sometimes it is relevant, for example many people think that wandering attention signifies disrespect, or that forgetting/lateness means that a person doesn't care, these are the kinds of things it's important to say no, actually, let's separate those two points, attention and respect are two separate things, remembering and caring are two separate things, but it's also not going to work if you're really supremely hurt by the inattention or forgetfulness in itself.

Hard to explain perhaps, not sure if it's clear. But to take things at face value (or ask about them) and understand that there might be variances from normal, without thinking 'I must accept all of his faults without question'.

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junebirthdaygirl · 24/07/2017 23:30

I came on to say what a brilliant post Bertie. So enlightening..My dh has bipolar and l could never put into words what lve learnt but you describe it perfectly.

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Greenicicle · 25/07/2017 10:21

Good post Bertie.
All cases are different. My 18 year old has no impulsivity but cannot focus on more than one thing at once. However can get very 'hyperfocused' on something interesting, like making a cosplay outfit! Never remembers anything she's not interested in. Takes an amphetamine based medication (Elvanse) not the more usual Methylphenidate based ones (Concerta, Ritalin) as these weren't that helpful.

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BertieBotts · 25/07/2017 10:39

Blush thanks.

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RokChik · 25/07/2017 18:31

Thanks so much, I have been listening but have been hectic at work and unable to reply till now. It's so encouraging to have it explained from another perspective. At first the forgetfulness bothered me and made it feel like he basically couldn't give a shit but he's gone to pains to explain and put himself on the line emotionally. He doesn't try and use it as an excuse and he doesn't want me to change anything to fit in with him. He just wants me to understand why he responds to stuff the way he does sometimes and maybe offer him a bit more reassurance. It was difficult for me initially because he's 31 and I'm 43 and I couldn't get my head around why he would be interested in me but it turns out he has been anxious about this the other way around and his forgetfulness isn't because he doesn't care and it's not just directed at things to do with me either.

I'm giving this a go because I think I'd be missing out on something that could be really good if I don't but I don't want to go into it blinkered and I understand it will take a lot of understanding and effort for both of us. Quite frankly my last relationship was a 17 year marriage that drained me emotionally so it's already an improvement.

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grungeneverdied · 25/07/2017 18:47

Had adhd as a child, have add as an adult. I'm probably not the easiest to live with all the time either but my partner understands. What you might take as insecurity or paranoia could be an over active mind. I find my mind will cover every aspect of a situation in great detail at a thousand miles per hour. I'm not insecure or suspicious of my partner if anything I trust her with my life but I have asked questions that might seem that way because I'm simply trying to grasp what my mind is working over. It is controllable to a degree though but it's just one of the quirks. If you get the random fun guy you will also get the other aspects. Its entirely your choice if you can live with it but we all have quirks positive and negative, we're all imperfect.

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