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Finding it really hard to deal with adult DD with ADHA

12 replies

90sHomeAndAwayFan · 28/07/2021 12:16

DD is 24 and still lives at home.

She has always been hard work, and eventually got diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, at the age of 19. I split from her father when she was little and he, and his family, along with my family (whom I no longer speak to) have always indulged her and let her do as she wanted, so I always put her difficult behaviour down to that, despite having very firm boundaries at home, and parenting her no differently to how I've parented my younger kids.

Anyway, since the diagnosis (and subsequent medication) her behaviour has got much worse at home, and I find her very, very difficult to deal with.

The main thing is the tantrums! Constant tantrums when something does not go her way. For example yesterday her work made a small error on the rota, and she just had to phone her boss to get the error corrected but she had almost an hour long tantrum before phoning the boss, of screeching, and shouting, and crying very loudly. During the tantrum she said to me that she is the most important person in the world and that everyone needs to realise that. Anything can trigger a tantrum; her boyfriend not doing what she wants, something at work not being as she wants, the doctors surgery making her wait a day for a prescription to be issued. Everything. It's like she's two years old again but obviously being an adult is very hard to deal with. It's also not nice for any of us in the house (me, DH and two younger teenage children).

Secondly, she never stops talking at me; mainly it's ranting about things, but also it's about other things that she might get obsessed about. For example if she has her hair done she will talk about it for hours afterwards saying how much she likes it. She will talk at me at all hours of the day or night, and has even been known to wake me at 2am before to rant at me about something her boyfriend has said. I literally never get any peace.

Thirdly, she treats the place like a hotel and feels like she has priority over everything. She will often go for a bath, lock the door, and be in there for three hours, despite us saying not to take a long time and telling her not to have too many baths as the water bill is huge and we prefer everyone to have showers as much as possible because of this. The other day I had sprayed cleaning fluid on the bath and sink and was about to go back into the bathroom to clean them when she went in and shut the door. She refused to come out when I said I needed to clean in there first and started screaming. She then took hours in there again. She will also cook at any time of day or night, or start ranting in the middle of the night because the internet isn't working quickly and will start screaming.

Any attempts we make to put down boundaries or tell her not to do things just get ignored and it ends up in a tantrum. She had a two hour tantrum last week because DH told her to have a shower rather than a bath as he wanted to use the main bathroom.

I know this all makes me sound horrible, but I am at the end of my tether and feel totally ground down, so please be gentle with replies.

OP posts:
SheABitSpicyToday · 28/07/2021 12:20

I know lots of adults with adhd but none of them have tantrums. She’s just sounds like a brat tbh op!

DelphiniumBlue · 28/07/2021 12:22

Time for her to move out.
Can you explain that she's an adult, it's your home, and she needs to conform to your rules? If she wants to run things differently, she'll need to get her own place. My grandma always used to say "He who pays the piper calls the tune."
However I think she may need to get her medication adjusted, she appear to be having some kind of crisis. Can you get her back to the GP? She can't be happy carrying on like this.

spotcheck · 28/07/2021 12:23

Can she not move out?

It isn't the ADHD that is causing this

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90sHomeAndAwayFan · 28/07/2021 12:24

Her medication is constantly being tweaked. I have said to her to go to the GP about her tantrums but me saying it just causes, yep, another tantrum.

OP posts:
Vanilla1Cookies · 28/07/2021 12:28

Time to move out. She’s an adult.

I know people with ADHD and none of them act like this.

Rainallnight · 28/07/2021 12:31

Has she ever been assessed for anything else? The stuff about being the most important person in the world, being unable to tolerate difficulty etc could point to different psychiatric diagnoses.

It sounds very difficult to live with. How fo you think she would cope with a place on her own?

Does she have friends?

GiantHaystacks2021 · 28/07/2021 12:33

She needs to be moved out. Forcibly, if necessary.
She may have ADHD but she sounds like a twat.
Send her off to her lovely boyfriend. He can manage her.

MissyB1 · 28/07/2021 12:36

Why is she still at home? She has a job so is she saving to move out? At 24 I would definitely be expecting her to live independently.
Also she has a boyfriend and holds down a job, so I’m guessing the tantrums and pestering are just for you and and her dad? She can behave herself for other people.

Branleuse · 28/07/2021 12:41

It sounds really hard to live with, but at 24 you arent obliged to put up with it.
As for "not being adhd", you cant tell that as it can often cause emotional dysregulation and impulsive outbursts, and is also commonly linked with autistic spectrum conditions and BPD.
I think that maybe you need to get her a social worker and get her into supported housing. Tell them she is vulnerable, she has this diagnosis/disability but the relationship is untenable and unmanageable and abusive, plus you cant afford to keep her here and you are asking her to leave.

You might find it improves things after a time

Bagelsandbrie · 28/07/2021 12:42

I suspect autism as well as adhd - the tantrums sound like meltdowns. (My son and dh have autism). That said, you can’t continue to live like this. Either she needs more support from outside sources to manage her issues and / or needs to move out. If she has a boyfriend and a job she sounds like she could manage this. You don’t need to live like this, she’s an adult and needs to learn to manage her own needs.

DishingOutDone · 28/07/2021 12:53

A different angle here - my DD is 18 and has mental health issues for which she has medication to take the edge off and is having treatment. Its a long haul. Although her behaviour is not quite as extreme as your DD's it is nonetheless distressing and a constant worry, she's going to be dependent on me for a long time, its difficult for me to go out etc. I do recognise a lot of behaviours you've described there and if I try to put boundaries in my DD would become very distressed and be at risk; talk about having to choose your battles.

Until you know if her attitude is down to ADHD what can you do? So I suggest first plan of action would be to look at these resources, parent support groups, and talk it through, get other ideas and views:

adhdfoundation.org.uk/parents/

www.ukadhd.com/support-groups.htm

Secondly, even if it is down to ADHD, you need to think about her moving out - my DD has severe OCD but they reckon leaving home can help as the person is forced to confront some of their fears. Although my daughter at only just 18 still needs a lot of support, yours manages to hold down a just and a relationship, sounds like she might be capable of living alone but get some advice first. Hang on to this post because you are going to get a lot of people telling you to throw her out she's an adult etc., which is bollocks. Find out the extent of her illness then decide what to do next.

DishingOutDone · 28/07/2021 12:54

"manages to hold down a job" that should read!

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