To clarify the health comment, recently I was diagnosed with ADHD. It was actually this thread that prompted me to explore that possibility. Prior to reading that thread I had no idea I might have it. All I knew is that I had a very difficult time working full-time, dealt with chronic fatigue, and had quite a few other symptoms I later learned were classic symptoms of ADHD. After reading that thread I had a conversation with @mary, who also has ADHD, and she helped me a lot to further explore the topic and shared her experience with the condition which was super valuable.
After getting my diagnosis, my psychiatrist got me on an ADHD medication, and it’s been night-and-day when it comes to my ability to work. Before I felt like trying to focus on my work was like trying to force the north ends of two magnets together. It felt like there was a physical force repelling my attention, making doing my work an extremely exhausting experience. The medication has resolved all that and allowed me to consistently work full-time.
However, I’ve had a hiccup with the medication recently, where I thought I had given my psychiatrist permission to give my records to my primary care doctor, but I only discovered after I ran out of my medication that my doctor never received the records. And since I’m technically no longer a patient of my psychiatrist, they aren’t able to give me a refill while I wait for everything to get sorted. So for the past two weeks basically I’ve been back to working without medication, which means brain fog, difficulty focusing, and pretty much going back to part time until things are straightened out.
The good news is that my doctor now has the records so I should have a refill soon hopefully.
I thought I should share this detail because even when I’m on the medication I’ll be working on solutions and process that work for my ADHD brain, which may be somewhat different than what someone without ADHD would need.
For example, whatever is in front of me is pretty much all that exists–the most important thing that I need to do. That’s why I’ve started going to the library to do my weekly planning–I need to get away from my regular work in order to focus on thinking things through at a higher level. If you’re familiar with ADHD symptoms, I’m sure you’ll be able to spot more examples of me working to sidestep ADHD symptoms in future entries in this journal.