OK, I'm new here and haven't read every single post, but the recurrent theme seems to be that the non ADHD spouse is supposed to let go of the anger. Sounds noble and all that, but how? Oh, I can try to be less critical and sarcastic and bitchy, at least some of the time, but I feel depressed and overwhelmed by how hard it is to accomplish the simplest thing in my family. (I have a card-carrying ADHD husband and child, and another child who is probably disorganized enough to qualify.) And when my veneer of patience cracks, there's real fury just under the surface.
Does anyone remember the book and/or the movie A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, with the sweet, unreliable, alcoholic father whom everyone loved, and the pinched, nagging mother whom everyone hated? I feel like that mother (though not nearly as pretty as Dorothy McGuire). I turned to this site with great hope, but I seem to keep getting the message that I should be endlessly patient and tolerant and encouraging on top of everything else that I have to do because no one else is organized enough to take care of it. It sounds as if my husband supposed to get a free pass to be three hours late (or months or years) and leave tasks half-done, while I'm supposed to keeping smiling and picking up the pieces. He'd definitely be happier, but I'm too sad and exhausted and, well, mad to pull it off.... Am I the only one who feels this way?
desperate for help
Submitted by marcgravia on
I know how you feel. I am struggling with daily anger especially because my spouse will not acknowledge the toll that his ADD takes on our marriage. I have printed articles describing my side of things only to receive more ignoring and anger. I am slipping into depression because I am coming to be resigned to the situation and see many long, unhappy years ahead of me because he is not committed to acknowledging and getting help. Please, please, I really need some practical solutions for dealing with the anger especially because I am pregnant and worrying about the stress effects on our baby.
Marcgravia--I'm sorry you're
Submitted by madhatter on
Marcgravia--I'm sorry you're having such a tough time (especially while pregnant!), and wish I had some solutions for you. On the one hand, I think our husbands often don't even realize how maddening they're being--literally maddening, as in driving us mad; on the other hand, it's hard to be left holding the bag again and again. I do see my husband's point of view; he's a really nice guy, and has tried taking meds, but it just hasn't helped all that much.
An minor example from yesterday, which seems kind of funny in retrospect but enraged me at the time: I was having a really stressful day at work, when he called and said he needed to fax me some paperwork to sign for some bank business he'd agreed to take care of. This was kind of a pain, because the fax machine isn't near my desk and doesn't work all that well, but I said OK and asked him to make sure he gave me the fax number closest to him so I could send the signed document back. When his fax came through, I signed the paper and then realized it needed to be notarized, which was a major pain--it took me at least an hour to track down a notary--and also meant faxing it back wasn't exactly the point, and why hadn't he mentioned that little fact? I called him back, furious, and he first tried to argue that he did mention it (which he definitely didn't, or we wouldn't have had the conversation about his return fax number) or he certainly meant to, and he seemed genuinely bewildered that I was so mad.
It seems as if a fair number of people on this forum end up leaving their spouses, at least temporarily, but I think he's a lovely man and I'm not always a bargain myself. But it does make me mad to have seemingly simple tasks become complicated all the time; and I hate that I always end up feeling guilty and/or depressed. I hope you and I both find some way to get out of this vicious cycle.
I feel the same, you are not
Submitted by emma on
I feel the same, you are not alone.
Thank you, Emma--I hope you
Submitted by madhatter on
Thank you, Emma--I hope you find peace and joy and a way to move beyond anger.
ending the anger
Submitted by beenthere on
Madhatter-
Your post could have been written by me, down to the letter. You are obviously intelligent, well-spoken, & a good communicator. I share these traits with you, which, in hindsight, are especially difficult traits if you are married to someone with ADHD. After 14 years of marriage (19 years together) and two children, I finally became exhausted living my life with so much anger and disappointment. I came to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to change...ever. I also realized that, by nature, I am a happy, positive and loving person who has been slowly transformed into Cruella DeVille by making a lifetime commitment to raising a husband with ADHD. He was happy in our marriage and could never understand "what the problem was." I could go on forever about the trials of daily life, but it sounds like you are living it, so you know. My husband was and is a good person, a nice guy, a hard worker and a good dad. But his issues made it impossible for us to have an adult partnership based on trust and mutual respect. I finally went to counseling and came to the realization that it was "him or me" and I chose to save myself. We have been divorced for a year and, truly, I have never been happier. We are co-parenting, and it is going well. Whatever his issues are, they are his, and no longer my responsibility. I am in a relationship with a non-ADHD man who is an equal partner in a trusting,adult relationship. I have rediscovered the person I used to be, and have and put my Bitter Betty alter-ego to rest forever. I never want to be that person ever again. I love my life and I feel like although divorce is never anyone's goal in life, neither does it have to be a terrible tragedy. I don't think that you have to keep smiling and picking up the pieces...I think you need to seriously think about the rest of your life and how you want to spend it. I wish you the best of luck no matter how you proceed, and hopefully this forum will help you along the way. Wishing you the happiness you deserve...
Thank you, beenthere. I'm
Submitted by madhatter on
Thank you, beenthere. I'm glad you've found happiness, but while I do want to end the anger, I don't really want to end my marriage, which has a lot of good as well as bad. I'm hoping those aren't the only two options, though it's possible they are, since saintly patience is really not part of my nature.
I'm struggling with what to
Submitted by desperate4help on
I'm struggling with what to do myself. My ADD husband is in denial (I guess) with how his ADD affects our marriage and LIFE. He's taking meds but not going to counseling for his ADD. We have started Marriage Counseling and the counselor seems as frustrated as myself at times. I think she's doing the best she can without running him off at the moment. He has this know it all mentality... I don't know how much more I can remain the saint. I'm angry, frustrated, hurt, etc. Something's got to give...
Just wanted you to know that you aren't alone.
a light went on tonight
Submitted by DeltaDawn on
Bitter Betty alter-ego ...LOL. I know that lady!! I had a good laugh on that one, but I have spent my whole day crying (again) until now. I had my moment of revelation tonight for the first time in 15 yrs of marriage, that my husband is ADD. The hopeless that came over me and what it has been driving me to has completely consumed me, and I was beginning to feel I was about to snap or maybe I would be driven to it. I just kept thinking how much can a person take before they lose complete control. I have 2 kids and the majority of my thoughts have been what is going to happen to them. How are they going to grow up considering all they have ever seen was me angry and hearing me crying all the time. What a miserable existance! This sadness was more than I could bare. This just felt like a life sentence in jail.
I'm kind of just numb right now. But I have this feeling that a locked door has just been opened for the first time. I'm just taking this alllllll in. Thanks for sharing your heart.
U R Brave
Submitted by skoonix on
I was impressed by yr post and I was curious - what are the ages of yr kids - because I hate to admit this but if it wasnt for the kids - I would have left a long time ago (and I know how many studies and such say that is not a good reason to stay together, etc. but most of the time the marriage is good - I am just talking about myself and how unhappy I am - how empty I feel inside because I have to give and give and find everything when it goes missing, etc.) See my wife NEVER changes - there are brief moments where things seem to be getting better - but then its right back to the way it was before - she can count on me 99.9% of the time and I can hardly never count on her - so yes, it IS set up where we seem to be the bad guy, the nag, the criticizer - which is SO not who I am but being with a ADHD/Anxiety Disorder person leaves you no other choice but to become that person so even the basic stuff gets done. I constantly get sent to parties on the wrong date, playdates at the wrong time, the list is endless - so, see, if I was selfish, I would leave but I cant leave the kids with her - it wouldn't be fair to them she is a very loving mother but her "forgetful" part and the fear/anxiety part is not healthy full time w/out me as a buffer. The one thing - the one string - I found in all this fascinating is how many spouses w/ the condition are constantly bewildered and confused that someone is upset with them. But if you constantly let down the other person, constantly lose your keys, your cell phone, bounce checks, etc. - how can the other person not eventually lose it and get really upset and then YOU are the one who has a problem, not them. But when I read how you made the jump and are now in another relationship and happy - that makes me smile for you and feel sad for me - because I know I deserve something better - that I could be really happy on my own taking care of the kids and eventually meeting someone else. But I guess I'm old school and I really am committed to the marriage and trying to keep it working but it shouldn't have to be so hard and I think the older we get, the harder it is.
early in the process
Submitted by shore on
I'm still early in the process of seeing if there's a way to get my spouse to recognize and deal with ADD. So there's more hope, and less wear and tear. If I thought we were at a dead end it would be different, so I can't say what it's like to be there.
But it helps me a lot to remind myself that it's not a choice they are making, any more than my anger is a choice I am making. No, it's not fair, but at some level it's not a personal attack either.
Also, I know it's not the same, it's not always as much of a thirty times a day thing - but how does anyone who is dealt a bad hand in life deal with it? Do you think about how unlucky you are, what you don't have? Or enjoy what you do have?
I don't mean to use cliches, but there are things to learn from how others deal with hardships. How do they keep things in perspective, even when it's grindingly difficult?
I'll take my ADD spouse any day - it's not the worst case, that helps - when I think about my best friend's spouse with brain cancer.