Does anybody else have an ADD spouse who spends a big part of every day closed in and resting in bed?
I thought I could live my life independently in the next room. But I'm starting to feel deeply affected by it.
When he shuts himself in, it's often for hours, or until the next day. It may mean illness, an inflammatory situation, medication side effects, depression, exhaustion or that he is overwhelmed, or even content. I usually can't tell the situations apart, they tend to look the same. Communication is very slow and reluctant on his part, so it's hard to be supportive, except with practical matters (is that me keeping poor boundaries?).
It stresses me out. It makes me feel vulnerable. Kids pick up the low energy at home. I try to counter it, which is exhausting. I feel physically weak by spending time near my husband. I force myself to be active, but it doesn't come naturally. I feel the weakness acutely, like a threat to my sanity.
Is there any way to avoid this contagion?
I found my ex's lack of
Submitted by PoisonIvy on
I found my ex's lack of energy and low moods to be among the hardest things for me to deal with. I often felt as though I should be maintaining the family's emotional thermostat: that is, to stay on an even keel. Like my ex, I've had depression, anxiety, or both for much of my life; unlike him, I decided the effect on our children might be irreparable if they experienced having two sad parents.
I don't think that people who are depressed or anxious or who have ADHD necessarily want their moods and behavior to be contagious, but regardless of intent, depression, anxiety, and ADHD do often drag down the people around the person with the illness or affliction.
Thank you for sharing your
Submitted by Swedish coast on
Thank you for sharing your insights!
I too believe the low emotions are possibly the hardest part.
Just be supportive ?
Submitted by ThelmaLynn88 on
It's clear that you have no idea how ADHD affects a person. Maybe try not treating your husband like the scapegoat ? He may have better energy levels if you didn't make him feel like a total burden for suffering from ADHD
Deleted
Submitted by Swedish coast on
I thought that comment was for me, removed an answer.
Locking himself in his room
Submitted by sickandtired on
My ex boyfriend would lock himself in his room... yes, we had separate bedrooms... for days if I disagreed with him on even minor things. It was like his silent temper tantrum. He would stubbornly stay in there for DAYS sometimes, just to "show me". After he would finally come out because of extreme hunger, etc. I would go in and find bottles full of urine. Oh yeah he showed me all right! He showed me that there was no way I was going to tolerate that manipulative and filthy kind of behavior for the rest of my life.
He would expend enormous amounts of energy trying to make me the bad guy... endless arguments over my tone of voice, etc, while minimizing his ravings about wanting to kill cops for example. I felt like I was living with a 5' 9" toddler. It was such a relief when I finally got him out of my life, and rejoined the normal world.
That sounds so awful. I'm
Submitted by Swedish coast on
That sounds so awful. I'm glad you have a better situation now. Thank you for sharing, I really appreciate it.
Hard
Submitted by Quercus McGurkus on
Dear Swedish Coast,
I'm sorry you are dealing with this. It's tough and exhausting and frustrating.
I'm the ADHD spouse and while I never locked myself in a room I certainly locked my wife out of my emotions and thoughts. I'm bi-polar as well and it was not until I had lithium that I could order my thoughts to tell my wife what I was thinking. Years of that habit as well as being a loner naturally have contributed to a serious lack of communication and affection and connectedness. I'm struggling to learn how to communicate well.
My wife has told me multiple times that I'm the thermostat in our home and once I was on meds I could see that and slowly start to correct things. Like you she is exhausted. We did not know about any of this until maybe 18 months ago. She is very wary, rightly so, of giving me an inch because in the not too recent past I've taken miles.
For our family one way my wife coped was with her own therapist and by just doing things. She would inform me and if I was depressed or manic and did not respond well she went ahead and did the outing with the girls.
Now we are coping by me being in therapy, me taking meds, and me learning how to listen to her.
She has said that self care, a counselor, and friends to talk to are essential. It won't stop a depressed attitude from seeping from under the door but they do help drive it away. Communities like this have helped her as well,
I hope things get better for you.
Thank you. Likewise, I hope
Submitted by Swedish coast on
Thank you. Likewise, I hope you and your family will find balance. We have a similar situation with diagnosis 18 months ago and a rough trial period of medication since then. Best wishes.
In response to ThelmaLynn: I
Submitted by PoisonIvy on
In response to ThelmaLynn: I provided plenty of support to my ex-husband. Unfortunately, my support was and is irrelevant.
I agree with PoisonIvy
Submitted by sickandtired on
I did everything I could for almost 11 years to shield my now ex from stress. I supported him 24/7, but all I got was verbal abuse, embarrassment by his loud public outbursts, loss of friends, a serious fall due to his hoarding that still causes me physical pain, alienation of my only blood relative, my brother, because my ex instigated a huge blowup in my inheritance settlement with my brother. My ex was hyper focused on perceived slights from others, and he alienated many people acting like a victim when he was the aggressor. I realized one day that the only thing I was doing was enabling him... enabling him to abuse me. He spent my money, lived in my house, quit his job two months after moving in with me, and then became a grumpy person who spent most of his time plotting revenge on others who were totally innocent. I found several therapists, but he just dismissed them as "man haters" when they called him out on his abuse. He refused any kind of medication or therapy, and if I shared my pain with the therapist, he said the same thing as ThelmaLynn.... that I was not "loyal" or "supportive". He took absolutely no responsibility for any of his behaviors and thought I was the problem, not him. What else could I have done? How much of my happiness and security was I supposed to sacrifice when he would never give me any peace anyway????
I agree with you and
Submitted by AdeleS6845 on
I agree with you and Poison Ivy. No one can know what goes on in someone else's marriage/relationship. You know you did all you could, within your realm of control. If you are partnered with someone whether they have ADHD or not, they need to accept responsibility for their behavior.
A relationship cannot succeed when one person is doing all the work and the other one is in denial.
Adele