Recent forum posts (all topics)

  • Helpless, Alone and Guilty by: swingkat77 9 years 10 months ago

    My husband and I meant almost ten years ago.  From the moment I met him I knew he was the one.  He was charming, handsome, social, outgoing, and incredibly artistic.  He was the most sensitive man I had met, adored me, and I felt connected in ways I had never experienced.

    Then everything changed....it started when we moved in together, he was incredibly impulsive with money and I was lending him money all the time.  He would often run out of gas, forget to pay his bills, forget to take his cell phone, and then I started to realize he was incredibly obsessive about routines, picking up after people, and seemed to not have appropriate social behavior with his constant interruptions, blurting out inappropriate comments, and could not recognize body language.  I always said he was consistently inconsistent.

    I became unexpectedly pregnant and it got worse.  He could not understand pregnancy hormones and emotions and often belittled me.  I would often have times of depression, frustration, etc. while pregnant and was not the happiest of people.  But I admitted it, I accepted it, I desperately tried to control it, and often apologized.  It didn't help, he still had no patience for me and we constantly argued...being pregnant was the worst experience of my life.  I gained 100 pounds, was miserable, felt alone and isolated.

    We have been married for three years and I feel so alone.  It's like we speak different languages and he cannot seem to understand other peoples points of view.  He is controlling and forces himself onto others by expecting the to do what he wants.  His interruptions are extreme, I often tell him I that my frustration is so intense because I never can finish a sentence with him.  He calls it an interjection, as if it rationalizes his behaviors.

    He deflects and blames others, and I am at the top of the list.  He tells me I am nagging, have anger issues, and that no one except for me has ever had a problem with his behavior.  He was single until the age of 42 and was not in a long term relationship prior to me.  He does not follow through with most things, takes forever to accomplish tasks, and refuses to get help.

    He argues incessantly with our 7 year old.  Our son is smart, intelligent, and clearly can see his father is not normal.  It angers our son and he lashes out, my husband blames our son for being a spoiled brat instead of recognizing that our son is having a reaction to my husbands controlling and inappropriate behavior.  My son and I can be together for hours without a disagreement or fight, my husband doesn't last 10 minutes.  He claims our son argues and just doesn't listen to him because they spend more time together (SAH dad).  Really, it is because my son has not yet developed the emotional maturity to deal with an ADHD father.

    He has a short temper and a chip on his shoulder.  If anyone confronts him about his behavior, he will accuse them of attacking him, he becomes defensive, nasty, and then pretends like it never happened and he never behaved in that manner.

    I am angry.  Alone. Feeling helpless and hopeless.  I know I don't respond well to him, but I really have reached my limit.  I want to make this work, but don't know where to start.  

     

     

     

  • What would you have changed early on? by: honey_linn 9 years 10 months ago

    Hi everyone! I'm new to this site, and just starting on what I know will probably not be an easy road.  Since I'm not sure where to start, exactly, I'll give you the "jist" of my/our background. 

    My fiance and I worked together and were very close friends for two years (we were both in other relationships at the time) and even after I moved across the country, we remained friends for the following 2 years. Given our history, I knew things about him prior to our friendship developing into a relationship. He frequently feels victimized, like the world is against him, and like he has terrible luck (no matter how hard he tries, nothing ever seems to go right). I knew about his difficult childhood, negligent/addict parents, and being diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder and ADHD as a child. I also knew how much fun he was to be around, how his smile lights up a room, how endlessly creative, curious, and imaginative he is - and how he brings these qualities out in myself. I knew going into it that we would have our difficulties, and was anticipating that I would have to be the level-headed one to keep him from blowing up at small things. He's never been physically or verbally abusive or aggressive, but...well, I know most of you understand. But, none of that mattered. I love him, and I was happiest when I was with him, so it made sense to be together when the opportunity came. 

    The first 5 months of our relationship were long-distance, and in February of this year I moved from Chicago to Napa to be with him. At his insistence, me moving to Napa also meant me moving in with him. For the first month, things were INCREDIBLE. I hadn't found a job yet, so I was home all the time and had no responsibility other than making the most of every second we were together. He only works part time, so we got to spend almost all of our time together, and there was almost no stress. I started to notice something was "off" because whenever he was at work, he would find something to get angry at me for, and a "text fight" would ensue. Let me note this here: I am NOT a fighter. I will calmly discuss anything, but I have never and will never give into meaningless "battles" that will ultimately lead to emotional chaos. This drives him crazy, because I am the first woman he's been with that refuses to get into screaming matches with him. 

    Long story short, a whole list of other "off" things started popping up in our relationship: irrational jealousy, piles and piles of "stuff" everywhere once I wasn't home everyday to stay on top of everything, chores not getting done unless I was doing them (his sister, who I believe also has ADD, lives with us, and this makes the situation even more stressful for me), inability to plan effectively for events even a few weeks off, inability to save money for things we NEED - but the uncanny ability to come up with money for things he WANTS. I think my noticing these things fast-tracked when I started working insane amounts of overtime at work and the exhaustion became too overwhelming when I would get home and NOTHING had been done. At first I blamed the way he was raised, or him just not having his priorities in order (chores first, then xbox), and while it never escalated to real fights, he definitely knew how I was feeling, and that I needed to feel like I had a real partner in him, not just a lazy roommate. He would be great for a day or two, but things always went back to how they were before. 

    I knew this wasn't normal. My previous relationships were by no means perfect, and ended for their various reasons, but I had never felt like this. Ever. I started contemplating leaving him, but just thinking about that broke my heart. I love him, so much, and I don't want to feel like I'm giving up on him before I even give him a chance, so I started looking into what could be at the root of my frustration. I googled "adult ADHD symptoms". He has every single one. Textbook. That was around Thanksgiving. 6 weeks later and I'm reading The ADHD Effect on Marriage and its sister book, The Couples' Guide to Thriving with ADHD. I already feel a huge sense of relief, but also the realization that this will be something we work around for the rest of our lives. I'm okay with that, though. As long as it is something WE work around, as opposed to something only I have to work around. I have gently approached him twice about ADHD. The first time was to tell him I had purchased these books, because I better wanted to understand the differences that were causing tension in our relationship. I could tell he wasn't happy, and he didn't have much to say, so I didn't push the topic. 

    Last night I was able to have a good, honest, albeit quick, conversation with him about his feelings (at the moment we don't have internet or cable, so I'm taking full advantage of those distractions not being in the picture) About how he feels victimized, like he has terrible luck, how he just feels angry and doesn't understand why people are afraid to talk to him and that they're always saying they feel like they're walking on eggshells with him - about how it's not fair that he's been handed this personality. I told him he hasn't been handed "this personality", and he doesn't have to live feeling his life feeling that way - that everything he was saying are symptoms of ADHD. We've talked about going to counseling before - when I started noticing how jealous and controlling he can be, and he was open to it then. At this point, we're just waiting for him to talk to HR at his work about getting health insurance. 

    I want both of us to be in counseling; I know how important that is. I don't want him to feel like my frustration is his fault, or like he's broken. I only want to be supportive, but even this early on I've had moments of feeling like I just can't do it anymore. I want a family, sooner rather than later, but I'm putting that on hold until I know that I can rely on him to not miss doctors' appointments, and/or to clean up hazardous materials around the house when he's done using them - things I know you're all too familiar with. 

    I feel fortunate that I've got an early start on this journey - that I caught it before we're on the verge of divorce. We're set to get married on 10/10/15, and I want it to be a day full of happiness, not a day full of worry and second-guesses. 

    I just want to know that if any of you had known what you know now, what would you have changed early on in your relationship/marriage to prevent things from escalating to the point of near hopelessness? I know that treatment  - therapy/counseling, trying medication, and staying flexible as we work on organization and delegation of tasks are my first priority at this point, but if you have any pointers to help a young-soon-to-be-ADHD-spouse, I would so, so, so greatly appreciate them!!

     

  • Apathy Is Setting In by: WhistlingCaruso 9 years 10 months ago

    Hello, 

    I am a 30 year old husband with an ADHD (Inattentive) wife.  We've been married for 8 years, and have two children, a 2 year old and a newborn.  I'm really struggling to cope with the condition she has, and I feel as though my attempts to cope are failing precipitously--I'm not sure how much longer I can carry on without adopting a complete policy of numbness.  My wife was diagnosed with ADHD during our 2nd year of marriage, and I only read The ADHD Effect on Marriage this year.  I'm still really struggling to dissect "she did this" and "the ADHD did this" when it comes to all the classic things.  My wife hyper focuses on her interests, her phone, her needs, and ultimately acts very selfishly.  One in a long list of examples was on Monday night--she sent our 2 year old to a neighbor's house for 3-4 hours during the day so she could sleep, and I picked him up after a long day at work.  When I returned home, I took the 2 year old shopping (which is a huge challenge right now in its own right), got him and her dinner, went out of my way to get her what she wanted, and came home.  I was out for several hours doing everything she asked for, and as soon as I returned, without saying anything else, she got upset because I had forgotten her condiment for dinner.  It was so miniscule an issue, but she just had to zero in on it and point out a flaw, after she basically had slept away the last 6 hours of the day (the newborn sleeps really well...so we got that going for us, which is nice).  

    Certainly this is ADHD to some extent, but it is very hard for me to believe it is 100% the case.

    The real challenge is that we've had 2 children since her diagnosis, and the majority of that time she has not been able to be medicated due to pregnancy & breastfeeding.  She wants more kids, and I'm nearly certain I cannot take another 2 years of this.  I've changed as a person, and not in a good way.  I used to be the doting husband who would go above and beyond, try to show love any way I could, and make lots of sacrifices along the way for her.  Now, I can only think about evening the score.  She makes intermittent attempts to improve, and acknowledges ADHD is a real factor--but of course they cannot be sustained.  I can't help but remember the years of hurt and loneliness of being a spouse of an ADHD partner, and so her little attempts to improve make no mark on me--so she retreats.

    I live in a rural place where there are no ADHD therapists available--and to make matters worse, she herself is a trained therapist.  Yet, she cannot seem to use anything she's learned or been trained for--its like it was all for naught.  We have no family within a day's drive, and my wife tends to alienate most of her friends over time due to her ADHD.  I don't have the time to make or keep friends, because I'm either working or at home with the kids--there are no breaks for me.  I've broached the idea of having a regular guy's night..or something to allow me some outlet, but she just complains about the time and money it'll cost us.

    I feel myself falling into a tailspin with no recovery, and I'm nervous it'll only end in total apathy, and probably divorce.  This really kills me inside, because our children will suffer (as well as my wife and I)...and I cannot bear the thought of my weakness causing a lifetime of difficulty for them...but that doesn't lessen the pain and hurt.

    I welcome any and all suggestions...anything is better than this.

     

  • Have any non-ADHD partners been able to find happiness with an ADHD partner??? by: Amazon35 9 years 10 months ago

    Good afternoon,

    As I've been trolling through this site, I'm having a hard time finding a non- ADHD partner saying that they are happy, fullfilled or not alone in their relationships with an ADHD partner, after treatment.   I've been with my partner for almost 5 yrs and just finally understood or partially understand what's going on this week!!.   I don't think he even has any idea how long and how much ADHD has run his life.  I'm looking for some hope that we can get through this as a happy satisfied couple and to be honest I'm not really seeing it here.  Please someone give me some hope!!  Or do I need a reality check???

     

  • "long distance" dating and Adhd by: Blossom717 9 years 10 months ago

    I'm new to this forum.

    I am 25, I work full time, take classes online, and I'm a single mom to a three year old.

    Some how, I manage to stay afloat. Barely. Meds help, and having some sort of a system help me as well.

    The part that I have the most trouble containing emotions and impulsivness is dating. I am dating someone who lives about an hour away, we only see each other every other weekend when we both don't have our children.

    In between our visits...I am a ball of mood swings! Sometimes I am ecstatic and so happy that I have this person in my life. Then I feel like there is no point to this relationship. We don't talk on the phone often (its hard to pay attention on the phone for me and I think that bugs him lol) so we basically text. often times he falls asleep early, as do I. He works construction (I do as well but in office) and its hard for him to just text me while he is at work, which most days I understand. But I'm having a hard time not feeling...well, rejected. Can anyone else relate? What do you do to ease this?

    I will get angry from feeling like I'm not getting enough attention and send him an angry text. Then I'll apologize. He never seems to be too offended, hes pretty calm natured and understanding. Which I should love, but then I feel like he doesn't care because he doesnt argue back, he just simply understand my view and explains why he can't text back right away.

     

    Am I the only one who has these feelings?

  • Desperate Non-ADHD Newcomer :( by: AHopelessFeeling 9 years 10 months ago

    Hi everyone,

    I am new to the subject of ADHD and marriage, and new to the idea that my husband has ADHD, but the more I read the more sense it makes. I hope to find comradery and hope from those of you out there who have been/are in these shoes. It is a terrible feeling to feel alone in the battle, and to question if the problem is you, your husband, or both. We have been together for over 7 years, but we have been married for just over 6 months. 

    I am a senior medical student graduating in May, and my career definitely takes a "type-A" personality in order to function well. I value punctuality, structure, and organization. My husband possesses none of those qualities, and I find myself overwhelmingly frustrated with him almost regularly. I can only rely on him to be UNreliable. He is ALWAYS late, forgets tasks unless I nag him to get them done, etc. etc. I think he tries very hard, but I just can't wrap my head around why he can't complete these trivial tasks. My trust in him is almost non-existent, so I end up doing it myself. The most sore subject (at least for the moment) is finances, because he doesn't make much money and I am living on student loans. We have also been a long-distance couple since I started medical school 3 years ago, so I fear that we will have even more turmoil when we begin to merge our everyday lives in a few months. 

    Things get particularly bad when I confront him about something that he hasn't done, or something I worry he will forget to do. He either gets mad that I don't trust him, or I get mad because he tries to make more promises to "fix it" (and I don't believe he will follow through). I often feel like a bad guy because of how frustrated and untrusting I get, or guilty because deep down I know he's trying. Despite this feeling like a "bad guy", I can't help but feel justified because he is truly unreliable. 

    I am now in a state of depression over this, and after last night I feel like divorce might be a real option (I know, only 6 months into the marriage!). He needed to use my credit card a few months ago for a very large repair to be done on his vehicle (about $1500), and he PROMISED it would be paid off in about 4 months. He convinced me that he had the payments budgeted in, and he would give me a payment monthly. I felt uncomfortable using my credit card because of all the student debt I already have (and because of his track record), but I reluctantly agreed. Six months later, I have only seen one payment that I nagged him for. An argument about this took place last night because he has devised a "new plan" to make the payments, and I can't bring myself to trust that it will get done. My trust is totally gone. 

    I go back and forth wondering if I am being too harsh, or if I am justified in my total frustration. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and I can fill in more info if I was unclear about anything. I don't want to end this relationship, but I can't live with this anymore. 

  • Guess what H did yesterday?? Absolutely nothing! by: Anonymous (not verified) 9 years 10 months ago

    Arrgh! It makes me so ANGRY! He said he was going to take the cat to the vet and call and electrician. He didn't even step outside to get the mail! I come home to the kitchen garbage overflowing, the kitchen recycle bucket overflowing, dirty dishes sitting on the counter rather than the dishwasher, the cats wanting to be fed all while he's in the computer room playing his damn video game that he has no doubt been playing nonstop all day! Oh and I just love the one thing he always does. He'll turn on the furnace and then within 10 minutes open up windows so the cats can smell the outside! Do you know how absolutely idiotic that is? That's what I came home to as well. The sliding door in the kitchen was wide open (with a screen in place) and the window in the computer room was open. He complains that I do stupid stuff? Who turns on the furnace because they are cold and then immediately opens windows??!!! The guy does not think! Then he can't even hang out with me for more than 15 minutes last night because he had to get back to his game. You have played that ALL day. Can you give me some of your time?! I would LOVE to throw that computer and the tv out the window and then see what he'd do!

     

  • Couples Counselor and Coach - Should they be two different people? by: Fox_Paws 9 years 10 months ago

    I am very fortunate to live in a city where there are two ADHD-focused counselors who do both ADHD coaching and couples therapy around ADHD. I know that for traditional therapy, your personal therapist should be separate from your marriage counselor. Do you think that goes for ADHD coaches too, or is coaching different enough from traditional therapy that it doesn't matter? I already have a mental health therapist that will remain separate from the coaching piece, so I don't anticipate my coach becoming my mental health therapist. I've never had a coach before and we've never done counseling geared specifically towards issues around my ADHD, so I'm not sure what to do.

    Any insight/suggestions would be most appreciated! Thanks! 

  • Should I stay or go? by: miss_rufus66 9 years 10 months ago

    Hello lovely people; thank you for reading my post!

    I am a 28-year-old teacher and I have a two-year-old with my partner who has ADHD. I got pregnant 6 months into our relationship (yes, I know) and I have struggled with him from the day I found out I was pregnant. I was brought up with very conservative parents and was encouraged to be a high-achiever (got a first class degree in Spanish and Italian!!). I work about 50-60 hours per week as a teacher in the UK and he is a "househusband" looking after our son. My main challenges are as follows, and I have tried to break up with my partner  because of these things so many times I have lost count.

    -Will not get a job to pay for anything like going on holiday, which we've never been able to do because my salary only just covers rent/bills/food. (There's always an excuse, plus he doesn't even have GCSEs and his parents are "anti-work")

    -Selfish in many many ways (always lies in at the weekend, rarely lets me)

    -Guilt trips me into having sex with him (I give in to shut him up, not ideal of course!)

    -Very needy (always wants attention, doesn't reciprocate the attention given, no communicated interest in my perspective, appears to have the emotional intelligence of a 10-year-old)

    -"Cannot" / will not take my advice on money (e.g. "Don't spend the child benefit money on beer" etc)

    -He is very very stubborn and is an "expert" at not accepting responsibility for himself/his actions

    ............and the list goes on.............

     

    It seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? RUN AWAY!!! But then ridiculous "love" (although it's probably emotional reliance and a skewed vision of family security) stops me following through. My flat tenancy runs out in March and I really want to get a new flat without him and start re-building my life. I have so much to offer the world (and potentially a partner), but I spend such a large percentage of my life feeling anxious about my partner and using strategies and going over the same things over and over again...........it feels like the changes he has demonstrated are SO PAINFULLY SLOW (and inconsistent thereafter). He has used a couple of different types of medication, but to be frank he is much more bearable when he's unmedicated (they make him "need a beer", he's completely wired on them, very needy, they exacerbate other [self-induced] health problems that he has). Of course we both love our son more than anything else in the world and he is an amazing dad (90% of the time), but I have lost count how many times I have dreamt/tried/told him I want to break up with him. HE DOESN'T GET THAT I DON'T WANT A FUTURE WITH HIM. It's got to the point where I no longer feel attracted to men I have had such an exhausting experience with him (not that women would be any less tiring haha!).

    When I have asked him to leave and stay somewhere else he refuses, stamps his little foot and reminds me his name is on the tenancy. I have nowhere to go except for the flat I pay for in full and he refuses to stay at his parents' house around the corner. My parents are well-meaning but basically not very helpful at all; his parents are from another planet entirely and my friends are bored of hearing me cry and complain about the same problems happening over and over again.

    I am fully aware that a large percentage of our problems relate directly to ADHD symptoms, but I am so fed up of experiencing them and getting no support. I'm a fully capable and intelligent person and yet in this very easily-solved scenario I can't see clearly and do the right thing.

     

     

  • I am SO glad to be back at work after a LOOOONG 5 days at home with H! by: Anonymous (not verified) 9 years 10 months ago

    I have never known anyone to do absolutely nothing on a 10 day break! My husband is on day 6 of his break and he has not done one thing. The only thing he accomplishes is napping, eating, drinking, watching tv and playing video games. And the thing is, I can tell he is absolutely bored but he won't do anything about it. He went to bed at 6PM on Christmas because he was "tired of sitting at the computer and in front of the tv". I had 5 days in a row off and in that time we could have taken day trips or gotten some projects done around the house. He can't get his ass out of the house to mail his box of Christmas presents for his daughter. I've heard for 2 weeks how he's going to call an electrician to have him come out and give an estimate and every day it's "I forgot, I'll do it tomorrow". He said numerous times last week how he was going to take his motorcycle down to this guy's shop on Saturday to have it tuned up. Well of course I knew THAT wasn't going to happen. Nope he "just wasn't feeling it" on Saturday and is going to do it tomorrow now. Of course that means that I won't have a vehicle to get to work because he needs the truck to tow the trailer and I can't drive his stick shift car. So he says it's not a problem to take me to work in the morning and then go to this guy's shop. Well you do realize that after driving around all day you'll have to come back (a 45 minute drive) and pick me up from work because the trains aren't running?  Well see now it's MY fault because I never learned to drive a stick and if I did, I could just take that but now he's all exasperated at the fact that he'll be on the road all day. Well WHY didn't you go on Saturday like you said you would?? I mean, my god, he even said to me yesterday afternoon that he needed to take a shower at halftime of the football game we were watching and I knew, because he made a point to say that he HAD to take a shower, that he wouldn't be taking one. Sure enough...no shower taken all day! Just like when I tell him I'm going to bed and he tells me he'll be in in 10 minutes after he finishes his round of video gaming I know that means I won't see him for at least another 2 hours.

    He won't do anything on his time off, but yet he'll work a 10 hour day, go pick up a new water heater at Home Depot and spend 2 hours installing it all in the same day without complaint. Yet ask him to pick up the phone and call an electrician on his 10 day break...it simply can't be done! And I go nuts sitting at home because if I tell him I'm going shopping or simply going for a walk I get the sarcastic "Oh THAT sounds like a LOT of fun" or "Fine go and do stuff without me, see if I care" and he makes me feel absolutely horrible. Yet all he does is sit and play his video game for 5-6 hours a day so why the hell does he care if I'm there or not?? So I end up just sitting on the couch watching tv because if I do anything else like clean or try and do anything at all he comes running out saying 'What ARE you doing?" He is supposedly going to 2nd shift next month and I hope so because that means I can come home to an empty house and do what I want, eat what I want and watch what I want without being criticized by him. I can go out with coworkers after work and not worry about what his snide comments will be when I get home because he'll never know I was out! And you can be damn sure I wont' be sitting around the house either.  Just as always, as soon as he leaves the house, I go into action mode.

    And if I tell him I'm bored he'll go "Well what do you want to do? All you have to do is speak up and we'll do something." No we won't! I tell you I want to go for a walk and you roll your eyes. I tell you I want to go see a movie, but it's a chore for you because it's not one you want to see. I want to go out for a night on the town but you don't because you "just aren't feeling it". I wanted you to go to a concert or a play with me but they are "way out of your comfort zone". This is why I never ask you to do anything. All my ideas, if they don't involve drinking at a bar, get shot down.

    It is now 2PM I have checked out phone usage and he has not called the electrician yet again today. I have checked Facebook and at no time has he been off of it long enough to take our cat to the vet for a checkup. He asked me twice last night if the vet was open today. Yup they are, but only 9-1 so apparently the cat isn't going today. I will come home and ask what he did and I guarantee his response will be "I took a nap, drank some beer and played video games all day". My god! You told me how bored you were getting at home so WHY WHY WHY won't you get up and DO something??!!!

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