For me, writing has always been a struggle;
it was a long process that I dreaded mainly because I simply couldn’t think of
what to say. I have ADHD, and because of not knowing a whole lot about ADHD and
how it affects a person, it makes it very hard to come up with your own ideas,
because, in people that have ADHD, the synapses in the brain that transport
information from one neurotransmitter to another, are not quite as quick, or in
as much abundance as it would be in non-ADD people. Therefore, when I was
growing up and going to school, it really was never addressed properly, causing
all kinds of frustration in my life.
Since I have begun to deal with it, it has
been simply life changing. Areas in my life such as writing that I have always
struggled with have developed in ways I could have never imagined before.
Being a Parent
of a child that has learning disabilities, I started to see similarities in
what is going on with my daughter, in struggles that I have had growing up. All
the way through elementary school with my daughter, attending parent teacher
conferences, & case conferences with Special Education Teachers, I started
to see that there was indeed a connection in what was going on with my
daughter, & my own struggles in school.
For a time I would ignore it, thinking “Oh,
I’m not that bad, I don’t have these issues.” But, then, there was always this
huge barrier between me & the things I wanted in life. Finally, I realized
that there were things going on that I wasn’t willing or wanting to deal with,
and that was at least part of the reason
why I wasn’t successful in the things I wanted to do with my life.
I started doing some research on Adult ADHD, including
taking the online test to see if I my suspicions were correct, even though I
already knew they were! The more I read about it, I was stunned about how much
it was like I was reading a story about me and the issues discussed in them
were things I have struggled with all my life! I can’t even begin to describe
how finding out about this made me feel!
When I started taking medication
for my ADHD, I could notice a huge difference within a couple weeks! The only
way I can describe it, is to compare it to a person that has really bad
eyesight getting a pair of prescription glasses and being able to see things
clearly for the first time! Or, being in a really foggy area, not being able to
see thru the fog, and then suddenly, the fog clears! Right away, I started
catching on to coworkers & other people’s non- verbal social cues,
something which I never caught before. It’s amazing to me how that one thing
alone helped so much with interpersonal relationships!
The more I started reading and learning
about it, the more connections were built in my brain, an awesome thing started
to happen; I actually had the desire to write! In 2008 I started my own blog; I
called it “Bonnie’s Random Thoughts”, with the subtitle “Bonnie’s Random
thoughts about Life, The Universe, and Everything!” It’s a place where I can
express my ideas about whatever strikes my fancy! I don’t update it as much as
I probably should, but, designing it, redesigning it, & occasionally
posting to it, has become a hobby I truly enjoy.