I’ve probably written on this before. It’s hard to keep track of 14 years of blog entries… But why is it that doctors don’t seem to understand that we need to treat our ADHD ALL THE TIME? I have so many clients who are prescribed 10 hours of medication, six hours of medication, or even only three hours of medication.
I just can’t imagine how anyone could think that a human could live a rich and fulfilling life while only being able to be a fully functional person for that few hours per day. If you add up an eight hour work day, an hour morning routine, making dinner and doing the dishes, and parenting/bedtime for your kids, that already adds up to about 11 hours. Forget about any of the other things we all need to do to move life forward. Forget about nurturing your relationship. Forget about having the energy to see friends. Forget about quality time with the kids.
I’m lucky. I had a wonderful doctor who understood this. I was prescribed THREE doses of short acting Ritalin at age 11. Even then everyone knew that I needed to be medicated for the morning, for the afternoon and for homework/life in the evening. And that was 36 years ago. Why has the medical establishment as a whole not figured this out yet?
The answer is that we still do not define what it is to be ADHD anywhere close to accurately. Doctors don’t understand what attention is. They don’t understand what it really means to have ADHD and how it affects, literally, every aspect of our lives. So, keep pushing for what you need to be successful. Get the right medication. Get the right dose. And, for the love of God, get as many hours in your day covered as possible.