My Journey Started 17 Years Ago

I was forced to seek out help when one day I was called into the CEO's office at the place I was working and was told I had 6 weeks to make a change or I would be fired.  I was stunned, I had started in this small company as a laborer and hand quickly moved up through the ranks to QC manager.  It was at that point that things started to fall apart.  When I was a laborer, I could zone out and put my body on cruise control and still entertain my mind.  I got the work done, I found new ways of getting more done and was told "If you can find ways of doing things better do it, if it is wrong we will tell you" I took that to heart and it allowed the creative side of me explode.  Soon I was being trained in other areas and I was happy, it was hard work but I had made it "My" work.   I was given the opportunity to move up and without really thinking I let the lure of more money pull me in.  Now I was at a desk, keeping track of papers, quotes, product routes and tons of quality procedures.  At first it was fun, then I grew to hate it.  I was the same person but locked into a job that didn't feed the ADD side, so little details started to slide and add up which brought me to sitting across the desk facing possible expulsion from a job that I still loved.    At first I took classes about organizing yourself and time studies and so on and so on.  None of that really helped, My mind was going 100 miles an hour and I had no outlet.  So I talked to my Doctor and told him that I needed help, I told him my symptoms, I told him about what my childhood was like and he suggested that I might have ADD/ADHD.  What he described to me that day fit what I was like to a tee.    I started to understand myself for the first time and I had a way to deal with it.  Through visit with a councilor and learning to deal with meds I had control, and a way to quiet my mind. It wasn't easy and I had to do a lot of soul searching on my part but I learned to use my "Gift" I refuse to call it a disability or a disorder.  I learned to use my gift to excel at where I work and in my life.  I still battle the half started projects at home, I still have issues with focusing on a task but I have learned to make things work and to finish what I start.   ADD/ADHD just means we are wired differently than other people.  It is not always the same for each person but it can be tamed and made to work for you.    Andy