Traveling Recluse

     As a parent with ADHD, it is extremely difficult to function without my lists and schedules. I work fulltime; however, I also am the one covering down on childcare since their father works past their bedtime. This leaves me overstimulated most of the time, as I am sure more than half of those diagnosed with ADHD feel. Most of the time this overstimulating is manageable through masking but what happens when you begin recognizing overstimulation in your child. For an already exhausted parent, this is hard.       My son is the classic story of ADHD. He's hyper, struggles with processing information, hates loud noises and is extremely creative. Asking him to sit in a classroom all day without movement is difficult resulting in many meltdowns especially later in the week.       These meltdowns are explosive. Imagine a ticking time bomb that stops but your are weighting in anticipation for the detonation. Some times they are minor bu...

     No one talks about the lost of yourself when you have a child. You hear all the time about sacrificing yourself for your family and your kids. No one seems to talk about how it is empty you feel when you look in the mirror but the person in the reflection is unrecognizable. At a young age society places norms on individuals to go to college, get a good job, get married and have children. These social pressures create the perfect storm of emptiness. How is it that we go from adventurous and motivated children to empty shells of ourselves that we barely recognize? Its because as humans we adapt for survival by working more, numbing our emotions and by determining our worth by the world we create for our families.       The problem is this cycle creates the same cycle for our children, we are creating the perfect storm for them to also lose that spark of adventure and humor that we so much love. It is so imperative that we begin showing our children ...