This week, ADHD and medication, autism and anxiety, more awful male behavior, Oprah 2020 and other media I’m consuming.
This Week in ADHD
I’ve had to go off my ADHD medicine. The reality is it wasn’t working well enough to continue on with massive side effects.
Now I don’t have any issue with other ADHDers taking meds, but it’s just not working for me. Thus, I’ve gone down the natural remedies rabbit hole. The thing is, I’ve been nursing a theory for the past year that I was doing things for the first several decades of my life that masked my ADHD.
On its face, this is ridiculous. A huge element in my delayed diagnosis was the male-centric diagnostic criteria. And I certainly felt the impact of the condition regardless of it being diagnosed.
And yet…for other reasons I have had to go to a gluten free diet. And my condition is better. I’ve been exercising almost daily, and on the way to the gym I need a checklist to remember my phone, earphones and water. When I come home I can focus. At work, I get more done than when I was on medication.
The final piece is getting more sleep. I’m still having trouble with this despite ditching the meds. I hope as I continue to exercise, the sleep will get better.
This Week in Autism
My guy, Daniel Siegel, has a new book out, The Yes Brain, about brain integration. This encompasses sensory processing disorder, mood disorders and other related issues that are a factor for those of us who are neurodiverse. Dr. Siegel has a wonderful book that I read before my first son was born, called The Whole-Brain Child. He’s a great fountain of advice for parents, so it’s encouraging that he has done some thinking about the spectrum and how our neurobiology can play a part.
This Week in Even More Awful Male Behavior
New York Times: Male Models Say Mario Testino and Bruce Weber Sexually Exploited Them.
Self-proclaimed feminist Aziz Ansari assaults 23-year old and claims mixed messages. (Trigger Warning)
This Week in My Media
This is first on my list but putting it in this post so anyone who reads this far sees it.
Video: Oprah 2020!
You Aughta Know 