Still making my way through this article so kinda writing this as it seems relevant. I guess the following is as much for me as anyone reading.

> Regarding the long-range management of ADHD, it is important to point out that the relapse rate for ADHD is 100%.

What I think is maybe related to what is discussed about CBT... In the past I've relied on being able to set aside large spans of time to either get things done, allow myself time to be mindless (mindfulness?), organize things, etc before the interruptions started. This worked fantastically as I was up at 4-6 am every weekday (father duties at the weekend), reading, learning, working, writing, etc, before the slack messages, meetings, email started rolling in.

I guess I had a similar system long ago when I was single, staying up all night till the crack of dawn reading, writing, but mostly wasting time on the internet. That wasn't feasible with a family so I somehow managed to push everything over to the other side of my sleep schedule, despite NEVER being a morning person. It was tough, but I made it work and things got better. It still took me forever to do the most basic things, but at least I had more uninterrupted time to get them done. I feel like I had found a coping strategy for my ADHD.

Recently, everything came crashing down when my routine was disrupted by having to get my daughter up, ready and dropped off at school. I was able to figure out a way to split this responsibility to half of the week, but that's since become my whole responsibility. I also have to pick her up from school (50% of the time), make dinner, clean up, etc... I also put her to be every night. By the time that's all done and I've taken care of my own needs it's basically time to get to bed.

Now I've fallen so far behind at work, no time for professional or personal learning, no organizing, etc... Additionally my marriage is in a state that I could never have imagined (although this was on its way to happening either way). Now I think I'm battling some depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation... all of this obviously just makes everything even worse.

What I now recognize is that I became far too dependent on the luxury of having large spans of uninterrupted personal time. This is great while it lasts, but for some like me, not guaranteed. Instead, I've begun to rely on small increments of time and effort, and I think that some of these CBT techniques and the overall framework might help.

> This harkens back to our notion that CBT for adult ADHD provides a framework for understanding how dif- ficulties arise as well as companion coping strategies with which to make changes

It's tough, but I think it's the only way I'm going to survive. Btw, I am in therapy and have medicine, and despite all of this I am a happy individual and still love life.

> I also went from taking nothing on weekends to taking half my weekday dose. My life on the weekend doesn’t need as much executive function, but it doesn’t not need any

One thing that wasn't immediately apparent to me was that my ADHD isn't restricted to work hours. I need to be able to focus on my family, friends and self as much as whatever I'm trying to get done at work. I too felt shameful about being on medicine, but come to realize that neurotypicals just don't understand the effects and benefits of some of these medications.

I'll prob add more if i can find some time to come back to the article and this thread.

FYI, recently diagnosed with ADHD in my forties. I've been unknowingly dealing with ADHD all my life. It explains so many issues that I've been dealing with since I can remember. It's hard not to feel some kind of resentment and anger about why no one noticed long ago. In many ways I feel like someone has just woken me up from a 40 year slumber, like an adult that didn't listen during school and has to go back and learn everything from scratch. Whenever I heard about people with ADHD I always imagined they had some kind of focusing superpower. Fuck ADHD, I feel like it's trying to ruin my life.