A Glimpse of ADHD in Pictures

/ Viv@Grief Happens

You can read the background for this post here.

Piers, my 8yo, took the following pictures yesterday after I asked him to give me some space. I wasn’t especially upset, but I was dealing with a lot at once, some of which was frustrating and a bit challenging, and I simply needed to breathe.

 

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I was shocked when he showed these to me. They might not speak as much to others, but as a mom in the midst of summer who’s at times paralyzed by the crazy number of items on a seemingly never-ending to-do list, I found this particular shot haunting:

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I’m using restraint as I find myself wanting to explain the disaster of my dining room. There really ISN’T an explanation as to why there’s a shop-vac in the middle of the floor or  a lone shoe belonging to Gil or a packet of Benadryl.

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I’m further intrigued by my choice of attire as well as why I look so much more pulled together than I felt by a long shot.

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I feel surprisingly neutral about both of these pictures even though they DO bring up numerous thoughts and emotions.

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Mostly, I feel compassion towards the girl in the photograph. 

 

I see the subject in a remarkably detached way, doing the best she can, attempting to pull herself together amidst chaos in world that so often feels eerily complicated.  

 

10 thoughts on “A Glimpse of ADHD in Pictures”

  2. I relate to the first photo SO much…heck, and the second one as well. Your descriptions are so poignant, and relevant to many. And good for your son for taking the shots….I’m grateful to him for doing that!!!
    Xo Xo
    (((big hugs)))))
    p.s. I can’t help but remark, “Super-cute dress and shoes!”

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  5. Oh my, you bring me back to raising my kids while dealing with my own inner turmoil and medication changes. I can’t give you any suggestions how to make it through this because we all have different ways of getting from point A to point B. B being they go back to school and you get a brief ‘reprieve’. My youngest has always been my challenge. Keeping calm while dealing with a child who pushes every boundary with a lawyer-like debate kept me in the moment all the time. I had to try to stay one step ahead of him and it wasn’t easy. Biting my tongue was hard. I have to think before I speak around my kids or I’m positive something hurtful will come of it. My mom is also an ameteur doctor and drives me a bit crazy as well. The worst I got from her was “you shouldn’t let them get away with everything”. I had to choose my battles because there were so many to fight. I hope summer gets a little better for you. Hang in there.

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    • Thank you SOOOO much for such an honest and helpful comment. You describe exactly what I feel like I’m dealing with this summer. And my mom is the SAME way. She’s a retired teacher and when she came to visit a few weeks ago when I had JUST stopped one medication and was switching to another (so I was especially irritable and exhausted), she gave me that “you’re letting them get away with too much.” She really has no idea. My brother and I are five years apart, and while I KNOW we were not easy to raise, Mom has no concept of what life is like with two extremely high energy kids who are pretty much going through the same stages developmentally. This week has been a lot better. Maybe that needs to be my future response to my mother — ‘okay, here take one.’ Wallace seems to be having a good time, and it’s unreal how much easier it is dealing with one — even though he is my more challenging one. Thankfully, school starts here the first of August, so the end is in sight.

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      • My two oldest are 22 months apart, but they were easy compared to the youngest. Our youngest has dyslexia and ADHD. I’m just thankful that he came three years after the second so that I only had the one handful. Hang in there!

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  7. so… the house looks like humans live there. As one with ADHD, mostly the ADD part of that, I have a similar but worse situation at home. Because usually, especially without music and coffee, I can’t concentrate long enough to finish, and sometimes I feel motivated to do something about it (the manic phase of the Cyclothymia) and other times I feel paralyzed and helpless.

    As for you, you look lovely. Way to look awesome in spite of how you may feel. I think that if the photographer loves the subject, it makes for a really beautiful photograph. I think you can see how much Piers loves you. 🙂 ~Deon

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