My Art Life with ADHD

[@ui1]

Thank you for making this recording. I have dysgraphia, dyslexia and ADHD. At 62 years I have been underemployed all my adult life. For the past year, I have been seeing an ADHD coach. In 2023 I am starting a new career as a digital artist.

[@cinderblockstudios]

Wow I can't imagine how hard of a journey you've been on. Super awesome to hear you're pushing into a new art career though!

[@itsnevertoolayt]

I’m 41, diagnosed ADHD at the beginning of the year. I’ve tried to accomplish so many different things and always felt like I was a failure or stupid for not sticking to 1 thing. After diagnosis it took a little bit to accept and accept the realisation that it isn’t me, it’s my adhd, but that also it’s ok to have changed if I lost interest because it’s the only way to know if we are truely drawn to something or not but if it’s meant for us we would always find the hyper focus more. Scheduling things as a to do for the week and not a specific day also helps as you have a list of things on the calendar that you want to have finished by the end of the week instead of each day, and I find that that really helps too

[@lisa-gayle9939]

Wow...you have described me to a T! I, too, am an artist and I can relate to EVERY SINGLE THING you described! It gets super frustrating at times...especially when I put something away for “safe keeping “ so as not to loose it. Only to forget where I put it. I totally get what you said about being unable to focus and be all over the place...except when it’s something of interest (painting) and I will literally paint for HOURS and hours without moving. I have been diagnosed and on medication for many years. I shutter to think what I’d be like without the medicine. It helps but doesn’t settle my brain to function like “normal “ brains. Thank you for doing this video! In many ways, I’ve always felt like it is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Enough rambling....thanks again...now back to my 20 unfinished paintings! Lol

[@terrilikens4975]

I was diagnosed at 64. I had never heard of inattentive type. which is what I have. Finding an answer to the cause of my issues meant everything. I'm sorry for the shame you've been carrying. Mine, too. Thanks for speaking up.

[@cinderblockstudios]

Wow I can't imagine how life changing a diagnosis must have been for you! Thanks for sharing your journey

[@BearQ108]

Now that you say that it makes me think if I have the same condition, interesting. I started painting month ago and I find it comforting for same reason

[@cinderblockstudios]

Could be a whole host of things. Best not to pre-emptivly self diagnose based on one video

[@josephina4792]

thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this video. I think it must have taken so much courage to do. I can relate to all of it. You are not alone. You spoke with such clarity about the struggles, and I bet you didn't think you spoke with clarity! But you did, and your video was so refreshing for me... We work so hard to function in a world which is not designed for our ways of thinking. We should all wear capes. I'll check out the How to ADHD channel. Rock on :)

[@AspiepunkHeatherAuDHD-c]

Was diagnosed in this year at 49...with auDHD-c (& Dyscalculia) & I don't know where I was going with this...

[@lisalovelylpa]

I not have it , I don't think LOL , but the older i get the less I pay attention to more and more people. Difficult to nail down these things. My mind is always moving, at work, I am thinking art, while I do my non art job , I probably don't forget stuff much, though I have to double check things once in a while because not sure if i did it. Like did I lock that door, because, I am on auto pilot a lot. I am basically a deep introvert. I can multi task a lot or I can work for hours on a single project. But too much at work bugs me , I need to be in my gallery. Listening to you , I think my little bro , RIP , might of had it. Thanks for sharing. I need to read up on it. Sorry for rambling. Just some thoughts. Honestly, most people don't have much in their mind. Consider yourself fortunate. Good video !

[@sandychiustudio]

Thank you so much, I am undiagnosed and listen to this I really hope to have adhd friends! I find out about ADHD in my twenties and now I am in my thirties, still trying to come to term with it especially how to explain to other people (without sounding like I am finding an excuse or feeling ashamed). I feel misunderstood most of the time!!! I also have to carry a notebook at all times ever since I was a child, but my family and friends never undertand why I have to make note of things that's so miniture. My mind is definitely all over the place! I can manage day to day stuff so nobody feels I am out of the ordanary, but I do struggle under the surface. Most of the time I don't mind it but sometimes it's frustrating to always be the 'silly' one when I am actually serious. My mind just forget things, have no focus regulation, and not always trying to be funny... Having said that, I do enjoy the randomness and hyper focused moments. I am en route to becoming an artist so hopefully it will be a good path for me as I have a lot of frustration with other careers, my last job was web design and it was the closet best job for me but before that was disasters. 100% need to hear this. Feeling very emotional too hence the long comment. THANK YOU!

[@Rosiethebear30]

Thanks so much for your great video! I can relate so much.

[@voolfga]

three years later,, great video mate,,,, all I can say is Yep....Yep.....Yep.....tell me about it, and, Yep undiagnosed at 54yrs but definitely am

[@einarjungmann273]

What a brave man! I like this video. I have also ADHD, without medication. I found out in my birthday - 33y old. Happy birthday:D I do yoga, meditation, running, good food. But I need improve sleeping!

[@cinderblockstudios]

A good sleep schedule is WILDLY important for everyone. Though I still make mistakes and get off track fairly regularly.

[@aarontaylor6285]

try to obstain and reduce caffeine! 1 coffee a day, no coke, no tea, no chocolate (also caf) no blue light after 9pm... try this. This changed my life.

[@einarjungmann273]

@@aarontaylor6285 thx ))

[@jenniferflower9265]

Thank you for sharing this about yourself. I was diagnosed with adhd 10 years ago. I was 34. I kinda went into denial about it and thought the diagnosis was wrong. I thought it was anxiety, depression, and trauma. I thought once I healed those, the adhd would go away. Well, I spent the last decade healing those aspects and low and behold, I still have adhd. So, I'm in the process of accepting it and learning to live life successfully with it. I love art. I wanna do art. I used to paint in my eairly 20s and sold a few of my first paintings. I haven't painted since. I have a number of other interests as well. So, I'm learning to navigate moving those around and around to make progress and have it match my interest level at the time. It's definitely an interesting navigation we need to do. I love that there are others out there who get this, and that can relate. I don't feel so alone. I wish I knew them in real life because others really don't understand, and I get the judgments and pressure that comes from them. Sending much love. ❤️

[@cinderblockstudios]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Anxiety, depression, and trauma never really go away, but they can certainly make the adhd symptoms WAY worse if left untreated. Glad to hear you're returning to creative endeavors!

[@CordeliaDevoe]

You're def not alone. I'm the exact same way. im undiagnosed but im 98 percent sure i have adhd lol

[@MsWearer]

You’re really handsome. I have adhd and hate it. Can’t focus on my art for more than half an hour. I wish I could get meds for it but there’s a massive waiting list here in the U.K.

[@cinderblockstudios]

That sucks. Though there's a lot you can do with CBT practices to help focus your daily life that I bet would help. It's actually rare for me to put in super long hours in the studio, but the time I do spend is more concentrated so to speak.

[@ShaKarito2]

Hey Ben... I've been coming to the realization that I have ADHD (I'm 26) theses past few days and I'm finally making (somewhat) clear sense of my paradoxical life from childhood up to now. Bright side is I'm now certain I've never actually been a lazy nor selfish person. Down side is that I now also understand why I lack so much consistency in my art projects. I work at a clothing store to pay the bills but I've always planned to eventually make a living through my creative work. It's really the only thing I can just spend hours on without my mind wandering. But now I fear it just turns into another "wasted potential" as I've been told all my life. That being said, THANK YOU so much for putting the effort to record and post this. I can relate to almost everything you're saying and right now I can use some relatability (idk if i'm using that word right) around this condition. I wish you the best of luck with everything !!

[@cinderblockstudios]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I know such self realization can be hard and hope your continue to grow in your mental heath journey. Unmasking our symptoms can be one of the hardest things to do I've found...that and also living apologetically for how we think.

[@Ducker99999]

Thank you for the video. I was diagnosed after 4 years of jumping from one psych to another (I would have done it earlier but i constantly forgot or after failure i would tell myself that iam just making it all up and ignore all the symptoms...) Ive started painting when i was in high-school, i knew something was off with me but didnt know what. I have felt like everything feels overwhelming and i cant keep up and that feeling kept dialing up the more I grew. Painting was the only thing that could keep my sanity in check and i felt not bad, just in peace with myself, turning the brain down. Since that day i knew painting is the thing i want to do. Sadly life happend and i went through University, with severe depression and anxiety. Now i cant get out of a state of: Cant force myself to paint, so i think about all the stuff i want to paint but cant, then impulsively start painting for 6 hours. If i dont finish it, i will lose all the motivation and the painting no longer pushes me and i need to paint something else, but at the same time I cant start something new, because i havent finished the previous painting. Currently Iam waiting for meds to start working and meybe stop painting bigger or more intricate pictures and focus more on smaller paintings that i can impulsively start and finish in few hours.

[@gogogolyra1340]

What helped for me was sitting in eucharistic adoration for 2 hrs in the morning and in the afternoon. That really helped my mind to focus, like stepping on the breaks to a mind that was constantly racing and jumping frm one idea to the next. Like St Augustines quote on a restless heart, but in this case a restless mind.

[@cinderblockstudios]

Back when I was in the seminary we'd have a holy hour every Wednesday...that was actually hard for me because after about 20 minutes I'd get very restless. It was and still is extremely rare that I can sit/kneel without drifting off and thinking about other things.

[@Duhbaby2348h]

Yeah, but are you diagnose ADHD or do you just think you have it I know everybody’s different but most people with ADHD can’t sit still for any amount of time let alone an hour. The whole thing with ADHD is we don’t have access to the “brakes” our racing mines need in order to concentrate on one thing for too long

[@user-mj9pi3mx6u]

Thank you