I Told My Boss I Have ADHD - Is ADHD an Excuse?

Are you one of those that think ADHD is fake and an excuse? There's more to it than you know, especially if you're not a psychologist or if you base your opinions on stubborn, traditionalist bandwagon thinking.
Not everyone with ADHD is out to cause trouble, and many are good people with good intentions who suffer very real, troublesome symptoms that interfere with their ability to function in the world - but it's only an excuse when said person intentionally uses it as an excuse to absolve themselves of all responsibility to improve matters for themselves.

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#adhd #adhdmastery

[carmendesloge]

This is what happened to me when I finally decided to get diagnosed with ADHD. My boss was so fed up with my careless mistakes (as was I) and knew I was on the verge of being fired (among other things). It wasn't until I finally sought treatment that I disclosed to him why I had been struggling. I told him after I made significant improvements in my job performance mostly to let him know that it wasn't because of his threats that I improved but that I was on medication to finally get my brain chemistry in order. Of course, the medication itself caused a whole host of other issues lol but I am still at the same job for the last 14 years and have been able to take on more responsibilities and improve my systems of checks. On a side note... it's funny that most people with ADHD are in creative fields that require ATTENTION TO DETAIL in the job specs which is usually furthest down on our set of skills lol.

[WHURI]

I’m so tired of everyone in my life telling me ADHD isnt real and im just lazy. Family, friends, co-workers, pharmacists, teachers, absolutely everyone.

[spiderliliez]

ADHD is not an excuse, but it needs some understanding (from others and from ourselves). Because of how my brain works, I understand my limitations, and over time, I've sort of learned how to be kinder to myself. That I did not need to prove myself like I did when I was younger.

[cynamonowacma]

My friend has told me she had issues with someone at work who was repeatedly causing drama, lying and manipulating. After confrontation with the management, they have said its all because of their Adhd. To me this is a legit case of using it as an excuse, cause their actions were not at all caused by adhd symptoms.

If somebody's work gets affected by actual symptoms despite using various methods/helping tools, then such accusations are unnecessary.

[Blackfitbrogi]

Yes! I don’t think I ever disclosed that I have ADHD to my boss for that exact reason. Of feeling that they may think I’m using it as an excuse! I simply let them find out on their own! My last boss at my former job… I’m pretty sure he figured it out!

[TheLeafcuter]

I feel like I've earned the "privilege" of using my ADD and autism as an excuse. For the first 20 years of my life I lived undiagnosed and under the pressure of having to live up to the same expectations as everyone else - and quite honestly? It was torture.

I burned myself out every year but had to force myself to keep going through school. I hated myself for struggling so much, and even more for being unable to deal with it. It felt like, everything that was hard for me, everything that bothered me was the same problems everyone was facing. I wasn't having unique problems, I just sucked at dealing with them and it was my fault for being lazy.

I still have problems with recognising my limits and that I'm, like, actually allowed to have my diagnosis? Like, I'd have to burn myself out again before I can say "see? I'm not faking it.". Its exhausting.

Right now I'm on sick leave after having hit what I feel is a brickwall. I never stopped to breathe during my entire education, and then finally after running out of steam at the internship I was working at, everything just crashed.

I have to reconcile with the fact that I might never be able to work at 100% capacity, because that amount will burn me out. It did during my school years, and it did during my internship. I think even 75% is up in the air for me.

So yeah, I kind of feel like I've earned the right to use my diagnosis as an excuse.

[CatHannahCat]

What a cute, humble and wise reply to your boss and also nice respons from your boss.

[slothape]

I think its a double edged sword. Find that most employers will let you keep your job if you have ADHD and you will be let off the hook more often, but it will make it harder for you to get promoted. The employer feels they are doing the right thing by keeping you but does not feel like they owe you anything else. To summarise, they will TOLERATE us more but GIVE us less than others. This is I believe why I could always do alright in lower level roles for a while but struggled move up so now i'm trying to start my own thing.

[damnrapunzel]

The world needs to remove many instances of the word "excuse" from their vocabulary and replace it with the less accusatory and more accurate "reason"

[abbysworld]

It’s only an excuse when you use it as an excuse, like trying to get out of literally everything, I’ve always been a hard worker, even tho I’m slow and I take longer and I’m talkative, I still do my best to get everything that I can done, it’s not an excuse when you just let your employer or your boss know that you have ADHD cuz it’s important information but it’s only an excuse when you use it as one, an example would be I’m short so I can’t do it, the opposite of an excuse would be to ask for a ladder so you can reach it because your short

[Nethezbet]

I am not elderly, but learned I had it at 44. I thought it was a BS excuse for most of my life, but now that I understand it and my own struggles I have far more empathy, in general. It is hard to walk a mile in someone else's shoes if you have been barefoot your whole life.

[oxy]

My brother always uses air quotes when talking about my “adhd” that its an excuse even after ive explained everything

[vices]

It's really annoying when people think it's an excuse

If my arm is broken( not that having adhd makes me a broken person but let's be real ) I will tell the people around me that it's brown so they can consider it when they realize that Im doing things differently and there is something unusual with me
RIGHT ! So why not tell your boss or teacher or mother that you can't function like normal person

[George]

I want to let you know how awesome you are. Your videos have been a life changer. We have twin minds, every single little thing you talk about I have experienced first hand. I was recently diagnosed with ADHD. Unfortunately I did not realize I had this until age of 58. Your videos are beyond helpful and have helped me understand what is going on in my mind. THANK

[cleocatra]

Hello! firstly I must compliment your lovely accent it’s very pleasant.
Secondly I’m 42 yo woman who has never been officially diagnosed but I know in My heart I have combination adhd. My dad had true hyperactivity, my mom never believed her sweet lil girl could have something “wrong” with her like the naughty kids who had to be medicated in class.
I appreciate you putting your experience out there to help others.
My bosses all think I’m a bubble head because I constantly forget to clock in and out, constantly off task talking to everyone, before I realized I have adhd I was genuinely scared I might be getting early onset dementia.
Bless you and hope you are net with understanding more in your life❤.

[heshamhasna]

I’m glad your posting again dude.. I used to watch your old videos until you decided to stop! I remember I was like his adhd kicked in 😂. I was kinda disappointed also because truthfully feeling the sense of what you were going through explaining it in your videos, I actually related to your struggles or at least the way you used to define or describe them. When I found your channel I was just diagnosed with it 35 years later after a life full of regrets and very expensive mistakes ( over 100k) and at that point I was pretty emotional between the typical glad I know what’s wrong to I wish I knew much earlier instead of a lifetime wasted and why was I not being made aware of this earlier! Anyway I’m glad you’re back and you seem to be doing much better from what i can sense (I hope at least) keep up the good work you’re honestly one of the best in educating about this complicated and unknown disorder

[mikegager]

my adhd makes it hard for me to answer the phone and talk to strangers at work. my solution was to turn the ringer off

[zbyszekopuszanski]

I'm starting new job tomorrow. I have had 6 job for recent two years. Now I'm very anxious even though I've taken ssri.

[BattlefieldADHD]

as a recently diagnosed ADHD person I got this "excuse" opinion a lot from non-ADHDers, especially in combination with "if those are your symptoms, then I probably also have ADHD". its very hard to argue against this viewpoint. mostly, because those kind of people usually know nothing about ADHD. I tend to not invest too much invest in such conversations, but suggest they should do some research about ADHD first :)

[louern]

i’ve been wondering the same, but i think in my field ADHD would t be accepted