Hi

reminds me of the scene in monsters inc where boo hits one of the monsters with a baseball bat 😆 @ArraDreaming

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SPATULA i love it. the theme of emotional support equipment's is too good, did your oldest have one too? does stick man count? 😋

looking forward to seeing what equipment your youngest picks in the future... tennis racket is pretty hard one to beat!

@ArraDreaming @rav3n

Arra I am laughing out loud at the thought of your little one carrying around a tennis racket everywhere.

Rav, I joined a coffee thing and went on my first one this past Sunday morning. It's called Kin Weekly and it's all over the world. You pay a small fee to be set up at a cafe with 5 other strangers. I had a good time. You also have to pay for your coffee and food separate to the fee. It's at 9:30am on a Sunday morning. My lecturer found it and put me onto it. I have 5 more credits to use because it was cheapest to buy 6. It's a bit hit and miss what you end up talking about, but it gets you out of the house on the weekend. Just google it.

i do remember you mentioning the coffee event last month! @Oaktree how'd your first visit go? i see the site talks about a personality match quiz to help meet likeminded people which is pretty cool, did you find that some people had similar interests to you? i'll definitely look into it more, thanks for sharing it!

@rav3n

My table were matched for age this time I think. We were all between 48 and 56. Once you get sent your location if you look at the app you will see little facts about each person listed there. I did not know this until I was there and someone told me.

@ArraDreaming

That's a thought. God, shame really does a number on us. Maybe it does contribute, but I don't think you're wrong. A box can feel limiting and like we aren't capable of growth and positive change. I'm going to make one hell of an assumption here, but I bet you can see growth and change in yourself. So it'd make sense that you reject being put in a box.

I've seen arguments that say that ADHD comes about due to childhood trauma. I've also seen (and experienced) ADHD be traumatic itself. What came first; the chicken or the egg?

IMO - it's traumatic to grow up in a world where your needs aren't met; whether it's physical, emotional, spiritual etc.

No need to apologise at all @ArraDreaming.

I am so glad you have a safe space to share all of this.

And you know what, when you put all of this into context, it makes sense why you experience some pretty big feelings sometimes, hey?

You went through a lot growing up. And it sounds like these experiences were really painful and isolating for you, which would have been so so hard to manage on your own.

You deserved so much love and support, and still do.

I hope you are finding moments of healing with your family now. 💛

No need to apologise, @ArraDreaming.

That's so bloody horrible and absolutely uncalled for, for a teacher / staff member to say that to you. I can't imagine finding a child in a classroom doing that and thinking anything other than "This kid is having a ROUGH time, and is just trying to find safety". Sounds like you were just trying to find a way to get your physical needs met and find some sense of safety.

Regardless of whether ADHD (or any diagnosis really) comes from trauma or you experience traumatic things BECAUSE of the way your brain works, it can be so hard to exist in a world that doesn't support the way your mind operates.

I remember the first time I spoke about my lived experience with someone who understood what I was going through. I was finally like "Oh, so I'm not this broken, hopeless alien?". And then I begun to realise that I'm not broken, but the system isn't built for my brain. And that's not a failing of mine 😊