Jimmy
Jimmy
Open the way for those to come
Jimmy had a very quiet childhood, but he was restless and impulsive.
Long before he was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at the age of 33, he recognized that he had ADHD, although neither he nor his family saw it as something negative, but as part of his way of being.
I wonder what would have become of my ADHD without my mom. My mom took these characteristics as part of me and adapted.
Jimmy did very well academically and was very competitive—however, everything took a turn when his ADHD surfaced when he was 12 years old.
I had periods of good grades, and then I didn’t feel like studying.
His academic performance began to decline, and he started to do the least amount of work he could get away with.
He procrastinated, he did not let others help him, he did not sleep well, and he constantly played video games, which began to have negative consequences on his academic performance and his relationship with his family.
At school, he was seen as rude and rebellious. He felt that he was judged more than his classmates, and he felt that he was punished because of his behavior, which was complicated by his ADHD.
In 2014, the problems of attention, procrastination, and feelings of frustration were still present, but despite that, he began to study for his college career, traveled and gave lectures on youth and adolescent issues in Christian organizations, and fulfilled one of his dreams: to be a radio broadcaster.
However, because he did not know how to manage these ADHD symptoms, he lost several jobs. He found it difficult to work in a team, he got bored very quickly with his work, he was always late, and he was unfulfilled. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he felt stuck.
I didn’t know why it was so hard for me to get up, take a bath, do my activities. I realized that things were worse than ever.
He began to educate himself about psychological issues to understand what he was experiencing and see what he could do to feel better.
I tried one thing or another. For a couple of days, maximum weeks, I felt better, but no more.
This is when Jimmy decided to seek help from a psychologist.
I had no motivation to do anything—I wasn’t depressed because I didn’t feel the same. It was like: I want to, but something is missing for me to click to do it.
At 33 years old, Jimmy was formally diagnosed with ADHD.
I needed to know so I could put a name to what I was feeling. It wasn’t something that shocked or traumatized me, but I started crying and unloaded 30 years of frustration because I could finally put a name to what I and others didn’t understand.
It was a cry of relief. Finally.
He began taking medications that helped him a lot.
I had never slept so well in my whole life until I started treatment.
Little by little, he began to improve his attention and his feelings of frustration. He was able to see a balance in his actions at work, academically, and personally.
It took him several months to find a psychologist who specialized in ADHD in adults, but now he is working with a neuropsychologist who has helped him to bring order to his life.
Those of us who are the first to confront these issues open the way for those to come.
Jimmy’s story is also available in Spanish
