Attention Disorders Can Take a Toll on Marriage

[groovedaddy]

Does your husband or wife constantly forget chores and lose track of the calendar? Do you sometimes feel that instead of living with a spouse, you’re raising another child?

Your marriage may be suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

An A.D.H.D. marriage? It may sound like a punch line, but the idea that attention problems can take a toll on adult relationships is getting more attention from mental health experts. In a marriage, the common symptoms of the disorder — distraction, disorganization, forgetfulness — can easily be misinterpreted as laziness, selfishness, and a lack of love and concern.

Experts suggest that at least 4 percent of adults have the disorder, that as many as half of all children with A.D.H.D. do not fully outgrow it and continue to struggle with symptoms as adults, and that many adults with the disorder never received the diagnosis as children.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/attention-disorders-can-take-a-toll-on-marriage/?th&emc=th

[lazarus]

1. it helped kill my first marriage

and several relationships before that. I finally got diagnosed (bipolar, too!) and my current marriage is going much more smoothly.

[dtexdem]

2. Huh?

Sorry, I missed that.

[madmax]

3. Yes, and I've been married to him for 28 years.

I want a medal! Or at least an honorable mention. :P

[1monster]

4. Me too, except that I've been married to him for nineteen years and lived with

him for eight and a half years before marrying and dated him off and on for six years before that. We both deserve metals and trophies on the shelf. Also raising an ADHD son........ (It gets harder as I get older, though.)

[madmax]

5. I understand

:hug: Sometimes I just have to say screw it. Be kind to yourself.

[Ian David]

6. I call it, "Haven't Gotten a Blowjob In A Week Attention To Housework Deficit." n/t