When I was a kid, I was punished excessively. My diagnosis occurred when I was 25. In the 1980s, I got paddled every day at school and was punished constantly. It made me feel rejected, leading to rejection sensitivity dysphoria. By the time I was 9, I decided life was not worth living and have not changed my mind at 45 years old. I would never have a child to suffer the way I did. I still feel like nobody wants me around. My mental health issues have severely impacted my quality of life. I’m just now figuring out that this might be why I have never felt my clock tick, or thought for even a second of my life that I wanted kids.
Has this happened to anyone else? I wonder how many in this forum might have decided against parenthood due to ADHD effects without realizing it.
First of all, I’m truly sorry that you have had this experience. It hurts my soul that you, from the age of 9 have felt that life isn’t worth living. I do hope you have had good moments too and life hasn’t been all misery for you because fuck. That isn’t how it should be for anyone!
As for myself, I will say that I do not have an official diagnosis, but display MANY ADHD symptoms, just in the more inward sort of way.
So for me, growing up, I was pretty good at being sort of invisible in school so i was never really yelled at, but i did get bullied a lot and i was projected to have a very low IQ by a couple of teachers which has stuck with me my whole life. I did experience a lot of rejection too both from peers but also from one of my parents. Later in life I have realized that almost everything about me that was rejected by others had to do with my symptoms.
I did think I would have kids someday, but I didn’t want kids until I had a reasonable income and a house and neither ever happened to me. I also didn’t want kids until I was mentally mature enough for it and that never happened either.
I love children and I’m really good with kids, but I will never be a mother. I cannot do that to them.
I can’t give them a home nor financial stability and I cannot promise that will be a good parent either.
I am extremely scared of the idea of becoming a parent and then turning out to be a monster to my kid.
I don’t want to be selfish. My self worth is in the dumpster when it comes to believing i would ever be good enough to be a parent. People used to not understand it. Sometimes they still don’t.
But it is what it is. I’m not going to fuck up somebody else’s childhood. Instead I can be an aunt to other people’s kids and be useful that way. I think that is better.