Fundraising for ADHD diagnosis

It's no secret that I'm ADHD. I've known this for a decade, which is still incredibly late since symptoms tend to emerge in adolescence. The Wife has a bottomless bag of Brittany Is So ADHD It's Hilarious stories she can whip out at a moment's notice. I met a psychologist in a casual setting once, and after about forty-five seconds of conversation he asked me if I was diagnosed. At this point, if professionals told me I wasn't ADHD, I'd lowkey question their judgment.

However, I'm also undiagnosed. Even the "affordable" ADHD assessments are costly, at least for me. There hasn't been a feasible opportunity to try and save up for it, and I've been trying to pull it off for years on end. But year after year, it never happens. Year after year, there are more immediate emergencies like hospital visits, our house's old plumbing, vet bills, etc etc etc. And year after year, I'm caught up in the constant ADHD scramble to keep things (myself, this patreon, life in general) afloat.

Every ADHD person will tell you how exhausting it is to go unmedicated. The ones who get diagnosed and find the right medications will tell you how absurd it feels to experience, for lack of a better word, clarity. They can just...do things. The relentless and agonizing cycle of 24/7 puzzle solving and workarounds to do even the things you desperately want to do...goes away? To be honest, if I hadn't heard so many people talk about how being properly medicated has fundamentally and profoundly change their life (including people I know personally) I'd think it sounded like a hoax. Too good to be true and all that.

I used to think my capacity was significantly lower than the average person's, like neurotypicals were built for 35 hours of a work per week and I was built for 20, max. Having done Gaywatch for five years. though, I no longer believe that. Everybody runs faster when you take the 100lb weights off their feet.

All of this is to say that I am finally prioritizing my need for an assessment. I struggled with even putting this need out there--if it's not an immediate emergency, is it fair to even ask? But that's the stinger about situations like mine. Just because it can technically be "put off" doesn't mean it's not an emergency, or less important. People fall into the same trap when it comes to treating their depression, addiction, trauma. Most mental health in general tends to get shunted to the backburner while people limp along day to day. This is my attempt to keep 'maybe next year' from turning into 'next decade' or, even worse, 'I never did.'

My fundraising goal for an assessment is $1,500. It's a bit above average for an assessment in my state, but any excess will go towards dental procedures I have coming up this year (like my wisdom teeth, for starters).

Thank you for listening. <3

Venmo: @britdia

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