Chopping and changing

Stuart’s ADHD story

Stuart had a long history of starting college courses and dropping out – or trying out various hobbies and jobs and not sticking with any of them. He would feel excited and enthusiastic about something new, but this would never last.

He would get bored quickly or, as soon as he came across a difficult assignment, he would feel that something else might be easier. He would start jobs keen to please, feeling that he had found something perfect, but was soon arriving late for work, not concentrating and not completing the work that he was asked to do.

Sometimes he would get into arguments with colleagues and he often felt that his manager was incompetent and he could do things better himself – yet he never managed to impress an employer or secure promotions. Sometime he would resign impulsively during a bad day at work. Other times he would stop coming in as he could not bear it any longer. He might have already found a new job, or he might leave, if he thought he was about to get fired, which sometimes happened.

Stuart said he had the same pattern with everything in his life. When watching TV he was constantly switching channels to see what else was on. With girlfriends he would start off consumed with excitement, but soon got bored or would meet a new female friend that seemed a better match. He would drop the first one, only to find that a third one soon came along that seemed better.

He lamented that he was over forty but had no stability in his life and his working and personal life felt like a failure. Superficially he looked OK but inside he felt bored, frustrated and unhappy.