Good for you, Pat, for changing something that was making you unhappy. When we are willing to do that, we take our power back from people who take advantage of us. Knowing and setting your boundaries with others is a great form of self-care.

Oh, Vi, I feel what you're saying. The best thing is that while you can't change the past, you can learn from it. Every experience is a learning opportunity, and I find it personally healing to forgive myself for making a decision that I might regret because I did the best I could at that time with the knowledge and experience I had. You will never go into a deal again without remembering this past one that didn't go well, and therefore you will be in a better and stronger place. Celebrate your growth!

Catherine, agreed not telling at your co-workers and employers. I made that horrible mistake. My supervisor frequently is harassing me. He tells me, “one day you are going to lose it, I am watching you for that moment” I always stay quiet and pretend I ignore him, but inside me, I want to disappear from the earth. My family is more important and I am the bread winner. I wish, I am healed but the sadness is unbearable.

Being called crazy sends lightning down my spine. It is hard to maintain composure. Reading this brings a positive spin on memories. I appreciate this article.

Hi, coming in two years later so this might not be relative anymore but who knows.
I've have both adhd and ocd that went undiagnosed until I was 25ish (turning 27 this summer) and it's an absolute mad house in my brain.
My life has been a struggle of needing food cut/prepared a certain way to eat it, then getting hyper focused on something and forgetting it entirely. Of being an awful student on paper because I could never follow along but having perfect notes that I spent hours on because I would stress otherwise. It's needing clean, organized spaces to your specifics so much you'll throw up otherwise but not having the attention span to finish the work. It's absolute hell.
I say this because growing up, I always assumed I was stupid, lazy, would never amount to anything. I'm a girl and I read a lot so it was never even a thought that maybe I had these disorders.
When I finally brought it up with my doctor and he came to the conclusion (after many sessions), it was like a weight had been lifted - only to fall directly back onto my shoulders.

When people don't believe that the conditions are real, let alone not able to live inside one person, it's demoralising. Because now I'm either a liar or exaggerating and suddenly my feelings are invalid.

I do take medication for the adhd, and it neither helps or worsens my ocd. However having even one condition "under control" has been better than both of them running wild.