[djsFlames]

That's great that it helped you find some peace with what you experienced throughout your life and why that was.

I like my ADHD-diagnosed friends more than others both growing up and as an adult.

They always have something interesting to share, and time spent with them is never, ever dull.

They get me to be more physically active too, even if just to keep up, and that's an added bonus.

One thing I hate about the modern working world is it's largely made for people with a set of certain strengths and abilities to succeed in. And needing extra accommodations or unusual conditions to do your best work makes you feel or looked upon as different or lesser. That could also just be anxiety playing in, but I think we live in a society too that shows less and less compassion or acceptance for differences that can be perceived as weaknesses (unless it makes for an "inspiring" social media clip).

I have the utmost respect for anybody that fights personal battles just to be near the playing field level of every one else but doesn't make a big deal about it (even though it is). I have a very rare condition and have met no one else in my life yet that experiences exactly what I do. And I think the hardest thing in life when you have any kind of difference about you that doesn't always just let you "click into place" with everybody else (as much as you want to) is not wanting to explain yourself for why you sometimes stick out in a non-conventional way whenever an obstacle arises.

The benefit to living life with a unique struggle is that you're forced to learn not to care about those that treat you different or don't accept you (and boy do they exist, even if they won't outwardly admit it). You learn to have more gratitude for what you do have and your own personal strengths, and it helps those grow. And sometimes (as I'm finally getting to lately) you even start to wear your weakness like armour (drawing back to the famous Tyrion quote) and it makes you shine brighter and become more endearing to every one around you, which helps with working relationships and success in many situations.

In this day, self-compassion and acceptance might just be the most fundamental skill of all. Otherwise the world will put you through the ringer and you're just leaving yourself at the mercy of what happens any given day. Teach yourself that, and be as patient with yourself as a best friend would be with you, knowing the challenges you deal with, and you can get through anything.