With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I think it is a good time to talk about relationships. Considering that Valentine’s day is about love and relationships, I thought it may be a good time to discuss relationships and how ADHD can have an impact on a couple.
No matter who I have spoken to, being in a relationship is never easy. Every relationship has its own set of challenges.
However, if one or both partners have ADHD/ADD, then the challenges within the relationship might be different from those where neither have ADHD/ADD. Not necessarily better or worse, but just different.
Although I can’t speak for all couples or for couples where neither have ADHD/ADD, I have noticed how my ADHD/ADD has affected my relationship with my husband. I’m not saying that it is all bad. We have had plenty of good times together. It’s just that my ADHD/ADD brain affects how I do things, and also affects my relationships with others.
ADHD/ADD does affect our relationships in a few ways. Here is one example.
One thing is what can be described as hyperfocus dating. The relationship in the beginning is quite different from when the couple have been together for several years. In the beginning, the ADHD/ADD partner will kind of hyperfocus on the relationship. However, once the couple marries, or have been together for a number of years, the hyperfocus diminishes. As hard as it might be for the non-ADHD partner to lose the attention, it is not intentional at all.
This is one example of how ADHD/ADD can affect the relationship. For the ADHD/ADD partner, it may feel normal and may not notice the change or anything unusual. However, for the non-ADHD/ADD partner, it may come as a bit of a shock, to say the least, and may wonder what happened.
As difficult and challenging as it might be for both partners, there are still ways for the couple to make things work. For instance, the ADHD/ADD partner should seek help by getting therapy and/or take medication. Whichever works best for the individual. Keep things fun. These are just a couple of suggestions.
As challenging as ADHD/ADD can be in a relationship, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the relationship will fail. It’s all about how you approach it, handle the situations, and what you put into the relationship.
Here are a couple of articles about the topic, for those who are interested.
www.additudemag.com/adhd-divorce-rate-marriage-help/
www.additudemag.com/save-your-adhd-relationship-marriage/
www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/adult-adhd-attention-deficit-disorder-and-relationships.html
www.drhallowell.com/overview-of-how-adhd-affects-relationships/
Picture Credit: Pixabay
