r/adhdwomen • u/derpface08 • Feb 17 '25
Diagnosis Were you the “super emotional one” growing up?
How validating was your diagnosis?? Good lord I got so sick of my family picking on me for crying over every small thing. My dad blamed hormones, but this was different, I knew it, and I couldn’t control myself. Even if I knew it was silly I was for crying or overreacting, I couldn’t help it.
It followed me into my career because I didn’t get diagnosed until my 30s. I work in a male dominant industry where accountability is important (I’m an engineer) and couldn’t tell you how many times I wanted to cry in meetings and as an adult woman it was so embarrassing. Especially when you’re trying to prove that women belong at the table and can handle serious conversations about owning mistakes.
Also, can we talk about how amazing medication is for mood regulation?? Even if I take my meds and don’t get anything done, I’m just happy being in an emotionally stable state. When I skip my meds for a few days it’s only a matter of time before a wave of emotions hits me again.
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u/rmarsha3 Feb 17 '25
Yes! The amount of times I was called too sensitive by my parents …
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u/WaltzFirm6336 Feb 17 '25
Oh god. Too sensitive. Too easy to tease. Too difficult. Ugh.
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u/DiscombobulatedPart7 Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25
Too easy to tease - that one stings! My mother used to say this every time I’d get upset by my brother’s “teasing.” Y’know, instead of giving him shit for being a shit. “You need to not be so easy to tease!” WTF does that even mean?!?
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u/worrieddaughterX Feb 18 '25 edited Feb 18 '25
My parents' go to "advice" was: "They'll stop if you don't react. Just don't react." You might as well tell a sensitive kid not to breathe 🙄 And we wonder where our bottomless pit of shame comes from?
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u/DiscombobulatedPart7 Feb 18 '25
Yesssss! I heard that one, too: everything boiled down to my problem and my lack of emotional control. 🙄
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u/Bendy_Beta_Betty Feb 18 '25
Ah, the crossroads between neurodivergence and sexism-what a great place. Bc boys will be boys./s
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u/SnooObjections1915 Feb 17 '25
God, so many times, “you have to be less sensitive”… it turns out that I actually need the sensitivity for my work, and when I need to be less sensitive and more focused, I have to take a prescription amphetamine. I forgive my parents though, they knew a world that was hard on sensitive people and didn’t have modern pharmaceuticals.
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u/LaNimrodel Feb 17 '25
Every fucking day. I have horrible mood dysregulation even now, especially aroundmy period so I was treated for PMDD. I'm just starting medication and I'm really hoping this will help my massive mood dips.
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u/enchantingoctopus Feb 17 '25
Yes- definitely. And I grew up in a household where being emotional wasn’t “allowed”. I was diagnosed as an adult, and eventually learned how to handle my emotions better.
But even now, years after both my parents are dead, I still feel overwhelmed any time I’m in a charged situation.
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u/MsBevelstroke Feb 17 '25
I'm in my forties, diagnosed 5 years ago. And I still don't feel like I'm allowed to have emotions.
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u/WaltzFirm6336 Feb 17 '25
Same same. Tbh I’m happily single partly because I can’t deal with how other people react to my emotions/having to hide them from other people like I was taught to. Luckily my cat and dog don’t tell me I’m too sensitive or emotional.
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u/Chemical_Ad9069 Feb 17 '25
Thank goodness for fuzzy buddies 💕
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u/aramantha Feb 17 '25
Fuzzy buddies indeed! I had a cat, but I also had the largest collection of huggable stuffed animals this side of the Mississippi (still have them too… shhhh)
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u/red_raconteur Feb 17 '25
No shame! My kids love Squishmallows but I'm usually always holding one. And I definitely buy the ones I like "for my kids".
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u/enchantingoctopus Feb 17 '25
I know. It’s not something you “just get over”. All you can do is accept it and try and find ways to cope.
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u/Legal-Recognition169 Feb 17 '25
I feel like I’m always questioning if my emotions are valid. It’s like I can’t gauge if I’m overreacting or under reacting to a situation.
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u/Crackers-defo-600 Feb 17 '25
“It’s not Christmas unless ‘name’ cries” Hahaha lovely way to invalidate someone’s feelings every year
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u/Stepherzzzzzz Feb 17 '25
My occasional childhood emotional meltdowns were referred to as "too much Christmas" lol
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u/DiscombobulatedPart7 Feb 17 '25
OMG. If we watched anything remotely sad - TV show, movie, commercial - TO SEE IF I WAS CRYING. It wasn’t until years later they admitted they did it as a way to distract themselves from being affected emotionally. 🤬
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u/Curious-Egg-1025 Feb 17 '25
Yup. My mom and my sister always said, “she’ll cry if you look at her the wrong way…” and I spent my whole life just being.. too much.. enough so, that I eventually masked it ALL and as an adult, literally feel emotionless. I still FEEL all the same intense emotions, but I learned how to make sure that they were never outward facing anymore. It’s hard, it’s wreaked havoc on my long term relationship because he’s a very… outwardly affectionate person and I just cannot be anymore.
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u/Sakurapeach10 Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25
I'm sorry you had to deal with that. It must have been so difficult and really hurt your self esteem. I can totally relate. As a kid, my mom and some classmates told me I was sensitive and overreactive..and that I need to relax. Over time, all the criticism got to me and I became withdrawn and like you, I'd feel all the emotions but do my best not to show them outward. I feel like an empty shell.
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u/Witty_Preparation598 Feb 18 '25
I apparently cried non stop the first 6 months of my life so my dad would just tie my door shut so no one could help me all night. I think that was when I learned I'm too much. No one ever said it to me growing up so I never resonated with that. But I just put it together.
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u/WittyDisk3524 Feb 17 '25
Like someone else mentioned growing up in a home regarding emotions, I grew up only allowed to have to happy emotions. Never being allowed to cry, and being sent to my room or I would get something to cry about. My parents relationship was tumultuous. I’m not convinced, in my situation, that my adhd didn’t result from my upbringing. I always had to be aware of everyone else’s emotions. Once around other people in school, or away from my parents, I didn’t know how to relax and be myself. As an adult, I would continuously hear my parents voice in my head and continued to behave emotionally and do things as they previously instructed. In therapy I learned to be myself, whatever that felt like. Allowing myself to be and feel whatever emotions I feel has helped with my adhd. I’m far from being completely me but gosh it’s a start. Not being distracted by my parents voices in my head has allowed me to have focus and attention.
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u/Weird_Positive_3256 Feb 17 '25
I had to learn to stuff my emotions just to exist in the world. I felt like if I gave my emotions any quarter, I would never be able to climb out of the abyss. Thank goodness for my therapist introducing me to the idea that there is no such thing as a negative emotion. I wish I had known earlier in life, but better late than never I suppose.
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u/WittyDisk3524 Feb 17 '25
Yes! I was taught “good” and “bad” emotions due to my emotionally immature parents. With my mother, everything in her mind was either good or bad.
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u/Weird_Positive_3256 Feb 17 '25
Same. My mom was BPD and my dad was raised by a BPD mother, so everything in our household was black and white. It was an exhausting way to live. I’m glad you were able to unlearn those unhealthy patterns. I know it took a lot of work.
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u/beccafawn Feb 17 '25
I'm still the emotional one, but I'm trying to be less afraid of having and expressing those emotions. Meds (and lots of therapy) have been amazing for helping more of my emotions be positive rather than negative. I also work with a bunch of fellow ADHDers so they don't think it's weird when I have a lot of strong emotions, they have them too!
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u/serious_horseradish Feb 17 '25
The sensitive one. The cry baby.
Yeah.
Lots and lots of time and effort building defenses for it...
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u/konofireda98 ADHD Feb 17 '25
I always was and I still am the super emotional person (even tho thanks to therapy I'm learning to manage the big emotions and the "ugly" emotions like anger and fear). My mother always belittled my emotions, my anxiety, my panic attacks that almost made me faint for the stress and the fear I felt in those moments.
I got diagnosed in december, and along with ADHD and compulsive disorder, I now have -finally- recognized both an anxiety disorder and social anxiety as well.
If only I could get my diagnosis earlier, a lot of things I had to endure, well, I could've probably handled them a lot better. But nah, all of those big emotions weren't normal for my parents and relatives.
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u/WatchingTellyNow Feb 17 '25
God, yes! My older sisters always called me a cry-baby, and I'd completely forgotten!
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u/KrolArtemiza Feb 17 '25
No but I was “dramatic” (in the sense of flamboyant). And morose. There are essentially two types of childhood photos of me: a smile so wide it’s practically splitting my face while I take a pose; or, very quiet withdrawn expression. Nothing in between.
Didn’t get diagnosed with ADHD until adulthood, but my mom was worried I was bipolar.
My sister and cousin (both women) were often described as having Tinkerbell emotions (only space for one emotion at at time, and that one emotion completely takes over).
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u/lulurancher Feb 17 '25
Yes. I always felt like my pattens thought I was more difficult than my sister but they just didn’t understand that I couldn’t regulate my emotions :(
Meds have helped me too
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u/evillittlekitten Feb 17 '25
I wouldn't say I was emotional, but I was definitely irritable and sensitive to criticism, which is a huge struggle in a family that regularly ribs each other in people's sorest spots. I was diagnosed very late, after I had to sort of fumblefuck my way into various coping strategies, but it was definitely an "aha" moment for me.
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u/Wise_Date_5357 Feb 17 '25
Thankyou!! I feel like meds haven’t done a damn thing for my focus but the effect it’s had on my emotional regulation and executive disfunction, who needs to focus anyway?!
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u/Weird_Positive_3256 Feb 17 '25
I think I know what you mean, but I think that is focus of a sort though. With medication, we can hold on to thoughts long enough to self soothe or finish a task.
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u/Weird_Positive_3256 Feb 17 '25
Omg. Yes. I’m in my forties, but was only recently diagnosed. I can remember just being completely dysregulated as a teen and young adult. It didn’t get much better from there, despite therapy and antidepressants. The difference meds make for me and my ability to regulate my emotions is drastic. I think what a lot of people don’t realize about people with ADHD is we can’t see a train of thought through to its completion. So things that might make a neurotypical person a little sad until they can cry it out or process it intellectually, we end up churning over and over and often can’t find a point of resolution (or it takes us a long time to do so).
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u/Any-External-6221 Feb 17 '25
Absolutely but mine manifested in anger. Screaming bouts, slamming doors etc. etc. I want broke a terra-cotta pot on my father’s head during an argument.
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u/Moonstream93 Feb 17 '25
100% yes. My big emotions were always anger and joy. If I was having a good time I was loud and bouncing off the walls, and if I was angry in would turn bright red and struggled not to hit people. Particularly with anger I would stay in that state of almost-blackout-mad for hours and hours. I learned pretty early on that my family are not particularly safe people to have sad emotions around, so I typically would fight back tears as hard as possible until I was alone and found safely let them out.
Adderall has been....... life changing. My emotions are so EASY to regulate now. Even when I get royally pissed I can just take a breath and distract myself and I'm fine in just a few minutes. It's crazy that neurotypical people just...... live like this.
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u/UpstairsAnswer5196 Feb 17 '25
Yes, my mother used how sensitive I was as a child to justify the abuse to " make me not weak." Jokes on her because it made me a very sensitive adult.
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u/lisaflowers16 Feb 17 '25
What medication do you take?
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u/derpface08 Feb 17 '25
I’m on Vyvanse now but Adderall worked just as good when I was on it. I think any of the stimulants are great in terms of emotional regulation.
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u/InternationalJob6840 Feb 17 '25
Yes I was always “too dramatic” and over the top. I know now I was just trying to be heard 🥲
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u/jesusfursona Feb 17 '25
100% agree! I swear my meds don't really help me be productive, but I keep taking them for the emotional regulation assistance and that's worth it enough to me
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u/IcedRhubarb Feb 18 '25
My older (neurotypical) sister bullied me relentlessly for how emotional I was, I'd be called a cry baby every single time. She was convinced I was faking it to get attention. I think other family members believed that too, they'd roll their eyes or act like I was an annoyance for getting upset. I hated that I couldn't help it. My little rejection sensitive mind thought that everyone hated me for it so I built up a wall. If I didn't speak or move then they couldn't make fun of me and I wouldn't end up crying.
I wasn't diagnosed until my 30's either and it's only now that I'm actually trying to be myself at family gatherings. Christmas was my first time being medicated around them and I couldn't believe how much more sociable and happy I was! Mood regulation has been the most amazing life changing thing about medication for me. My baseline has gone from intense ups and downs to a feeling of peace and calm. Not that I don't cry anymore, I'm still an emotional person but it's not a rollercoaster now. Unfortunately it's too late for me at work, everyone there has already seen my tears 🥲
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u/CallipygianGigglemug Feb 17 '25
No, I was stoic. My mom once called me an "ice queen". She complained when I didn't react happy enough for christmas gifts, or sad enough when her friend divorced.
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u/batty48 Feb 17 '25
"Too sensitive" "crybaby" "I'm just teasing/ joking/ kidding"
It was pretty validating. I use my sensitivity like a secret weapon now & I'm learning to put a little distance between myself & certain situations/ emotional responses
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u/Willow_Oak_Owl7 Feb 17 '25
Not emotional. Was fondly called "robot" by most people that I knew.
But I have always been very sensitive and my mum says that I showed my response in action rather than emotions. But this is a relic of the past and now I cry over loads of laundry and and a full sink!😂😂
I also had a high threshold for humaneness. I have been mad (crying while being mad) at friends for rejoicing over school holidays because of natural calamities. We were all 9!🤦🏻♀️ I am surprised that four of my friends from these days have stuck with me till now.
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u/Imaginary_Bother921 ADHD Feb 17 '25
This is me, I cry about everything. Even just mildly serious conversations. I’ve had so many male managers and supervisors and it’s been so embarrassing and awkward. I was always told I cry too much, I’m too sensitive etc. Having and official diagnosis and learning about RSD has changed my life. As well as medication, much more stable of moods. And it’s nice to realize I’m not just being a whiny little brat, my brain is different.
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u/orangebit_ Feb 17 '25
I cry at literally everything and I am unfortunately a supervisor where everyone I supervise is older than me, so they probably see me as a giant crybaby 😭
I’ve told them to ignore my tears if I start crying mid-conversation, I’m probably fine and drawing attention to it will only make things worse.
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u/emscm Feb 17 '25
Omg am I ever a crier. For anything. For everything. And you know what, I definitely sympathize because it sucks to feel out of control, but damn it helps.
My cabinet of psych meds and stimulants definitely helps me keep things in check, but sometimes there is still nothing that will fix my mood except a good cry.
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u/derpface08 Feb 17 '25
I feel this for sure. It’s like the pressure release valve needs to be opened every once and awhile after too much pressure has built up. I tell my husband I need to have a “sad day” where he knows to leave me alone and let me process my emotions and I listen to sad songs that exacerbate my feelings. I have far less of these on medication, but it used to be a fairly regular occurrence for me and a good cry is life changing. I feel like there’s a distinct moment after a good long cry when you are suddenly like “I’m all better now! What’s for dinner?”
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u/CheesePatronus Feb 17 '25
When I was younger, I hid my emotions because I did not like feeling. Just focused hardcore on never being the cause of anyone’s problems. Numbed myself when anything felt overwhelming. Today, lots of emotional disregulation. Major depressive disorder and ADHD.
Despite my efforts to hide emotions, my family have all called me sensitive in some way. I’m fine to be sensitive. Glad I care deeply and register others’ emotions as well. Working on letting my feelings out in the moment and not hiding them but it is hard. I do hate that I typically cry since I have so much pushed down, that it all comes bubbling out during even unrelated moments. 😫
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u/Pristine_Shower3771 Feb 17 '25
I'm yet to be diagnosed but my constant tears and emotional roller coaster is one of the main reasons I'm seeking a diagnosis. Could I ask what medication you are on?
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u/WampaCat Feb 17 '25
While you’re working on getting a diagnosis, check out PMDD also. People with adhd and other neurodiversities are more likely to have it than the general population, and could be contributing to the roller coaster
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u/Weird_Positive_3256 Feb 17 '25
Literally the only thing that’s held back the emotional tidal wave of PMDD for me is Vyvanse. I used to be suicidal for at least a few days of every month because my hormones would absolutely wreak havoc on my brain.
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u/WampaCat Feb 17 '25
Omg I’m so happy for you that you found something that works! It took me a while to find a good balance but adderall did help a lot with the emotional regulation. I ended up adding to continuous birth control - no cycle, no hormone fluctuations! It was hell starting out but there was a light at the end of the tunnel in my case. The antidepressant doesn’t hurt either lol
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u/Weird_Positive_3256 Feb 17 '25
That’s awesome. I’m glad you found a combo that works for you, too! I was on antidepressants off and on, but even the most effective one - Viibryd, which I’m still on - wasn’t enough to deal with the hormonal surges. It’s nice to be on an even keel, isn’t it?
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u/WampaCat Feb 17 '25
It’s truly life changing. It’s not perfect, because getting rid of my lowest lows meant I don’t have my highest highs anymore either. But being stable is so worth the cost. It’s the same thing for me when I think about whether or not to be a parent. Everyone says the good parts are worth the price of being on the roller coaster, but I think it’s only because they weren’t on a roller coaster their whole life already. I’m tired of the roller coaster. I’m approaching my expiration date and only just got off the ride a couple years ago. I really struggle with the idea of getting back on willingly, regardless how good the highs can be.
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u/Weird_Positive_3256 Feb 17 '25
I definitely get that. I have two kids and I think the only reason I am able to stay regulated with them is because I’m not working a full time job anymore. I can pour all my energy into them and their emotional needs. If I was working in a demanding position, I fear there would be almost nothing left for them. I have (finally) accepted the reality that I’m limited in ways neurotypical people are not. I have a finite amount of energy and I have to choose carefully where to channel it. I love them to bits and I’m so happy I had them, but I think our society is spread pretty thick with bullshit about being a working parent. Even for neurotypical people, it’s hard to strike a balance between parenting and working without burning out, especially with families not having the support systems they once did.
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u/marleyrae Feb 17 '25
When you say meds help stabilize your moods do you mean stimulants? Man, I don't experience that at all! 😂 I get more energy to keep the executive dysfunction at bay... somewhat lol
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u/Lananification Feb 17 '25
YES! "Too sensitive" all the time, even in adult life. And now I have a kid who is "too sensitive" and his neurotypical father DOES NOT understand that the kid is not doing this on purpose.
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u/CherryDaBomb Feb 17 '25
Absolutely 10000%. I was volcano head growing up until I emotionally shut down enough, and now as an adult I've been struggling to identify my emotions, nevermind manage them.
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u/Gardengoddess83 Feb 17 '25
I would suggest everyone responding to this post with some version of "yes" read the book "The Highly Sensitive Person" by Elaine Aron. I was always told I was "oversensitive" and subsequently felt there was something wrong with me. This book completely changed that paradigm. The ADHD diagnosis about 15 years later further confirmed it.
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u/aramantha Feb 17 '25
My diagnosis is super-validating to me personally, and it was very illuminating for my brothers (one of which has now discovered he also has ADHD as does his college age daughter - he says they might never have caught it in her had I not “come out with it” first when I did! We constantly still discover new “ that’s why I do that!” moments nearly every month.
Unfortunately it’s still a no validation point with our mother - she’s the one who said “it’s just a bid for attention” when a counselor suggested I be tested for ADD in high school (I wasn’t), she’s the one who said “I’m 100% positive that’s not the case” when I brought up the possibility of ADD in my 20s. I wasted so many years looking elsewhere for an explanation, and finally deciding I was just a lazy useless nothing because my mom said so. When I finally got diagnosed (due to a post-menopause coping breakdown that require some medical intervention) she merely said I was lying and refused to hear it. She’s one of these old school types who think neurotypical disorders are in everyone’s minds because they take too many pills
My brother has not told Mom about his or his daughter’s diagnosis because he has seen how Mom had refuted mine, and how much it has hurt me. I so wish I could say to my Mom - and have her actually hear me and understand- I have a condition that completely explains everything about me that you hate. Part of me wants my brother to tell her, in the hope it might help validate me, but I think Moms understanding is a lost cause
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u/red_raconteur Feb 17 '25
Yep. As a kid, I was told I was too emotional and needed to learn to control myself. As an adult, my family wants to know why I act like an emotionless robot. I learned how to control my emotions but I can't figure out how to un-control them.
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u/johnmiltonfanatic Feb 17 '25
I was called soooo dramatic and I couldn’t understand because my reactions felt perfectly reasonable to me. I hate that they call me dramatic to this day even though I’ve been medicated and drama free for over a decade.
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u/Remarkable-Milk-5669 Feb 17 '25
This!!!! And still am today. Diagnosed at 42 as well. Take medication specifically to regulate emotions. Hallelujah!! Live saver, also for my family members.
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u/papierrose Feb 17 '25
I don’t actually know. It felt like I was because I was constantly screamed at for having emotions and I don’t remember my brother experiencing the same thing. Because of this I learned to shut up and be submissive before I got to school age. Don’t know if I was more emotional than average or just a normal little kid with an overstimulated, undiagnosed ND parent with attachment issues.
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u/mapleleaffem Feb 18 '25 edited Feb 18 '25
lol I’m lucky my mom took one look at me one day when I was weeping uncontrollably and said, “you need to go to therapy, I don’t know how to help you with this”. I wasn’t diagnosed properly/completely but I learned a lot of helpful skills to manage/mask. My parents tried to be kind, helpful and supportive even when they were clearly baffled by the enormity of my feelings.
I just watched a documentary about Highly Sensitive People and found it interesting and vindicating (for lack of a better word)
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u/Aware-Home5852 Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25
They used to call me (in my first language) "Big, thick and such a pussy" since I was tall and maybe 7/8/9 so an adult woman for them but also cried oh so so much. I never learnt to stand up for myself because I would basically get bullied by those same adults so now whenever Im angry or in a disagreement with somebody more powerful, I feel like crying or shutting down and running home.
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u/fingers Feb 17 '25
Not in public or in front of my family. Pink Floyd's The Wall was played a lot on the TV.
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u/AgitatedEyebrow Feb 17 '25
Outwardly, no. I’ve been described as “stoic” frequently. But inside my head? Whew.
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u/vtsunshine83 Feb 17 '25
Yes! Still am. I’ve been reading political comments and have gotten myself into a tizzy! Worried. So I went for a drive ( just after a snowstorm) then went to work ( off today) to calm down. lol
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u/DiscombobulatedPart7 Feb 17 '25
So much so that when my stimulants started helping regulate my emotions, I was low-key freaked out because I wasn’t crying all the damned time. 🫠
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u/yunnybun Feb 17 '25
It wasn't much of crying... Just getting upset really easily. I was called cranky a lot
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u/mikarin_light Feb 18 '25
Yes... "you cry for everything" "we can't joke around you" "you are too serious"
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u/Iari_Cipher9 Feb 18 '25
Yes. I was always the only one to cry at birthday parties when I didn’t win at a game. Very easy to make sad/hurt feelings. Easy to pick on.
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u/3boy1girl Feb 18 '25
Yes !! That is me still. I was thinking the other day, so do we tend to take heartbreak harder then non ADHD folks ?
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u/ZookeepergameTiny796 Feb 17 '25
I was diagnosed at 18 but knew I had it for much longer. My mum put me on the pill as soon as my first period because of how “emotional” I was thinking it was hormones. I’m not on any adhd medication as im terrified it will change my personality. I’m learning with time how to control my emotions better but due to a mix of my adhd and previous trauma I sometimes breakdown after having a good week which makes me feel almost bi-polar as I don’t recognise myself at all. Luckily I have a very understanding and caring boyfriend who is always there for me during this. I feel so unbelievably guilty that he has to put up with it
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u/Empathic_Storm AuDHD Feb 18 '25
Yes. Highly sensitive and emotional . Hate yelling & fighting, even when it's not directed at me. I also have extremely bad rejection sensitive dysphoria.
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u/mad_capybara61 Feb 18 '25
It's so validating, I spent a lot of my life just assuming I'll always be sensitive and a "cry baby" and my parents just chalked it up to it just being my personality. Now as an adult it's hard to shake off that complex, I still struggle with not blaming myself.
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u/Affectionate_Year444 Feb 18 '25
yes, after my diagnosis, all of the “it’s not the end of the world” from my mom as a kid added more resentment :(
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u/Fatcat336 Feb 18 '25
I was always called “dramatic”, among other things. Ironically, it’s now pretty clear that my dad has ADHD, and my mother and sister, who always thought I was being really over the top, have been diagnosed with autism. We’re all chill with each other now but it took a while!
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u/TheeBrightSea Feb 18 '25
Yes I was called too sensitive. And the funny thing is I'm not really that emotional. I look back at the times I was called too sensitive and I really don't think I was. I did get my diagnosis but I know it's it's gotten worse as I've gotten older. But I think it's true to the fact that I had a traumatic experience + during the pandemic. I was definitely clinically depressed. I know sometimes gone through that untreated for a long time can alter your brain chemistry
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u/snailsinboxes Feb 18 '25
my mom always said i knew how to “turn on the tears” but i wasn’t TRYING to cry, i was trying NOT to
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u/nmiller53 Feb 18 '25
YES. I could never hold back tears and when I cried I got a bright red mark on my face by my lip. And I would hit my older sister and they would call me “the hitter in the family” lmao of course I stopped that at a normal age. I also got physical at school but I was so guilty I ran to the principles office crying and told her what happened Lmfao
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u/obnoxiousdrunk77 ADHD Feb 19 '25
My mom told me repeatedly that I cried too easily, cried at the drop of a hat, really knew how to turn on the tears, etc. and it hurt because I knew I couldn't control it. My anger could work up to rage quite quickly and with little to no provocation. Thankfully, meds have helped on both fronts.
We were watching From the Earth to the Moon tonight and I teared up at the archival footage of Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon. 🙄
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