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(c) Copyright 2009
Poarch G. Sledd LPC
Poarch G. Sledd LPC
Tanglewood Counseling & Psychology
4220 Cypress Park Dr, Suite B
Roanoke, Virginia 24018
540-772-1872
poarchsledd@gmail.com
4220 Cypress Park Dr, Suite B
Roanoke, Virginia 24018
540-772-1872
poarchsledd@gmail.com
. . . I have struggled my whole life with a host of problems. As a
young child, I was diagnosed with ADD and prescribed Ritalin.
No one knew much about ADD back then, and Ritalin was a new
drug. Being uneducated and naive, I never took the medication
because I felt like it made having a disorder "REAL" if I gave in
and took the drug for treatment. So I never did.
As I grew older and had freedoms as an adult in college, I lived
a life of risks. It almost seemed if my acts were fulfilling a desire
in my mind, but my heart was constantly saying, "Why are you
acting like this?" Even though I was still acting in a way that did
not "fit" who I was, I was always aware that my thoughts and
actions weren't really me.
I began to experience bursts of anger that I couldn't
comprehend. I seemed to always have this inner burning anger
that was waiting for a chance to be "unleashed." I can recall,
shortly after my marriage, asking my father why I had all of this
pinned up anger and where it had come from. He replied that he
didn't know why. This only frustrated me more, knowing I
couldn't figure out a life long problem I had.
I began to drink more as a way of soothing my nerves and
emotions, and it was a vicious cycle. My marriage began to have
problems, and I found myself putting a band aid on
unacceptable behaviors by saying I was "sorry." After a while,
even I was not happy with who I was, but I didn't feel it could
be fixed.
After many years of dealing with this problem, a year ago, I
had decided to stop drinking. This was the best thing that ever
happened to me. My wife had been in counseling with you for
many years, and you had encouraged me on several occasions
to come in and join her in a session. I always declined, saying
that she was pressuring me and I didn't appreciate it. The truth
is that I saw counseling as a sign of weakness (Like Ritalin) and
never gave into it. When I first met with you, I had negative
thoughts and felt weak having to face my problems and expose
myself to change. The initial meeting was tough for me, but it
opened me up to coming in with my wife. I had seen other
counselor's in the past but none had been effective for me, so I
decided to come back to you. Even though I wouldn't admit it,
at the time, you were the only one that made sense of my
situation . . .
It was a meeting, back in November, that I had been in with
you and my wife when I had a life changing experience. You
looked at me with this look of intensity and said, "David, do you
know what ADD is?" At that moment, I knew that you had just
delivered my biggest problem, and even though I didn't know
anything about it, I could tell that was the problem because of
the way my body reacted to your words. All the hair stood up
and it sent shivers down my body. I knew that it was a sign that
this was my problem.
I researched symptoms of ADD and quickly realized, beyond a
shadow of a doubt, that I was suffering from this disorder. Your
instruction for me to take a 500 question test that would help
evaluate me for a host of different things got me excited. I knew
that you had uncovered my biggest problem.
You had instructed me to seek a professional that was
experienced in ADD to help me. I called my primary care
physician to seek help. It turned out that he happened to be
ADD himself. He educated me on the disorder and spoke to me
at length about treatments and their effectiveness. He
recommended Adderal as a treatment to test me on.
From the first day of treatment I saw immediate results. It was
as if a "switch" was turned on, and I was able to function with
focus; my mind didn't wander like it had. My relationship
changed immediately, and I had more patience with my wife and
kids. It is kind of hard to put into words all that the treatment
(Adderal and counseling) has really done for me. It is an
overwhelming emotion of gratitude and sense of being reborn.
As a result of being treated, I have had no fights with my wife,
a more loving relationship with my kids and am starting a career
that I have always dreamed about doing but never got off the
ground. I see the world differently and am so excited to be
living it with control.
Sincerely, D.B.
young child, I was diagnosed with ADD and prescribed Ritalin.
No one knew much about ADD back then, and Ritalin was a new
drug. Being uneducated and naive, I never took the medication
because I felt like it made having a disorder "REAL" if I gave in
and took the drug for treatment. So I never did.
As I grew older and had freedoms as an adult in college, I lived
a life of risks. It almost seemed if my acts were fulfilling a desire
in my mind, but my heart was constantly saying, "Why are you
acting like this?" Even though I was still acting in a way that did
not "fit" who I was, I was always aware that my thoughts and
actions weren't really me.
I began to experience bursts of anger that I couldn't
comprehend. I seemed to always have this inner burning anger
that was waiting for a chance to be "unleashed." I can recall,
shortly after my marriage, asking my father why I had all of this
pinned up anger and where it had come from. He replied that he
didn't know why. This only frustrated me more, knowing I
couldn't figure out a life long problem I had.
I began to drink more as a way of soothing my nerves and
emotions, and it was a vicious cycle. My marriage began to have
problems, and I found myself putting a band aid on
unacceptable behaviors by saying I was "sorry." After a while,
even I was not happy with who I was, but I didn't feel it could
be fixed.
After many years of dealing with this problem, a year ago, I
had decided to stop drinking. This was the best thing that ever
happened to me. My wife had been in counseling with you for
many years, and you had encouraged me on several occasions
to come in and join her in a session. I always declined, saying
that she was pressuring me and I didn't appreciate it. The truth
is that I saw counseling as a sign of weakness (Like Ritalin) and
never gave into it. When I first met with you, I had negative
thoughts and felt weak having to face my problems and expose
myself to change. The initial meeting was tough for me, but it
opened me up to coming in with my wife. I had seen other
counselor's in the past but none had been effective for me, so I
decided to come back to you. Even though I wouldn't admit it,
at the time, you were the only one that made sense of my
situation . . .
It was a meeting, back in November, that I had been in with
you and my wife when I had a life changing experience. You
looked at me with this look of intensity and said, "David, do you
know what ADD is?" At that moment, I knew that you had just
delivered my biggest problem, and even though I didn't know
anything about it, I could tell that was the problem because of
the way my body reacted to your words. All the hair stood up
and it sent shivers down my body. I knew that it was a sign that
this was my problem.
I researched symptoms of ADD and quickly realized, beyond a
shadow of a doubt, that I was suffering from this disorder. Your
instruction for me to take a 500 question test that would help
evaluate me for a host of different things got me excited. I knew
that you had uncovered my biggest problem.
You had instructed me to seek a professional that was
experienced in ADD to help me. I called my primary care
physician to seek help. It turned out that he happened to be
ADD himself. He educated me on the disorder and spoke to me
at length about treatments and their effectiveness. He
recommended Adderal as a treatment to test me on.
From the first day of treatment I saw immediate results. It was
as if a "switch" was turned on, and I was able to function with
focus; my mind didn't wander like it had. My relationship
changed immediately, and I had more patience with my wife and
kids. It is kind of hard to put into words all that the treatment
(Adderal and counseling) has really done for me. It is an
overwhelming emotion of gratitude and sense of being reborn.
As a result of being treated, I have had no fights with my wife,
a more loving relationship with my kids and am starting a career
that I have always dreamed about doing but never got off the
ground. I see the world differently and am so excited to be
living it with control.
Sincerely, D.B.
D's Story
