Focus: An Adult ADHD Documentary
UPDATE - 05/08/2019
Great news! We have officially submitted our pitch for the Storyhive 2019 Documentary series! It took a lot of hard work from the team, but we pulled it off from start to finish in 16 days!
During this time we have refined our idea and found a ton of great interview subjects, and I can't wait to share more with you as the project goes live!
Voting will begin May 28th, and I'll be counting on your support!
You can check out the documentary on social media at:
www.facebook.com/focusthedoc
www.twitter.com/focusthedoc
The Story:
I have spoken very lightly about something I have been dubbing "Project: ADHD" and I am finally ready to talk a bit more about it.
As you already probably know, I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, which has been a massive eye opener and overall explanation for my entire life's struggles and failures.
Prior to my recent total mental breakdown, suicide attempt, psychiatrist visit and diagnosis - I spent the past two+ years getting treated for depression, when in fact my bouts of depression, anxiety, panic attacks and ocd tenancies were directly related to my un-treated ADHD running rampant across my entire life.
The things that had followed me my entire life causing me to believe I was lazy, a failure, irresponsible, unmotivated, immature, unreliable, unfocused, impulsive, over-sensitive - were all just the perception of others and myself, not knowing that my actions were being driven by faulty neuro-transmitters. Not having the knowledge, toolset and skills to identify the behaviors that have largely dictated my entire existence.
I am now on medication and working alongside doctors/therapists in order to better manage my illness and start developing a pocketful of methods to assist in moving forward. I still wonder how different my life could have been, had I been identified and diagnosed as a child. Would I have had better success in school? Would I have a more successful career now? Would I have more friends? Would I have less failures?
So after some serious self reflection, a new-found sense of hope and desperate search for knowledge I found myself realizing something: There are so many more people like me out there.
After HOURS and DAYS of navigating every corner of the internet, I have learned a few things:
1) ADHD is one of the most researched forms of mental illness, yet
2) ADHD is one of the most overlooked and missed forms of mental illness
3) ADHD is one of the most mis-understood forms of mental illness
4) ADHD left un-treated consistently ruins lives and adopts co-morbid depression, anxiety, ocd and other disorders
Prior to my recent total mental breakdown, suicide attempt, psychiatrist visit and diagnosis - I spent the past two+ years getting treated for depression, when in fact my bouts of depression, anxiety, panic attacks and ocd tenancies were directly related to my un-treated ADHD running rampant across my entire life.
The things that had followed me my entire life causing me to believe I was lazy, a failure, irresponsible, unmotivated, immature, unreliable, unfocused, impulsive, over-sensitive - were all just the perception of others and myself, not knowing that my actions were being driven by faulty neuro-transmitters. Not having the knowledge, toolset and skills to identify the behaviors that have largely dictated my entire existence.
I am now on medication and working alongside doctors/therapists in order to better manage my illness and start developing a pocketful of methods to assist in moving forward. I still wonder how different my life could have been, had I been identified and diagnosed as a child. Would I have had better success in school? Would I have a more successful career now? Would I have more friends? Would I have less failures?
So after some serious self reflection, a new-found sense of hope and desperate search for knowledge I found myself realizing something: There are so many more people like me out there.
After HOURS and DAYS of navigating every corner of the internet, I have learned a few things:
1) ADHD is one of the most researched forms of mental illness, yet
2) ADHD is one of the most overlooked and missed forms of mental illness
3) ADHD is one of the most mis-understood forms of mental illness
4) ADHD left un-treated consistently ruins lives and adopts co-morbid depression, anxiety, ocd and other disorders
5) ADHD is a terribly inaccurately named condition that fosters tons of misconceptions and stigma
6) ADHD research, articles, funding and awareness is mostly targeted at children, leaving
7) ADHD adults who are struggling for answers, help, a sense of identity and understanding, due to a lack of
8) ADHD resources for adults, access to therapists, lack of healthcare for mental illness and overall awareness
(Here's the point!)
I decided that I want to do something. Something bigger than myself, something important and something I feel is very much needed. I feel like I have to find something to be excited about, something to be passionate about - and with the help of a good friend I found it.
Introducing - Project:ADHD
Together with my good friend and fellow ADHD brain Sariah, an award winning documentary filmmaker - we are going to make a documentary on ADHD.
6) ADHD research, articles, funding and awareness is mostly targeted at children, leaving
7) ADHD adults who are struggling for answers, help, a sense of identity and understanding, due to a lack of
8) ADHD resources for adults, access to therapists, lack of healthcare for mental illness and overall awareness
(Here's the point!)
I decided that I want to do something. Something bigger than myself, something important and something I feel is very much needed. I feel like I have to find something to be excited about, something to be passionate about - and with the help of a good friend I found it.
Introducing - Project:ADHD
Together with my good friend and fellow ADHD brain Sariah, an award winning documentary filmmaker - we are going to make a documentary on ADHD.
The Vision:
While the pre-production is still in it's early stages and we are not yet ready to share specifics, the overall mission is this:
I want someone like me who was diagnosed as an adult to watch and feel understood, learn something and have hope. I want someone like the old me who was struggling in life but didn’t understand why to see it and have that "holy shit" moment and ask for help. I want adults who were diagnosed as kids to watch it and be able to relate and realize how widespread their condition really is. I want everyone with ADHD to watch it and realize they aren't alone, their struggles are real and feelings are vaild. I want the husbands, wives, friends and family of someone with ADHD to truly understand how much work it takes to do what they think should be easy, and better connect with their loved ones. I want to give voices to real people in all walks of life. I want to help fight the stigma and contribute to fostering a less judgmental society and leave everyone with a sense of hope for the future.
I want someone like me who was diagnosed as an adult to watch and feel understood, learn something and have hope. I want someone like the old me who was struggling in life but didn’t understand why to see it and have that "holy shit" moment and ask for help. I want adults who were diagnosed as kids to watch it and be able to relate and realize how widespread their condition really is. I want everyone with ADHD to watch it and realize they aren't alone, their struggles are real and feelings are vaild. I want the husbands, wives, friends and family of someone with ADHD to truly understand how much work it takes to do what they think should be easy, and better connect with their loved ones. I want to give voices to real people in all walks of life. I want to help fight the stigma and contribute to fostering a less judgmental society and leave everyone with a sense of hope for the future.
Using real medical science, stories from real people, facts, data and ADHD pro's, we hope to achieve these goals and create a film that is both inspiring and engaging. We also hope to tailor the content in a way that even the most scattered ADHD brain can watch all the way through!
Get Involved:
Are you a person with ADHD who wants to be a part of our documentary? Do you have a story to tell, a quote to share or advice you'd like to share?Are you a content creator (artist, musician, video creator, writer) who wants to lend their talent to the project? Whether it be including artwork, poetry, music, quotes, stories etc we would love to check out your work and see how it could potentially fit into our documentary!
Are you an ADHD pro (Therapist , psychologist, psychiatrist, scientist or coach) that would like to help us by providing some insight, tips, knowledge and wisdom?
We are and will be looking for contributors in various areas as the project matures! Please reach out via Twitter @shaunac_yeg or in the comments below!
Want to help bring our vision to life?
As the project develops, we will be seeking funding from various grants - however in the event that we are not approved or don't meet eligibility requirements, we will likely turn to crowd-funding our project.We aren't at the stage yet that we can present potential sponsors/donors with enough information to warrant their contribution, but when we get there we will keep you posted! Any donations, shares and hype during that time will be VERY much appreciated!
Comments
Post a Comment