From: Comparison of the burden of illness for adults with ADHD across seven countries: a qualitative study
Problems with Friends/Meeting New People | |
---|---|
Approximately 47 participants reporting (44%) with 42 of these (89%) noting difficulties with friendship and meeting new people | |
Canada | My friends say I can’t listen, or they say I can never listen to what they’re saying and I’m always talking about myself and nobody else. […] I do care about my friends, but I think a lot of the time they are right. It’s just so hard to listen to what other people have to say. |
France | I am, by nature, very interested in things so whatever the job or the subject it interests me. I am quite an open person so it is not hard to get to know somebody, just afterwards it gets a bit more difficult as I am not ‘normal’ like other people; a bit strange, a bit bizarre. Therefore people think again. |
Germany | So inattentiveness is important when you communicate with others, when you go out with friends. […] So it is important in communication, in your behavior with others, whether you are able to listen or whether you can communicate in a conversation. |
Italy | Other things I feel very much: lack of awareness. Going back to my past, thinking about what I did, lack of awareness is a very bad thing. My life passed before my eyes as a film. I couldn’t get into it. It’s a matter of lack of awareness and I still have it now. |
The Netherlands | No, I have a lot of acquaintances, but real friends, there aren’t many of those. |
United Kingdom | People just don’t really understand me. […] On the positive side, they really like it when I’m feeling a bit up. I’ve got a lot of energy and […] they think I’m really great, […] and other times they just can’t believe just how depressed I am. It’s like, oh my god, stay away from her sort of thing, so it’s very difficult. I think people find that inconsistency difficult to deal with. |
United States | It really bothers me that I won’t remember names. |