u/MasterSplit1353

I've been in the mental health system since I was 22, depression, anxiety, a brief detour into a bipolar II diagnosis I was on medication for for two years before a different psychiatrist said she wasn't sure the original diagnosis was right

what nobody in ten years suggested was ADHD, not one person, not a doctor, not a psychiatrist, not a therapist, and I'm a woman in my early thirties who functions and holds down a job and is verbal and self aware so I suppose I didn't look like whatever they were looking for

I got an ADHD evaluation last year after someone in this community described their experience in a way that sounded exactly like mine, it came back positive, and the psychologist explained something I hadn't understood: a significant part of what I'd been treating as depression was likely the result of ADHD related chronic underperformance, the ongoing gap between what I was capable of and what I was actually producing because my brain couldn't bridge it the way I expected it to, and the low mood was downstream, not primary

I'm not saying my depression wasn't real, I'm saying it had a cause that nobody looked for

I hike with my dog 3 times a week in a heavily wooded area. Every single hike she comes home with at least one or two ticks. Sometimes more. She's on vet prescribed monthly prevention but I'm still pulling ticks off her constantly even though the prevention should be killing them.

The vet says the ticks are dying from the prevention and falling off but the ones I'm finding are still embedded and alive. I feel like the monthly treatment isn't enough for our level of exposure.

What are you all doing in addition to the standard vet treatment to keep ticks off dogs that spend a lot of time in the woods?

I found a lot of options online but I heard if they are not authorized then it is not really worth it so I'm looking for in-person classes, any good place around Stockton or should I look in other cities near by?

Thank you all in advance