Struggling with feelings of inadequacy and lack of accomplishment

Are we too hard on ourselves? I have a feeling as ADHD’ers we tend to be our own worst critics a lot of the time. Did you have a period of remorse after being self or professionally diagnosed, where you felt bad about all the time you lost? Where you could have been productive and working towards something in your life, but instead you had years, decades even, of distractions, impulsivity and scattered thinking?

These thoughts have crossed my mind more than a few times since I discovered this year that I most likely have inattentive type ADHD. I guess feeling some sadness around what could have been is natural and perhaps even a grieving process needs to take place to come to terms with these realizations.

I recently watched a video that said that having undiagnosed ADHD equates to losing thirteen years of your life in which you could have been productive. That statement made me really depressed. Thirteen years? Maybe part of me doesn’t want to believe that is true or maybe its that life is not so cut and dry. Does anyone else feel what I am saying, and have any insights they would like to share?