I’m a “smart” kid who got through most of middle~high without that much effort. Though, high school was a little more difficult because of the higher level courses that I took but never put in much effort with. I’m still as unorganized and spacey as I was back then, but now it doesn’t seem to cut it, and I have bigger goals such as transferring into a better college, moving out, getting a job, car, etc. I’m still a freshman and wrapping the year up, but everything was so hectic for me the first year, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to achieve my goals, especially knowing how I am. Does anyone have any advice, and should ADHD pose that much difficulty to impeding my growth as a young adult? I kept getting the sinking feeling that I was getting worse with age, but now that I have a clear idea of what’s going on, I don’t feel so cluttered. Should I still get that “dealt” with? What are some healthy habits I should pick up into becoming a better person/adult/student?
Certainly start by going to your doctor and describing your condition to him/her. You won’t be able to get the help you need online.
My son suffers with many of these same issues and is doing fine despite taking no medications. But it takes some discipline.
Healthy habit number one: regular, good, sleeping habits. EVERYTHING is harder when you’re tired. My son got two roommates who want to stay up all night and it hasn’t been a good situation. This is the luck of the draw as a lot of kids think they will be one way and then when they get to school on their own they gravitate toward another way. If my son can get a single next year, we’re going to get it for him.
Can someone help you with a daily “To Do” list? I mean, you can put everything into your calendar, but do you actually remember to do it? The biggest problem seems to be falling behind on the to do list and then catching up becomes extremely overwhelming. So do not fall behind on the daily tasks. Just set good habits and map out what needs to be done by when, and then make sure to do those things on their assigned day.
Do not sign up for too much. It’s a lot easier to fill up extra time with fun stuff than it is to find time in a cramped schedule to get things done that are due. So build in your extra time from the beginning.
Do not have too many things. Having more things means having more to keep track of and to keep in order. Learn to enjoy minimalism.
Go to class, every class. Even if you didn’t complete the reading, you’ll learn something in class, probably enough to pass. Make sure you aren’t tired or hungry. Take notes.
Make use of the counseling center and the tutoring centers. Their whole purpose is to help you. Get help rather than experience so much struggle.
And yes, get medical help, and have it documented so that you can fully utilize the services that your college etc. offers. They will often make accommodations based on your documentations.
Thank you so much for such an earnest and experienced response! My family can’t really afford another psychiatric reeval right now, so I’ll probably just tell my mom to dig up old mental health reports. I don’t really know if they’ll still have it or anything, but other than that, I kind of just need to tough it out until we do have the money or until I move out. I’m pretty ok with my cognitive functions, I guess. I’ve never needed “special accommodations” or anything too drastic like that, I just have really bad commitment issues, am extremely unorganized, and I doodle and space out too much during class/work. It’s like the work and test scores I come up with is satisfactory, but behind the scenes is really hectic. It just gets harder as the classes get harder and more concentrated and more responsibilities get piled on. My friend takes meds just to concentrate in class or work, so I’ll probably consider them. However, if I can’t afford it then I’ll have to discipline myself to do better, but I really don’t know where to even begin…