What to do about possible ADD/ADHD?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I'm a 19 year old student enrolled in community college and I'm beginning to consider the very real possibility that I have some form of ADD. I've made several lengthy posts on this forum in the past, explaining my personal troubles with school and life; several of you had suggested that I may in fact have attention deficit disorder and at the time I didn't think much of it, but I've began to notice that not many people behave quite like I do and if it's the culprit of my poor performance in school, I would certainly like to address it. </p>

<p>I know very little about the disorder and it's various forms, I always kind of assumed it belonged to that loud, distracting kid in class but that may very well be me, cloaked by my anxiety. </p>

<p>I haven't done much research into it yet but here are some things I've identified that sets my behavior apart from that of most other people:</p>

<p>My attention is drawn very easily. If someone enters a room during a lecture, or if someone gets out of their seat in the movie theater I always have the instinct to look. This happens with noises as well. I've never been able to fall asleep in a public place because there are just too many things going on around me and I cannot drown out my focus like other people are able to do so easily. </p>

<p>When I'm given a set of verbal instructions, be at it at work or at school, it takes me a long time to process them and I often forget them. When my manager gives me a lengthy list of tasks I really have to tune my brain prior otherwise I cannot remember. Sometimes I will still lose track even when I'm trying to focus on a conversation. If someone says something that I don't quite understand I get stuck right there and the rest of their words become meaningless. I hope I'm not contradicting myself here but my awareness, external and internal is very sharp; I actually think I am a little too self-aware and I attribute that to my anxiety which was once severe but has gotten better.</p>

<p>I have brief panic attacks almost once a day because I forget where I placed my phone or wallet. I always begin by checking my pockets but if I placed it somewhere else and I don't realize it I will immediately freak out. It seems like this has been getting worse as well. A few weeks ago I spent 30 minutes driving at night with a flashlight shined on the side of the road because I thought I had placed it on the roof of my car and drove off. It was actually in my gym bag, sitting beside me in the passenger's seat. I'm sure this happens to everyone but I've had A LOT of incidents similar to that one.</p>

<p>I also have anxiety which throughout high school could be labeled as quite severe but it continues to slowly improve as I grow as a person. </p>

<p>But perhaps the thing that plagues me the most is my non existent ability to concentrate. I'll attribute most of academic failures to this, among other things. I would consider myself a smart person but I feel as if I could be light years ahead of where I am now in terms of intellect and productivity if I was able to overcome this barrier. I've had an incredible amount of free time this semester and yet I've struggled to maintain good grades in the two classes I am taking. At first I thought this was simply procrastination but it feels different. I put off doing the things that interest me the most. For example, I have a huge interest in theoretical physics and cosmology. I've spent hundreds of dollars on books and I desperately want to read them but I cannot bring myself to do it most of the time. I am intrigued by every other word in those books and I want to gain that knowledge so badly but only under the rarest of circumstances can I sustain a reading session for more than a few minutes; I know this, and because of it, I refrain from the activity. Similarly with my homework. The idea of calculus and its implications blow my mind, I am fascinated by math theory and I want to learn the material but I can't bring myself to do it. If I had to describe the feeling it just seems like my mind craves a different kind of stimulus; stuff like reading and pen & paper math doesn't satisfy it. When I attempt to do homework in my room I always find myself jumping onto the Xbox, I don't even enjoy playing it most of the time but I just need that stimulus. I spend A LOT of time on Youtube; at least a few hours collectively each day. There's just something about animation that satisfies my brain so much better than still text. I must have 40 or 50 tabs on one Firefox window, all of are either educational, scientific, or just plain interesting. But no matter how much interested I am by these topics I cannot spend more than a few minutes reading before I have to find another activity. I don't close the tabs either, because I find the information valuable; but what's the point if I never come back to it?</p>

<p>I am a very tolerant, relaxed, level-headed guy with good deductive reasoning and logical abilities, it's one of the reasons I've done ok in school. Its quite seldom that I get angry. </p>

<p>As I type these things alongside a list of ADD symptoms it has become quite apparent to me that I have some sort of attention disorder. My parents have always seen me as a very reserved, intelligent person, who can just be very lazy. That could be the case but I am not entirely convinced. There have been weeks where I eliminate all distractions (computer, video games, etc...) and I still fail to do the things I originally set out to do. Is there anything I can do to help with this? </p>

<p>If you managed to get this far I applaud your patience. I welcome and appreciate all advice. Thanks, guys!</p>

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<p>Some of the things that you mentioned above are common complaints. Many of us will “look” when someone enters a classroom or stands up in a theater. Many of us can’t remember a long verbal list of “to do’s”.</p>

<p>There are tricks that people do to manage some of these things… I used to sit in the front of my classes in college so that I wouldn’t be distracted by what others were doing behind me. And, god forbid anyone give me a verbal list…write these things down!!! :)</p>

<p>*When I attempt to do homework in my room I always find myself jumping onto the Xbox, *</p>

<p>Don’t study in your room…study in a boring library or study room.</p>

<p>What are some things that you can do to minimize the impact of some of things you’ve described?</p>

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<p>My husband definitely has undiagnosed ADHD, one of my kids has it. It is not really such a bad thing–I attribute much of my husband’s success to the fact that he can’t sit still. It can also be highly manageable. You may or may not “have” it, why not get tested? I am sure your school’s advisor or physician can point you in the right direction. It might just take one appointment with a psychiatrist and filling out a bunch of questionnaires.</p>

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<p>Part of the “cure” is realizing you have a problem. It is not “fair” but neither is life. Just be aware of when you are being pulled off track and readjust. For some people meds are necessary.</p>

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<p>Another CC poster recently shared this link with me concerning ADHD:
<a href=“http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-A...x#.UqlSVZt-WVo[/url]”>http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-A...x#.UqlSVZt-WVo&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There are generally two kinds of ADHD described, hyperactive (the one you are thinking of) and inattentive. The other poster added a subtype of impulsive, which may or may not accompany the other types.</p>

<p>Sometimes a characteristic of ADHD is hyperfocus so it is not always true that a person cannot concentrate, if truly interested in something. But it can be hard to move on to something else.</p>

<p>No two people are the same, nor are any two brains. So ADHD may vary from person to person in many ways.</p>

<p>I think it’s great that you are open to what people on this forum suggested. Chances are, if you are feeling it is a possibility, it is. Try to see a therapist or MD who knows about ADHD and see what testing or help you might get. There is not definitive test and often a questionnaire is used (you can find on online).</p>

<p>I agree with some that this diagnosis does not have to mean disaster but you do need to learn some ways to cope and progress with whatever it is you want to do in life. And medications can help, though in my personal opinion depending entirely on them is not a good idea.</p>

<p>Good for you for being so self-aware and good luck in following up with this.</p>

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<p>You may very well have ADD, but I think you are also overestimating other people’s capabilities as well. I didn’t find anything unusual about many of the things you mentioned–most people find it distracting when someone enters a room, I don’t know many people that can just go to sleep in a public place, and I think any parent knows that it’s wise to make a list if you want someone to do multiple tasks because they’ll say they “didn’t hear” what you asked. Misplacing your keys and/or wallet, very common, especially I think for younger people who don’t yet have established habits as to how to handle, where to put them. Thinking about all the situations you find yourself in and designating one place for where to put your keys in each situation might be helpful. Eg., at the gym it goes in this pocket in the gym bag, when out it goes in pants pockets, when at home it goes on this desk in this tray. The details don’t matter but if you can establish consistency that might help. Remind yourself what a huge pain it is to lose something and make the extra little effort to avoid doing so. </p>

<p>Do get yourself evaluated, but also think about how you can improve the situation by changing your habits. I agree with mom, if the xbox is distracting, then study elsewhere. Or unplug the xbox and put it somewhere else when you are working. 50 tabs open? You know you aren’t going to read 50 web pages. Close 49 of them and decide to spend 5 minutes looking at the most interesting one.</p>

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<p>Indeed. I had a HS teacher and know of some college Profs I read about who felt this was such an issue they took a hard line with late students by locking the door at or 15 minutes after start of class. </p>

<p>My HS teacher also made it a point to mark the student absent for the period. Only exception to this strict policy by her was when there was an announced delay by the public transit authorities in the news and to schools. </p>

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<p>This was one reason why most parents in my old NYC neighborhood and some college parents during my undergrad years barred their kids from having or bringing gaming consoles to their college dorms along with the fact they were much more expensive back then when considering inflation. </p>

<p>As far as the parents were concerned, academics and immersing yourself in college life is the main job of their college student…not isolated sitting alone or with a fellow group of videogamers to play for hours in a dormroom. </p>

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<p>This is probably a mix of possible ADD and a generational difference. </p>

<p>I’ve noticed younger colleagues and friends having 10+ tabs open at the same time whereas I tend to limit myself to less than 8…and that’s mainly because some of the work I do involves testing websites at times to ensure their proper functionality. </p>

<p>At home or personally, I’d limit it to 5 or less. Granted, a part of it is because I came of age when computers had so little memory that having more than one web browser window/tab would have really slowed one’s computer/connection speed to a crawl.</p>

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<p>My middle son was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD this fall. He is currently in 9th grade. We ignored the symptoms for a long time hoping it would just get better on it’s own. It’s not that difficult to get the testing done. If you have ADD/ADHD they can try medication. For my son it made a huge difference. However the doctor did say that meds don’t work for everyone. I would recommend that you have some testing done and see what they come up with.</p>

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<p>While ADD can sometimes become more obvious as an adult, even when it wasn’t apparent as a child, I would agree that OPs examples are things that would distract all but the most hyperfocused.</p>

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<p>My son was dx w/ADHD inattentive at about 22. Nobody on the internet can diagnose you; talk to the counselor or health service at your CC, if that isn’t an option, make an appointment with your own doctor to discuss your concerns and get a referral. You need to find a psychologist or mental health clinic who has experience with adults. </p>

<p>testing is usually a 2-session bunch of evaluations, and then it takes some time for the results to be written up, and then there’s an appointment to discuss results and what to do next. medications have side effects and take time to work, and some just don’t. It will take time to sort itself out. ADHD is very hard to treat…are you prepared to work at this? </p>

<p>There will always people ready to tell you that you just need to try harder, or buckle down, or that you just aren’t mature enough. That could be true. But you might have a neurological/chemical problem and no amount of trying hard can fix that. it’s useful to know for sure. My advice as you explore the chadd website is to not just unplug the xbox… sell it. Unplug your tv, too. And get more exercise, get outside, and get enough sleep. And get evaluated-- your willingness to do so is a very positive quality! best of luck</p>

<p>Oh – there are beepers to put on your keyring, and the other goes in your coat. helps find most everything!</p>

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<p>Another suggestion–if someone is rattling off a list of things for you to do, just say, wait a moment, let me write this down. Nothing wrong with that, and they may appreciate seeing that you are taking responsibility for making sure you do it all, rather than leaving some undone or expecting them to remind you.</p>

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<p>Compmom,
The link you posted didn’t work, so I will repost what I sent to you previously from CHADD. [Symptoms</a> and Causes](<a href=“http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-ADHD/Adults-with-ADHD/Symptoms-and-Causes.aspx#.UqzhrJt-WVo\]Symptoms”>http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-ADHD/Adults-with-ADHD/Symptoms-and-Causes.aspx#.UqzhrJt-WVo\)</p>

<p>The Diagnostic and Statistical manual (which has recently changed ) has listed the ADHD subtypes as :

  1. Primarily Inattentive, 2)Primarily Overactive, 3) Primarily Impulsive or 4) Combined type. There is also discussion of a “sluggish tempo” subtype. However, there can be coexisting conditions (anxiety, depression, sleep problems, etc) that can affect the symptom presentation. The best thing to do is see a professional and get an appropriate diagnosis. Please do not try to diagnose yourself.</p>