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Old 09-12-2008, 12:54 PM   #1
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SentenceDoing HB User
Do I have ADHD?

I sometimes wonder if I have ADHD. I never thought about it when I was younger, and neither did my parents because I always did very well in school, and after 4th grade or so, I was usually very quiet and attentive in class. But I do remember that for my first few years of school, I couldn't stop myself from talking during class, playing with things at my desk while the teacher was talking, and things like that. I remember trying to be good in class, but not being able to. I just couldn't sit still and pay attention all the time. High school was the same way. I always had to be drawing on my notebooks and things like that during class because I was too hyper and bored to sit there and just listen (I still managed to get really good grades, though).
Recently, in college and in the work environment, I find that the symptoms are even worse, and I'm just connecting other things I do to possible ADHD. I took an online quiz once that said there was a moderately high chance that I have ADHD.
Some of the behaviors I have are totally zoning out and thinking of other things when someone's talking to me, zoning out when I'm in class and supposed to be learning something. I try so hard to pay attention, but the second it becomes less than interesting, my mind is all over the place. My head usually feels like a TV with all its channels turned on at once. I usually can't concentrate on one task for more than a few minutes. At work, I'm a computer programmer, and when I'm starting a new project, it takes me the longest time to even be able to concentrate on it. Sometimes I just sit there and stare at the computer until my mind stops bouncing around between 5 different topics and I can remember where I left off in my work. I have to take frequent breaks from one task because my mind can't stay on that one task for long enough. I also find myself multitasking like crazy, and then getting really stressed out and forgetting about one of the things I was supposed to be working on.
At the same time, though, I find that once I get into something and get into the groove (usually something artistic), my mind is totally calm, and I just enjoy what I'm doing and my mind is silent, and I don't feel the need to be doing something else every second. Once in a while I do feel that way when doing something I enjoy, though, which is why it takes me a month to crochet a scarf instead of a few days because I can only work on it for a half hour at a time with my brain yelling, "IT'S TIME TO DO SOMETHING ELSE NOW!!"
I also used to forget things ALL THE TIME in middle school and high school. I'd forget my homework at home, I'd forget my trumpet on band day, I'd forget my lunch money... basically anything I had to remember to bring into school, I'd forget it 75% of the time.
And when I'm reading, even if it's something I'm really enjoying, I sometimes find myself daydreaming, and realize I didn't comprehend the whole past page that I'd read.
It seems like PMS heightens these symptoms. I'm currently in the middle of PMS, and the other night at a restaraunt, I was looking at the menu for about 15 minutes, and I just kept jumping around the whole thing but not really seeing anything. I just couldn't decide what to look at, and I would read one sentence of the description of one meal, and then jump onto the next one before I could even comprehend what it was saying. It was frustrating because it took me forever to pick out something to eat.

And does anyone know if ADHD has any links with feeling manic? As I said about my ADHD symptoms getting more intense with PMS, I seem to get manic when I have PMS. Everything makes me cry- sad things, happy things... my mind becomes this incredibly intense place where colors are more colorful, and stories are more vivid, and I can't stand the idea of not being able to do something creative at every moment.

Any input is appreciated!

Last edited by SentenceDoing; 09-12-2008 at 01:00 PM.

 
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Old 09-30-2008, 05:27 AM   #2
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Re: Do I have ADHD?

SentenceDoing,

Sorry I'm just now getting around to responding to your post -- uh, I have ADD myself and I space out and forget to get back to things, and so on.

Yes, it sounds like it might be worthwhile for you to be officially tested for ADD. What you describe sounds like classic space cadet variety -- more officially known as inattentive ADD.

Once you are diagnosed, you might find meds to be helpful in enabling you to focus for longer periods of time. But whether you use meds or not, finding an ADD coach to help you learn to manage your time better will be a big help.

As for PMS, my experience (before I went into menopause) was that it made everything worse. I had more difficulty dealing with anything emotional (good or bad), I was more accident prone, I was more forgetful. I think we have to blame that on the progesterone running amok in our bodies every month, not on the ADD.

So, yes, do pursue looking for a psychiatrist or psychologist who specializes in ADD. And, regardless of whether you get an "official" diagnosis or not, welcome to the world of us space cadets!

--Rheanna

 
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