Adult ADHD YieldToOncomingTraffic: I know this may cause some controversy as some people believe it is a disorder and others do not. I met with a new therapist recently and she was the second licensed professional to tell me that I have adult ADHD (I was never diagnosed as a child). So I finished this take-home exam asking me questions about turrets, irritability, feeling like the motor is always running, heart palpitations, easily distracted, tendency to overuse something then get bored with it and it all fits me to a tee.
Are there others here that were diagnosed as adults with having ADD/ADHD? If so, how are you controlling your worst symptoms? Do you have trouble in relationships, do you tell partners about it or has anyone made fun of you for using the "ADHD crutch"?
I'm having trouble actually swallowing this pill to admit the fact I might have a flaw aside from being a mean cuss. I'm not looking for a scapegoat but if it is something that I can use to conquer the boredom in life then I am willing to listen.
Re: Adult ADHD jillieb44: I have quite a few of the traits according to my therapist but just short of enough to qualify as having adult ADHD.
I always attributed my distractedness and inability to pay attention on the fact that I'm a visual person, not aural (as in I don't remember what people tell me unless I also have a visual), and the fact that I'm an introvert and can't focus unless I'm alone.
I think it's real, but I also think that the majority of kids diagnosed are just very intelligent and bored to death by forced institutionalism.
Face it, school sucks. BORING as H*LL.
Jillie
Re: Adult ADHD pluscachange: I find that the quickest cure for ADHD, adult or child, is to turn off the television and leave it off, then limit your internet activity to 1-2 hours a day. After a week or so you'll find your attention span stretching out as your normal pattern readjusts. Also picking up a hobby that requires incrementally increasing amounts of concentration helps, as does reading a good novel every week or month.
It's amazing what not having 1 digestable scene thrown at you every 6 seconds does to increase one's attention span.
Me, I don't buy into ADHD at all, except in very very rare cases where there truly is a severe chemical imbalance. I'm suiting up in my flame retardant suit, but I think the majority of ADHD is the result of kids being set in front of a television and left to themselves and then not receiving discipline when they are bad (effective discipline). It's also (I think) the tendency of modern parents to conclude that because little Johnny is hopping around looking for attention that he is ADHD, instead of a lonely kid that wants his parents to pay attention to him instead of treating him like an inconvenience.
Just my opinion, I know everybody will disagree and that I shall be flamed. Just a word up ahead of time, it won't change my mind though, I'm an active leader in Boy Scouts and have seen way too many supposedly AHDH kids snap out of it immediately when the television is taken away and they are given direction and leadership from an adult. Like magic. :)
Re: Adult ADHD jillieb44: I never did watch much TV and still don't.
I read on the internet, so it's not a visual barrage.
So...?
I personally think the majority of ADHD diagnoses stems from truly intelligent kids forced to sit in a creatively stifling classroom that is oh so dull. Who the hell wouldn't act out?
School is stupid.
Jillie, who can say that because I have a doctorate and I absolutely HATED SCHOOL AND COLLEGE!!
Re: Adult ADHD pluscachange: [quote author=JB45 link=topic=27072.msg263007#msg263007 date=1143556627">
I never did watch much TV and still don't.
I read on the internet, so it's not a visual barrage.
So...?
I personally think the majority of ADHD diagnoses stems from truly intelligent kids forced to sit in a creatively stifling classroom that is oh so dull. Who the hell wouldn't act out?
School is stupid.
Jillie, who can say that because I have a doctorate and I absolutely HATED SCHOOL AND COLLEGE!!
[/quote">
That would work too actually. Boredom and conformity does cause acting out. It's not a disease though in most cases (the modern tendency to label anything and everything a disease bothers me a bit).
Public schools cater to the lowest common denominator most of the time, only occasionally rising to the median of the class. I too found school boring, both at high school and college level.
