I think I have moderate or adult ADD; What do I do?!
Question: I think I have moderate or adult ADD; What do I do?
I daydream - I literally make up films in my head. I can't focus on things that I find boring or if I don't get it; I'll look at something on the floor or on the wall and think about them instead. Before I know it, I'll zone back in after realising that I've done it again and the lesson will be over. I will have missed EVERYTHING. I always feel like I'm failed all of the subjects, but then I get Bs and I'm happy, but I feel so upset for ages beforehand.
I think I have some form of ADD. I'm really scared but I can't go to a doctor. Mum doesn't believe me; she thinks I'm putting in on for attention and that it's "just my personality". But it doesn't feel like me; I don't want to have this. I hope I don't. But I think I might.
I've looked up the symptoms (Inattentive ADD is the one I fit), and I've taken various tests online. I know you can't trust what you read online all the time, but I normally get the highest-ish results, even when I downsize my thoughts.
As far as I know, in the family we have a history of Dyslexia and depression - but that wouldn't mean I have ADD, right?
Sorry about the long read. If you've read down this far, you have no idea how grateful I am to have someone listen - I'm pretty frightened of this.
Can anyone give me any advice? The doctor is quite a while away; I'd need to go by car and I'm too young to drive. Mum probably won't take me because she just thinks it's me and anyway I don't understand how to get a doctors appointment.
Answers:
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
If you have ADHD, appropriate medications resolve 90% of the symptoms in most patients, with behavior modification fine tuning the other 10% of the symptoms.
With that said, your inattentiveness, while somewhat distressing to you, is not clinical, as you are capable of learning and performing at an above average level. One who suffers from the condition would typically be quite disorganized, lose their homework, take a very long time to do their homework, may wander in the class, fail to follow directions, and would either be barely scraping by, or failing their courses.
If you want to do something over the counter to fine tune your focus, take some caffeinated drinks with you to school (coffee, red bull). Most of the medications for ADHD are stimulants.
I'm thinking that you either have ADD, Maladaptive Daydreaming, or both. Maladaptive Daydreaming is just starting to be studied. It's a condition that causes excessive daydreaming that interferes in some way with your life. Here is one of the few sites about this:
http://www.daydreamingdisorder.webs.com/
Trust me buddy, you don't have Adhd. You suffer from medical student syndrome(search in Wikipedia).
Been there, done that!
People who have most of the symptoms of ADD but have that extra thing about daydreaming are actually not ADD; they're maladaptive daydreamers. Please feel free to research it on the internet. There really isn't all that much about it yet, because it's a fearly new study. But there's a group you can join on yahoo for maladaptive daydreamers if you would like to join and just see if it applies to you. You can always quite if you don't like it. I happen to be one of them, by the way. I don't actually have the ADD symptoms, but I read about people on this group who do. So check it out.
Listen, ADD and AADD were created by the pharmaceutical companies to boost their sales of Ritalin and other drugs. Why not INVENT an illness that makes children that are exceptionally bright, impatient, imaginative and sugared up appear to be psychologically abnormal to their overprotective helicopter parents? While we're at it, let's make an adult version (AADD) so that we can double our sales revenue from hypochondriatic adults. Educators in America realized this was a fantastic opportunity to use Ritalin and psychologists to DUMB DOWN the really bright kids in schools so that they would not have to raise the bar. Don't fall for the pharmaceutical marketing traps out there.
You don't have ADD or AADD -- you're bright, imaginative, and oh so very bored because you do not have a passion. Figure out what you LOVE to do and go for it as far as you can reach.
Reach for a star -- at the very least, you get a good stretch and a great view.
Ironman -- Grab impossible by the throat, look it in the eye and say, "Do you feel lucky, Punk?"
Hey, wait a minute--you're a teenager! Go buy Ritalin because you're a teenager! All teenagers exhibit pharmaceutically approved symptoms of ADD-ADHD-AADD, or ASAP-PDQ-RSVP-TTYL. LOL--JK!.
Just wanted to let you in on a synopsis of my experience. I was a straight A student. I did GREAT in school, but didn't pay much attention and did everything at the last minute....I was just SMART. I didn't believe in ADD, etc. I am a nerd- can read for hours or concentrate on "interesting" things (which oddly enough turns out to be learning stuff about random subjects) Then when I turned 32, had my first child, and was 10 years into my career, the changes in my life overwhelmed me. I shut down completely. Almost lost my friends, my job, my financial stability, and my sanity. FINALLY was diagnosed and got my life together just in time. It's not an excuse. It's real and it's scary and it's misunderstood. Be cautious. Good luck.