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ADHD or just bad habits?
(lemm.ee)
Hi everyone,
I’ve been told by others with ADHD that they think I have it. But I sometimes wonder if it’s not just bad habits / low willpower / low discipline / the internet and it’s short and fast instant gratification.
I have been to a psychiatrist and he said it sounds like I might have ADD/ADHD/something. (I don’t know the exact differences, as I’m new to it.)
Here are some issues (symptoms?) that I struggle with:
- Easily distracted.
- Easily overwhelmed / overstimulated by smells, noise / textures.
- Items in no. 2 make it hard to focus / work
- Mind is almost always running at 100km/hr.
- Been told I’m very random and my thoughts are very much so.
- Feels like a machine of thoughts are going off all the time in my head.
- Hard to relax / shut down.
- Can’t listen to music with any lyrics, gets stuck on repeat in my head for days and wake up at night with the song playing like a recording.
- Always extreme one way or the other, struggle with balance.
- Often jittery, tapping my feet, drumming with my hands on my lap.
- Jaw gets sore from clenching it all the time, even at night.
- Can’t listen to music for longer than 3 songs, and can only be instrumental / ambient.
- White noise is best, but makes me sleepy.
- Can’t listen to the radio or podcasts when walking or driving. Always want silence.
- Get worked up quickly, always an underlying tension in my mind and body.
- Can only spend time in small groups with very close people. Otherwise I want to crawl into a dark hole.
- Our town is too big, not even a city, want to live in the country. All the details and sound and litter and people and visuals drive me up the wall.
- I notice EVERYTHING.
- I can’t sit still for very long.
- I can get lost for hours researching a tooic IF I’m interested in it.
- Procrastination level is “over 9000.”
- Takes a LOT to get me to even START doing something I’m not interested in.
- Crap, I think this list is just going to keep going, so I’m just going to submit it now…
Here is some information on diagnosing ADHD: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html
Please note that nobody here can diagnose you. Please see a medical professional, they'll be able to get you started down the right path.
Thanks a mill! Yes, I didn’t post for diagnosis, just to see if it is something to pursue with a specialist.
If you're like me and freeze on the spot, you could also write your symptoms down before going in.
I was diagnosed super young, but then I had to change doctors after my first one retired. I took medication for about a year as a teenager, but I didn't start medication again until I was in my 20's.
I was anxious that the new doctor wouldn't believe me, but my speech patterns apparently partly gave me away lol. I try SO hard to speak at normal speeds, but I'm not always successful. Anyways, having stuff written down before I went to the doctor helped me a lot. Instead of worrying about if the doctor believed me, I was worried about reading the list properly.
If these things are making life more difficult for you, I would absolutely go. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion if your doctor happens to be someone who "doesn't believe" in ADHD. Starting medication honestly probably saved me from falling through the cracks. I'm better with timing, attendance, social skills, emotional regulation, paying attention, and many other things.
Best of luck!
Thanks so much for sharing, your support motivates me to get it checked out. I just don’t have the patience (no pun intended) with the doctors and trying all the different meds. Been on 2 ADHD meds that didn’t work, as well as on my 5 type of antidepressant / anxiety meds. :-/
Still far from good. Struggling a lot.