YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Anyone here have ADHD?

I was diagnosed in the 70's.. and I will tell you it is real.

I think it IS overdiagnosed in kids today.. but it still exists and I am not one of those folks who sees it as some positive traite.. although I tried.

I had a friend who bragged about being able to "Multitask".. but my brain gets overloaded.

Over the past few years I have developed ways of coping that actually work.

However, the last few year my life has been turned on it's head by life changes (mother died, tried to move in with boyfriend in a house where we were going to homestead.. and now we have been dealing with ongoing illness, issues with rehabbing the house (new furnace) then having to move back to my old house where we have been.. mY life is in limbo and nothing has gone right and My brain is taxed and overhwhelmed.. all my systems are complete ly shredded.

I am so stressed at work, at home... it sucks.

but anyway, would be interested to know if anyone has found ADHD makes thier life unbearable.

I don't take medication for it btw and had worked out things .. but life destroyed my system.

I've got ADD. I tested relatively low on the hyperactive scale, though. At its worst, my ADD is absolutely crippling. Some days I can't get anything done. Some days I spend most of my time trying to reason the problem away. It's hard. I do take meds and they help, but not enough.

I'm really starting to wonder if I fit under the adult add/adhd banner. So much of it seems to be what I struggle with and would explain a lot of my difficulties in life... I can't help but think that if I do have it and was figured out when I was in school, I might have done more with my education. I'm a smart person, I got ok grades by not even trying... Would nap, skip classes, yet still did well enough to not get into trouble.

Procrastination? Check. Hyperfocus? Check. Social awkwardness? Check. Inner restlessness? Check. Zoning out mid conversation? Check. And almost everything else on the list.

BUT - since I've never been professionally diagnosed of anything - is what I suffer from depressive or ADD/ADHD? Might help to actually get that shit sorted out, but I'll just do it later. (and by that I mean never, cause I procrastinate about EVERYTHING!)

My first psychiatrist diagnosed me ADHD after only 15 minutes, which in retrospect seemed a little fast. My current psychiatrist has spent several sessions, before we agreed most of my ADHD symptoms probably is a result of being in a constant state of anxiety/alarm.

It was a great relief for me, when I got diagnosed with ADHD and the symptoms fit perfectly on my way of life. I was on ritalin for a long time, without any notable effect/side effects. I was deeply isolated and had had a nervous breakdown at work, so I was really excited every time I meet with my psychiatrist, which we both mistook for progress. When I later changed psychiatrist, the new one realized I was spending a lot of money on Ritalin for no apparent reason and I stopped soon after.

I totally have ADD. I'm 32 and was diagnosed about a year ago. I feel my life would have been so different if I was diagnosed in grade school, so that's depressing. I want to rip my brain out of my head sometimes. And people think I'm an idiot but, to tell the truth, I'm more intelligent then most of them. I realized I'll be working very hard for a long time to get some relief from my symptoms. But i'm hopeful for my future and I was happy to finally have an answer and solution to my issues. I've felt for a long time that I am like nobody else I know. Now I think everybody has it. It was my baptismal, if you will. I take meds and It helps but I'm not a fan of change so my doctor kind of sucks. I need to and will, (its on my lists)switch doctors. Mightypants, you and I have similar types.

I was also labled add/adhd also in the 70's. I am 39 years old and I have had good times and very bad times. I have my AAS degree in Calunary Arts witch I find great. there are also things that come with that. I am totally disorgnised, it makes me have problems with moving up in restaurant's or in my baking job. so I have not gotten back into cooking in a restaurant because of my fear that I cant keep it togeather. the other things that I have issues with are understanding things. I have delt with is the tanting, the laphing and the people in my face and out of face making me feel like shit. I can yell all I want, get frustrated with all these these things. Yes I am pissed at the fucking world for all these things that have followed me in my life. One thing that I can do is tell you some of the most useless things that happened in music or facts. I do find it very cool that I can do this. I also have read tons of books, I have found enjoyment in radio, Old Time Radio, Podcast. I have done is spoken with kids and adults about being learning disabled. If your reading this you will see some of the major issues ( my wrighting skills) I try to make myself clear. some times I wish I could take my brain out of my head, making all of the issues I have go away. fuck it I cant so I have to deal with the things that have been dealt to me.

All my life I have felt like I never have as much energy add other people does, I thought I just had too much in my schedule, but I never got anything done. My family calls me lazy and blah blah nlah, they said i'm to distracted, I never pay attention and thats why I forget everything. Without mentioning that everyone says i'm crazy, insane oversensitive, too much of a thinker, always stressed and worried out of nothing
Last semester in my freshmen transition to college Class we were taking about procastination, I seemed to relate with the topic, from there.we.jumped to talk about add and adhd
I seemed to fit in with all the descritions. I decided to research more about it.
I had myself under observation a couple of Weeks and compared my behavior to some of the things that I have read about adhd & it seemed to be describing my way of being.
I have not searched any professional help sure to my unstable financial situation, but I would gladly accept any recommendations on how to deal with this problem.

Also lately I seem to be forgetting things more often, procastinating even more, nervous crisis, and often suicidal thoughts,

Anyone else related to this?

I think the over diagnosis in the 70 and 80's has led society to believe that it doesn't really exist. It breaks my heart because I see so many struggling with this. I think the saddest thing is that society has breed distraction. Which makes it even harder for those with ADD/ADHD. I see it in my children everyday. We have done neurofeedback in our family and it seems to be making a difference. Not sure if you can find a psychologist near you, but maybe you would be interested.

I think ADHD is under diagnosed massively over medicated and severely under addressed. Most people with ADHD don't need medication, I need medication (and take it) because I have severe ADHD, I also need therapy and coaching for it and I'm working on getting the help I need. The medication I take is Strattera, it works really well for me and I like that it's not a stimulant, however since it's fairly new there's no generic and it is expensive-- worth every penny (about 8000 pennies a month.) Like any other medication, it's not for everyone and can come with some nasty side effects. It also helps with my anxiety, which might not be the medication itself but the fact that I can function relieves a LOT of anxiety and stress.

Exercise helps ADHD because it amps up dopamine, we need that sweet sweet dopamine and exercise (at least an hour) a day helps people with ADHD focus. Also avoiding processed foods, food coloring and certain allergens can help some people. I eat fairly healthy by choice but I notice a positive benefit from avoiding sugar and artificial sweeteners-- which kind of sucks because I have a serious sweet tooth and licorice root is a poor substitute when compared to a brownie and ice cream fix. A good sleep schedule also helps.

I do find that my ADHD makes life unbearable at times. The way I look at it is that we're all stuck on a 2 lane highway, and most of the world is cars and trucks-- they belong on that highway. ADHD people, we're like speed boats, helicopters, and harrier jets-- we have no freakin' business being on a highway but everyone else tells us that we should be there with them and then they get mad at us for blocking traffic and being clumsy on the highway because we aren't cars and trucks. If you can figure out that you're a speed boat and get into some water you'll be happier. If you can get to the point where you're not wondering why you don't have wheels and take off because you're a helicopter you're going to be much more fulfilled and at peace. We cause disasters when we try to be "normal" and wedge ourselves into a place where we clearly don't belong.

The flip side of that is we are seriously badass when we stop internalizing all the garbage that we've been battered with our whole lives. I'm not lazy. I'm not defiant. I'm not a quitter, or a loser, or a day dreamer, or any of the other negatives that were hung on me by people who were so short sighted they think I'm a car when I'm clearly a helicopter. Honestly, I think my life would be ever so much more unbearable if my brain worked like everyone else's.