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

I'm a male in my early fifties and lately I've wondered if I have ADHD. I know I've had a lot of depression and anxiety my whole life, but lately I've wondered if there's something more.

My question for the group is how is ADHD diagnosed in adults? I've taken online tests that will have questions like 'I make impulsive decisions' agree on a scale of 1-5. I do 77%-81% depending on how the questions are interpreted.

I never considered ADHD because I thought of it as an issue with kids who acted out a lot and did poorly in school. I never acted out in school, and I did well in subjects I liked (poorly in ones I didn't like) so I came out as average.

I saw the symptoms of:
1 - hyperfocus on a subject
2- lack of meaningful relationships
3- lack of professional accomplishments
4- impulsive emotional decisions
5- procrastination and lack of follow through
I feel these symptoms could be my autobiography.
I recently quit a permanent job after a few months because I felt I really uncomfortable there. I took a part time temp job, and now I'm thinking how much I screwed myself financially and career-wise.

I haven't been diagnosed by a professional, I'm just at the stage where the symptoms fit my pattern.

My parents realized I had ADHD when I was very young. I was bright, creative, and outgoing, but I forget to do projects and assignments until the night before they were due. Somehow, I managed to make it through school but the college life was hard. I tried to concentrate but couldn't. Slowly things started going out of hand. But before I went for a treatment I decided to look for options. Then visited an ADHD coach in Toronto to seek help.
http://www.evokelearning.ca/evoke-servi ... -coaching/ I got relieved from it slowly but steadily. This was a big relief for everybody. I still don't get it why people go for meds in spite of knowing the consequence of the medicines. Some cases of ADHD can be treated without meds. Still, people go for medication instead of knowing their own situation.

I live in Canada but I've also checked out a lot of books/sites/podcasts from psychologists/psychiatrists/diagnosed ADHDers in the US. Not sure where you are and believe acceptance, diagnostic criteria, and understanding of ADHD can vary quite a bit from country to country. Adult diagnosis can be done through testing and assessment by a psychologist or psychiatrist or sometimes by a regular doctor with a special interest and training in ADHD. There are some clinics in the US that also use brain imaging, but the consensus seems to be that these scans are really only meaningful for research in showing trends between ADHD brains and neurotypical brains - and they aren't diagnosticly meaningful.

I'm currently working through the diagnostic process with an MD using what seems like a very common and accepted by experts process, using questionnaires for myself and people in my life, school report cards if available, and a longer in person appointment to talk and get first hand information. The doctor will then make the diagnosis based on my symptoms and the impact they have on my life from the gathered info.

If you decided to pursue getting assessed and diagnosed look for someone who has an interest/specialty in ADHD near you if possible. I think there is still a lot of stigma and misunderstanding out there even among the professionals, and it can be a super yucky experience to be dismissed by someone who thinks ADHD isn't a real thing, or that still thinks only kids/boys can have ADHD. My city has an ADHD association with a support group and website that lists some professionals capable of diagnosis/treatment.

Jessica McCabe's How To ADHD YouTube channel has some awesome stuff if you havent found her yet. Her TED Talk made me lose my shit.

Sending you love.

Reading some of these posts, and I'm wondering if these are a few signs of some type of ADHD -

1. Often feeling like I should be doing something else.

2. Feeling like there's not enough time for everything.

3. Wanting to read many of the new books I see in the library, or long-form articles in magazines - in print and online. (Piles and piles, and folders of saved pdfs).

It’s possible.

I do those things too.

I definitely tick all the boxes on those 5 symptoms listed above.

Never been diagnosed. Have been thinking about it.

I think my boss has it too, undiagnosed.

It would be nice to be coached about it and know what are symptoms and what is just life. Then I might not struggle so hard with stuff I can’t seem to change.

Being aware it’s a possibility has made it less of a drama when I do do those things you describe about yourself. I also feel less like, you know... a fr&@k; or less like that’s a disadvantage.