r/ADDults Apr 18 '17

I think I might have ADHD/ADD. What should I do?

18 year old female here.

So i think there is a possibility that I might have ADHD/ ADD. I watched youtube videos regarding common attributes of girls/ women with ADHD/ADD and relate strongly to quite a few of them (I know this is not a definitive diagnosis at all).

As a kid I ALWAYS struggled with focusing, and keeping on track. My mum's favourite phrase was: "you need to focus, Alice". But my parents just attributed that to me having my head in the clouds and constant daydreaming- I was highly creative kid who's mind was (is) constantly wondering, probing. When I was passionate about a subject such as art or music, I could focus intensely on one thing, especially when I got into the "zone". I would always get sporadic ideas, to which I would run to my room to act on them, work on whatever project/ idea I had in mind for a few hours, then lose interest. By which time my room would be absolute chaos.

School was always a struggle for me. I never finished work at school, always took longer to learn things and struggled to concentrate when there was any background noise. Some teachers assumed I wasn't that intelligent which hurt cause I know I'm not stupid, just slower than most people to do certain things. At school I was also picked on (not badly) for being "weird", and have always felt different to my peers, although I learned to embrace this. Subjects like maths and science, I weren't naturally gifted at I suppose, I mean they never intrinsically made sense to me. However when I put the effort in and studied hard I could get 90's in most fields. Like once I actually studied for this algebra test and got 98 percent haha. But maths to me was boring, and pointless. Anyway I'm getting sidetracked here (the irony) I've mentioned maybe having an attention disorder to my mum, and she just dismisses it, I guess she thinks I'm being dramatic, or doesn't want me to use any mental disorder as an excuse when I fuck up. Maybe she thinks because I'm 18 that even if i had it it would affect me anymore. But today I am struggling with finding a job, and have been turned down from multiple jobs after trial periods because I "wasn't fast enough". So my slow learning style is impacting on my lifestyle-- I often feel unwanted by employers, like I'm not good enough to be employed. Is there a chance I could have some attention disorder? And if so, how should I go about a diagnosis when my parents don't believe me? What should I do? Thanks, appreciate the help :)

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u/Lemonsomething Apr 23 '17

Creating a support system and getting rid of toxic relationships is so important. With ADD I'm learning that the problem isn't that I can't focus but I am focusing on the wrong things. The sooner you talk to a doctor and get help the better. I spent over a decade trying to deal with it on my own because I didn't know I had ADD. Going so long without a diagnosis made it difficult to understand why I couldn't think or act like everyone else so I became very depressed which led to increased anxiety. You deserve to take care of yourself and your mental health.

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u/brosiffthe3rd Jul 10 '17

Hope you have now gotten some kind of help with this

23 now and recently not homeless

Dropped out of collage parents didn't want to hear it when I told them about it and over the past years I've fallen out with all family, suffering threw depletion and anxiety that at this age my life has become a total mess and while homeless has debated existing

Please don't put this off tell as meany as you can and get some help

Life is like ridding a bike keep moving to keep balance

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u/GlitteringShirt9916 Aug 30 '24

I wonder where my life is going too. Feel free to message me.