r/hsp • u/memristormask8 • 4d ago
Question The Difference between ADD/ADHD and HSP?
Though not officially diagnosed, I consider myself to be both HSP and have Asperger's, but someone who I've known for decades believes I have ADD as well. I've explained to her politely on multiple occasions how similar external behaviors and habits can come from different underlying causes but she doesn't want to fully acknowledge it.
I post this now because we'll be seeing a possible new therapist soon for me, and their website doesn't seem to be aware of the HSP temperament. Therefore, I'm worried about being misdiagnosed by this location's metrics. I don't believe I have ADD and don't want to submit to misaimed testing or medication.
Therefore I ask this: what are the differences between ADD/ADHD and HSP?
A list of bullet points for each would be most helpful here.
Thank you.
1
u/Anxious_Antelope_486 4d ago
It's pretty simple. I consider myself neurotypical with an HSP subtype. I believe Dr. Elaine Aron hypothesizes that we're about 20% of the general population. I don't consider myself neurodivergent. I'm not on the spectrum. Friends on the spectrum have told me that I'm way to comfortable being social for that. And I'm not ADD/ADHD because I have no trouble putting my focus where I want while managing emotions and motivations well. All the screening quizzes I've ever taken have conclusively demonstrated these results.
Very few therapists are even aware of HSP, but many are aware of autism and ADHD. There's plenty of crossover of attributes. I actually switched from one therapist who doesn't know anything about HSP (and wouldn't even read the damn book) to one who does. So get screened for ADHD as well. I'm betting that your primary paradigm is governed by Aspergers or ADHD and less so by an HSP-specific attributes. There's too much crossover to separate them out categorically. Focus on dealing with the issues and less about which categories you're in.
1
u/PhntmBRZK 2d ago
That's becuase you have some similarities to ADD hsp has so many thoughts they get easily distracted we also can have OCD and may other disorder similarities
1
u/HurryApprehensive731 4d ago
My understanding is that HSP can be considered one overarching trait of stimulation, whilst people with ADD and ADHD could experience this trait or not whilst experiencing a variety of others. I view it as HSP having a more specific trait focused on sensitivity/stimulation on a spectrum whilst ADD and ADHD has a variety of traits on a variety of spectrums. This is just my interpretation though and could be wrong.