[joyrjw]

Hi,:happy:

I hope I don't offend anyone by asking about this,but I'm trying to figure myself out.

I'm trying to figure out way if I might possilbly have one of the forms of Attention Deficit Disorder.

I realize only a medical professional can diagnose me,but I can't afford a medical professional right now and I'd like to have some idea of where I stand before I go to find out anything, since it's so expensive.

I should let you know, that I've been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder/Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder

I think that I might have A.D.D as an underlying disorder.
I hate to think that might be the case,but I've had trouble learning since I was a little girl.
I was diagnosed with a learning disability, primarily in math,but I think there's more to it.

Here are some the things that make me think I might have A.D.D and if anyone wants to ask questions that are reasonable, please do.

I day dream excessively
I have trouble focusing during lectures
I have trouble learning auditorily(I tested great hearing)
I get distracted by things that don't seem to bother other people(it could be the anxiety, I'm also extremely jumpy)
I have touble focusing on my reading
My mind drifts off even without me realizing it
I have trouble following or understanding instructions
If I don't move around I tend to have trouble focusing
My mother says I've always had a terrible attention span


Thank you:happy:

 

[Apollo Celestio]

Do you phase out even if you don't mean to or are not especially bored or uninterested? Can you focus at all on anything? Don't lie either.

 

[pinkrasputin]

Depression and anxiety can also cause you to not be able to concentrate.

However, ADHD to me feels like reasoning a whole bunch of information at once. It's not rare for me to think far far ahead and leave the conversation I'm having behind. Before you know, I switch the topic when I am talking and people get confused. But I'm not because I see how I made the connection.

Also, out of the blue I think it's pretty common for ADHD people to say or do something crazy out of the blue. It's like "oops" no filter.

 

[Neon Knight]

I've been in the OP's shoes and since you've been formally diagnosed with Depression especially and other things you probably will never get an ADD diagnosis. I was told often that if you can't exclude mood disorders and possibly personality disorders, you won't get an ADD diagnosis on that alone. It's frustrating to me but I'm finally accepting that Depression/Anxiety were the primary cause of my ADD tendencies from childhood, but that's because I know I had problems looking back, I don't know what your situation is. That list is pretty accurate to describe some of my problems though, except maybe the moving around to focus, I do learn by doing though because I can't seem to learn visually or auditorily alone either.

 

[joyrjw]

Do you phase out even if you don't mean to or are not especially bored or uninterested? Can you focus at all on anything? Don't lie either.

I wasn't planning on lying.
You didn't have to say it like that.
I kind of figured I'd get some flack from people about this.

It's not like my brain is all over the place,but maybe it is, I can't describe it.

It's not like I can't focus on anything.

It's just a struggle.
I have to stop and make myself think about what I'm looking at.
I catch myself day dreaming, it's like my brain isn't attached or something.

Like my typing right now,but even now my brain is trying to split off to something else.

Half the time I don't even know what I'm trying to think, if that makes sense.

It's like I can't pay attention even though I'm paying attention.

It's really weird.

It could be my G.A.D. but from what I've read, day dreaming and wandering thoughts weren't part of it.
If it is, it is.

I can't think of a better way to describe it.

Thank you for your response. :happy:

 

[joyrjw]

Depression and anxiety can also cause you to not be able to concentrate.

However, ADHD to me feels like reasoning a whole bunch of information at once. It's not rare for me to think far far ahead and leave the conversation I'm having behind. Before you know, I switch the topic when I am talking and people get confused. But I'm not because I see how I made the connection.

Also, out of the blue I think it's pretty common for ADHD people to say or do something crazy out of the blue. It's like "oops" no filter.

Thank you:happy:

I know about the depression and the anxiety giving problems with focus.


I tend to mentally just drift off. Many times I don't know I"m doing it and sometimes I'm half aware and I start to think about something else. I don't know if I skip ahead though.
Sometimes something will just pop into my head and I'll be like oh, hey, I just thought of something,but that's fairly normal, I think.
Or I'll switch subjects,but that's when I feel hyper isn't even really hyper at all.
I don't really get hyper,but I do fidget. Wierd huh?

I don't think I say crazy things out of the blue.
Unless it's just to be funny.:laughing:
I will drop things in people's laps though.
I'll just ask a question with no warning.
I don't think it's like what you're talking about though.

Thank you very much for this pinkrasputin:happy:

 

[joyrjw]

I've been in the OP's shoes and since you've been formally diagnosed with Depression especially and other things you probably will never get an ADD diagnosis. I was told often that if you can't exclude mood disorders and possibly personality disorders, you won't get an ADD diagnosis on that alone. It's frustrating to me but I'm finally accepting that Depression/Anxiety were the primary cause of my ADD tendencies from childhood, but that's because I know I had problems looking back, I don't know what your situation is. That list is pretty accurate to describe some of my problems though, except maybe the moving around to focus, I do learn by doing though because I can't seem to learn visually or auditorily alone either.

So, you think that you have ADD,but nobody will diagnose you with it because of your Depression/Anxiety?

That seems really unreasonable to me that if you have the symptoms, why you wouldn't/couldn't have an underlying problem.
There's alot of people who have things like that.

I don't remember alot of my childhood.
Much of it wasn't very pleasant,but then again who did have a pleasant childhood?:laughing:

I used to get called an idiot alot of times in school because I couldn't focus.

I had asked a similar question at another site and only one person was willing to answer.

They told me that I would have to have back up at an assessment for A.D.D because I'm older and I've been diagnosed with the other three.

I chose to take a leap of faith and see what people on this site would share with me about how there symptoms are because if there's isn't enough of an inkling in my mind that I might have this disorder then I won't get checked.
I'll just chalk it up to a learning disorder and bad thinking capabilities.

So you can relate to what I'm going through then?
Thank you for saying so. :happy:

I'm a hands on and visual learner,but more hands on.
If I'm touching it, it seems I can process it better, then if I have some sort of auditory and maybe verbal with it.

Thank you very much again. :happy:

 

[Linnifae]

For me, my A.D.D. has made me consistantly inconsistant.

Sometimes my mind wanders so far from reality it takes someone to shout at me to pull me back and even then I don't want to come back. Other times, every little sound, every little change in the environment, every little everything is beyond my ability to ignore. I get sensory overload and fell angry and frustrated or just stressed.

I am MUCH better than I was when I was younger, but I do have problems with the filter. Sometimes thing just come out of my mouth that are crazy, inappropriate or simply strange.

My biggset problem with A.D.D. are my feelings of inadequecy. I feel like my brain is like a burried treasure and I have a map that someone keeps hiding from me. Sometimes I have access to it's full extent (or at least the percentage that the average or to above average person does) and other times my abilties just vanish. I remember sitting in math class in college, with a very frustrated professor who was wondering why I was able to ace a quiz yesterday, but "today," I couldn't do a basic problem. It causes me a lot of depression to be honest. A.D.D. can cause symptoms of depression just as depression can cause symptoms of A.D.D.

 

[joyrjw]

For me, my A.D.D. has made me consistantly inconsistant.

Sometimes my mind wanders so far from reality it takes someone to shout at me to pull me back and even then I don't want to come back. Other times, every little sound, every little change in the environment, every little everything is beyond my ability to ignore. I get sensory overload and fell angry and frustrated or just stressed.

I am MUCH better than I was when I was younger, but I do have problems with the filter. Sometimes thing just come out of my mouth that are crazy, inappropriate or simply strange.

My biggset problem with A.D.D. are my feelings of inadequecy. I feel like my brain is like a burried treasure and I have a map that someone keeps hiding from me. Sometimes I have access to it's full extent (or at least the percentage that the average or to above average person does) and other times my abilties just vanish. I remember sitting in math class in college, with a very frustrated professor who was wondering why I was able to ace a quiz yesterday, but "today," I couldn't do a basic problem. It causes me a lot of depression to be honest. A.D.D. can cause symptoms of depression just as depression can cause symptoms of A.D.D.

Wow, that's really familar. :shocked:

I get what that's like.
Not wanting to come back mentally one day and another day being very aware of everything and going back and forth like that.
I get in trouble for it sometimes.

I do the same thing with learning, I can completely relate.
I also feel inadequate mentally.
One day I understand things fine,but then it's like for days after that I don't seem to comprehend anything and just back and forth.
It's embarassing,frustrating and depressing, I agree, and the professor or other people get frustrated and take it out on you.

I don't know if I have a problem with my verbal filter,but I know that I tend to stick my foot in my mouth alot. :laughing:


Thank you very much for being honest and for sharing your experiences with me:happy:

 

[Apollo Celestio]

I wasn't planning on lying.
You didn't have to say it like that.
I kind of figured I'd get some flack from people about this.

It's not like my brain is all over the place,but maybe it is, I can't describe it.

It's not like I can't focus on anything.

It's just a struggle.
I have to stop and make myself think about what I'm looking at.
I catch myself day dreaming, it's like my brain isn't attached or something.

Like my typing right now,but even now my brain is trying to split off to something else.

Half the time I don't even know what I'm trying to think, if that makes sense.

It's like I can't pay attention even though I'm paying attention.

It's really weird.

It could be my G.A.D. but from what I've read, day dreaming and wandering thoughts weren't part of it.
If it is, it is.

I can't think of a better way to describe it.

Thank you for your response. :happy:

I understand. I was wondering if you experience "hyper focus"

 

[joyrjw]

I understand. I was wondering if you experience "hyper focus"

Honestly I don't know.

I'm not sure what hyper focus consists of.

I can be very focused on some things.
Though it's not exactly when I want to be.

Sometimes it's difficult to pull me away from something I"m caught up in, really difficult.

If I'm reading a book, on the internet or I'm drawing and I'm caught up in it, it's like I'm driven to finish or keep doing what I'm doing.

(It's funny how I can sometimes be totally caught up in internet,drawing or reading,but other times I have to make myself focus)

My husband has to remind me to eat or go to sleep or whatever.

I tend to get so lost in it I lose awareness of everything around me.

Sometimes when I'm thinking about something I get lost in my own mind.

It's embarrassing because I'll be in doing something in public and I'll make a noise like Hm when I discover something and I'll realize that people are staring at me.

Does that give you some idea?

If you need to know something else please let me know.
I don't always have a way with words. :happy:

Thank you:happy:

 

[Apollo Celestio]

Thanks. They call it a symptom of ADD. It's not so much a total inability to concentrate on anything, but your control.

 

[joyrjw]

Thanks. They call it a symptom of ADD. It's not so much a total inability to concentrate on anything, but your control.

You're welcome. :happy:

Your control?

 

[Psilocin]

I've found I have a deficit to my attention.

Edit:
No, rly, I was diagnosed. Still have it. My ODD and ADHD shine through in my personality, especially when you're just talking to me one-on-one(Not the ODD).
If there's a lot of stimulus, I go faster. It's like an overload. I used to be much worse about bouncing my leg when I'm sitting but I've learned to control that.
My brain is usually moving a million miles per hour, unless I'm focusing on something.
So, I learned to focus. I retain information that I find important extremely easily. When I was younger, I was highly focused on factual information. So's I retained it. As I've gotten older, I've just learned to vary what information I'm giving attention. This shit's helped me tons.
However, this information may or may not work against you.
It'll probably suck at first but it'll get better. :]

 

[sarek]

Much of what you describe is familiar to me. My primary problem areas are the fact that whatever I am supposed to be doing, I am usually doing something else instead(like surfing the web and changing subjects a lot)
The other problem is a horrible tendency to procrastinate. I do that even when I consciously know very well that its going to get me in trouble.

You asked about hyperfocus. That is when you experience you are suddenly able to focus on a single subject with razor sharpness. I often get that when I am faced with a major problem to solve with a lot riding on the outcome.
Of course, often my add inattentiveness is the cause of the problem in the first place.
ADDers often think hyperfocus is some kind of mythical quality but I suspect to a non-ADDer it would more appear as an intense form of concentration.

Its often hard to tell depression and ADD apart. They can be comorbid and can interact in various ways. Depression can make your seriously distractable and on the other end having to cope with ADD can lead to situational depression in turn. That is a catch 22 situation.

Sometimes your reaction to meds, either for depression or for ADD can give you a clue what you are really dealing with. Some people have been incorrrectly dx'ed with depression and been treated without result for years until they found a doc who figured it out and prescribed the correct medication.

Your first step in figuring it out should be to check out the DSM IV manual for the different kinds of disorder. Next you might try any of a number of online tests.
If you suspect it may be ADD it is best of you go to the docs after doing all the groundwork yourself.

Feel free to PM me with any questions you might have.

 

[Apollo Celestio]

You're welcome. :happy:

Your control?

You can't control what you can focus on. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.

 

[Neon Knight]

So, you think that you have ADD,but nobody will diagnose you with it because of your Depression/Anxiety?

That seems really unreasonable to me that if you have the symptoms, why you wouldn't/couldn't have an underlying problem.
There's alot of people who have things like that.

I don't remember alot of my childhood.
Much of it wasn't very pleasant,but then again who did have a pleasant childhood?:laughing:

Yeah I know and agree but that's the consensus here apparently as I've asked several people, and they said they can't not that they won't, but that it was all likely due to depression considering the timing, because it seemed to happen a bit after my childhood became rather hellish and it doesn't help that I don't remember much of my childhood either.

I used to get called an idiot alot of times in school because I couldn't focus.

I was criticized for "not caring enough" or "not putting much effort".

They told me that I would have to have back up at an assessment for A.D.D because I'm older and I've been diagnosed with the other three.

That's likely since it's the same for me, but if you can get it go for it, I gave up but it doesn't mean you have to.

I chose to take a leap of faith and see what people on this site would share with me about how there symptoms are because if there's isn't enough of an inkling in my mind that I might have this disorder then I won't get checked.
I'll just chalk it up to a learning disorder and bad thinking capabilities.

You shouldn't give up so easy, I did the same at first thinking I just had a learning disorder and bad cognitive skills. I can't even get tested for that because no one believes I have a problem. If you can ask for a cognitive test.

So you can relate to what I'm going through then?
Thank you for saying so. :happy:

I'm a hands on and visual learner,but more hands on.
If I'm touching it, it seems I can process it better, then if I have some sort of auditory and maybe verbal with it.

Thank you very much again. :happy:

Me too, I like having more than one then I seem to get the whole picture a lot better.
Totally and no probs!

 

[The Great One]

I am both an Ne user and I have ADHD. I can focus on anything for more than 1 minute, anything will distract me, it is nearly impossible to sit still, everyone bitches at me for not being more focused, and if I am left alone for more than 10 seconds my mind will drift off and dream about all kinds of wierd shit.

 

[joyrjw]

You can't control what you can focus on. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.

Ok. Thank you for explaining.:happy:
I do have trouble with that.
Sometimes I get focused on things I don't want to be immersed in,and sometimes the things I want to be "lost" in, I can't focus on.

It's gotten a little better with time,age,and I guess practice but it still can be a problem.
It used to be much worse when I was younger.

 

[joyrjw]

I am both an Ne user and I have ADHD. I can focus on anything for more than 1 minute, anything will distract me, it is nearly impossible to sit still, everyone bitches at me for not being more focused, and if I am left alone for more than 10 seconds my mind will drift off and dream about all kinds of wierd shit.

I think I might have the type that's not hyperactive.
Or the mixed type, maybe.

I've been looking into it more,but the descriptions aren't really enough.

I know that my mind wanders and I day dream alot and it could be that I'm not able to pay attention alot more than I think because I don't always notice that it's wandering, if that makes sense.

I tend to get distracted by things that don't seem to bother other people.

I notice when people or things move or there's a sound that nobody else seems to hear.

Unless I'm day dreaming or in my "out of it" mode.

It's a wonder I got through high school.

Thank you telling me your experience.
I really do appreciate it.:happy: