Do you have ADD?

[ThePhoneGoddess]

I have been seeing a counselor for an unrelated issue. Last week was the end of our sessions for this issue, and I thought I was done. She, however, gave me the name and number of a licensed psychologist and told me to go see him. She thinks my problems are caused by undiagnosed ADD and she wants me to be tested for it.

I know very little about ADD. I looked it up online and was dumbfounded. I always knew something was wrong with me but had no idea that this might be it. I am so intelligent but have trouble functioning in normal society; I make enough money but can never remember to pay my bills; I am extremely impulsive and make bad decisions because of it; I can never focus on anything long enough to finish it; I can't even remember to brush my teeth in the morning unless I have a note on my bathroom wall telling me to do so! I have trouble with jobs because I cannot keep focused on my tasks for longer than 90 seconds. As a child I was notorious for losing my homework, blurting out inappropriate things, and climbing the walls. Apparently these are all common behaviors of ADD people.

So I made an appointment with the psychologist to go get evaluated for ADD. I'm sure there are some people here suffer from this disorder, and I am wondering what kinds of things you do to cope with these unwanted behaviors. Can anyone offer me any insight?

[4love]

I was diagnosed with A.D.D. in middle school. No hyperactivity for me, so I 'passed' for normal through elementary. I had time management issues, though, and procrastination, and forgetfulness, and I've always been very, very distractable. Flighty, even. It gets worse when I'm tired or otherwise stressed because 'acting normal' takes a lot of extra effort for me.

I have a lot of coping mechanisms, but not all strategies are good for all people. A few of the ones I use are:
a. lists. Mental or written, they come in real handy. A to-do list of the five most important tasks of the day tucked in my pocket, for example. If it's a mental list, it's also a short-term mantra that I repeat to myself and review pretty much constantly until all the steps on the list are completed.
b. over-compensating for time management issues. Give yourself an extra few minutes to get things done- plan it into your schedule, arrange things around that buffer. It's saved my sanity more than a few times.
c. weekly, rather than monthly, financial check-ups. It helps that my store issues paychecks weekly, too- that gives me a nice reminder to check things like the balance on my credit card, status of my monthly bills, etc., and pay off anything that has come up within the last few days.

I'd also highly recommend doing some outside reading- there are many wonderful books about A.D.D. out there. I'd avoid anything that claims to be able to 'cure' it with something like diet changes (disclaimer: eating well can make you feel more steady because you aren't dealing with blood sugar swings, but that's about it, honestly). A couple books that have really helped me have been You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! by Kate Kelly and Peggy Ramundo (ISBN 9780743264488) and ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau (ISBN 9781583913581).

I hope all this helps. Good luck, and if you want to talk more, feel free to PM me.
-4love

[KellyHabersham]

I was never officially diagnosed with it as a child, but in the past few years I've begun to suspect that I do have some form of ADD. I don't do anything specific to deal with it though, other than I have to keep my keys, glasses, and bus/debit/ID cards in a specific spot when I'm not using them.

[Primer]

The only insight I can offer is that it is a label. Don't let the label keep you from accomplishing anything. Yes, it takes (us) more effort to do some things than it takes others, but it's not an excuse, merely a challenge - a challenge that can be surmounted.

[draggar]

IMO ADD and ADHD are severely over diagnosed - most of the time children are diagnosed with it for just being children (seriously, how many children have a long attention span??).

With that aisde, I was born too early before they seriously started to diagnose children with ADD but I definately would have been diagnosed with ADHD if I was born ~10 years later. All thoughout school and into college it was hard for me to work on projects and reports - they were long and tedious and I would get bored quickly. Sure, the first day or two I'd get a lot done and then get nothing else done until the last minute, regardless of the timeframe. I was even so bad I did a book report on the same books from the third grade until my sophmore year in high school (Tom Sawyer and a couple of others).

It wasn't until college when I had a literature teacher (too bad I forgot her name but she was great) work with me. We both came to the agreement that her "it's due when you can get to it - but it needs to be done" policy wasn't going to work with me. She set strict (yet reasonable) due dates for my reports and other projects. I knew if I didn't do them on time, then I would have failed the course (and I would have probabaly failed if I kept with her main policy). With her help I was able to learn how to concentrate on a project and get it done - it's been hard to keep that up but I've been able.

Today, I find it hard to concentrate on one task (which is probabaly why I'm so good at multitasking) and it is even harder to finish the task. Right now I have several websites that are half-assed. Sure, with a few days of work they could be great but I don't have the motivation to complete them, which scares the hell out of me since I just dropped over $250 on a domain and I'm trying to build it up (and the site could be highly successful). I have learned to do it in short yet highly intense bursts. I spent 10 hours on it yesterday (yeah, a harathon) but only an hour on it today, maybe an hour tomorrow and so on as the site gets built.

I agree with Primer, it is a label and don't let it rule your life. My wife is handicapped and can barely walk yet is still a very successful dog trainer. ADD seems like a cake walk with what she's gone though. It takes work but you can find your way to "beat" it (without meds).

The saddest part is that my wife doesn't seem to understand ADD at all - she has her disabilities plus her sister is bipolar so she thinks ADD is nothing serious (when in the grand scheme of things, it isn't anything serious - it's not like cancer or dementia) but that doesn't mean it is easy for those who live with it, especially strong cases of it.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Yeah. ADD. No hyperactivity though, thank God.

I drink a lot of coffee. It helps. If you don't drink it, try it. I have a friend who has it also, she drinks a pot a day at least. I can't drink that much. But I not five minutes ago poured my afternoon dose.

That's why docs give kids with ADD a form of speed. Stimulents help people who have this focus.

When I'm trying to focus on a task, I gang together several tasks at once. If I'm painting a room, the TV is on. If I'm working on the computer, You TUbe is on. If I was in a meeting at work, I was drawing pictures. That's why. If I don'.t engage my whole attention, the parts that are idle will go off and get into trouble. And eventually get the parts that are working in trouble, too. The "engaging the entire attention" is a useful coping mechanism, at least for me.

[draggar]

When I'm trying to focus on a task, I gang together several tasks at once. If I'm painting a room, the TV is on. If I'm working on the computer, You TUbe is on. If I was in a meeting at work, I was drawing pictures.

I do the same - movies playing at work (people think I just sit there and watch movies all day). On the computer - either music or TV, house work, music or TV...

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Ohhhhhhh, Kink, I am horribly addicted to caffeine.

Not only do I keep coffee beans in my freezer at all times, I actually buy caffeine pills to keep in my purse for when I can't get coffee and I need to wake up. I get drowsy real easily otherwise. I have been known to conk out in classroom settings and sleep right through class.

I also, have to have multiple things going at once. If I am on the computer, I have radio streaming and I always keep a game of solitaire open---in case I zone out, spending a few minutes moving cards around helps me to focus again.

Well, that explains why I do that kinda stuff! I can't do homework or projects unless I have noise somewhere and I often watch movies while knitting, otherwise I get antsy and can't keep still.

Thank you everyone who responded, including the nice PM's I got. I go in Saturday to get evaluated and I will let you know if I get a positive diagnosis.

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

People have assumed I've got ADD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and any number of other things because I'm chipper, on the hyper side, and a chatterbox. I do get distracted and a little forgetful, but I have no trouble focusing on something when I choose to.

Hate coffee, but soda is a must for any day at work. Just helps ya get through the day...

[RecoveringKinkoid]

What you are describing with the sleeping is called "Intrusive Sleep." It's a rather annoying symptom of ADD. For me, it's the worst bit of it. So embarassing.

[friendofjimmyk]

I do believe that ADD and ADHD are only labels; however, I do think there is some merit to the....

....ooh, shiny!

Where was I? Oh yeah....ADD. It's hard to say with kids if ADD is valid or if it's just a child being a child. When I was in grade school, I was a daydreamer. I don't ever recall....


....ooh, a nickel!

...paying attention. I was ALWAYS in fantasy land. As an adult, I am easily distracted and can vere off course quite....

....mmm....cheese sandwich!

....easily.

[4love]

....ooh, shiny!

[snip]

....ooh, a nickel!

...paying attention. I was ALWAYS in fantasy land. As an adult, I am easily distracted and can vere off course quite....

....mmm....cheese sandwich!

....easily.

That is so me, especially if I'm at all tired. I remember in college, one week I couldn't do any D&D because there was a rabbit outside the window and I just. could. not. focus! on anything else. Another player had to chase it off before I could figure out what I wanted my bard to do.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

....ooh, shiny!


....ooh, a nickel!


....easily.

Oh yeah I hear you there. I'm more like this:

Hey, have you seen the.........

Coworker: Yes? The what?

...um, the hook for my headphones, I think I left them in the...What's that! *points out window*

Coworker looks: what?

...I thought I saw something on the...hmmn...weird.

Coworker: No I haven't seen the hook for your headphones. Hey, Milkie, I said I haven't seen the hook for your headphones. Milkie?!

*wandering toward window and not hearing anything else* I think so-n-so and whats-his-name are having a fight!

Coworker: What?! *looks out window*

Oh, ok, well thanks for checking. *wanders back off the my desk*

*Coworker IMs me and asks what I'm on*

[Misanthropical]

My oldest son has ADHD and my youngest son has ADD, but my daughter is fine. I denied for the longest time anything was wrong with my oldest son. I thought ADHD was over hyped and a way for people to drug their children. I did not do my son any favors by denying it for so long. It is why I knew something was going on with my youngest son.

My dad has it, but will deny it till he is blue in the face. I suspect that I have ADHD or ADD, because I get distract by the shiny things and I could drink caffeine all day and not get all jittery and hyper, it actually calms me down.

I do think ADHD and ADD is over diagnosed, which makes it harder for those of us who do actually have children with the disorders. However, I wouldn't trade my sons for normal sons for all the money in the world. We crack each other up all the time and joke about not being normal.

[ArenaBoy]

Diagnosed with ADHD when I was four. Still hasn't stopped me from being a writer or keeping a job for a long time. I've also managed to do well without caffeine in my system.

PM me if you need to talk.