Should I get tested for ADD/ADHD?

[Hylian]

Over the years I have been starting to wonder if I have adult ADD/ADHD. When I look at the symptoms a lot of them do seem to apply top me. But than again I know that everyone has problems paying attention at times and I wonder if it is all just in my mind. I started wondering around the time when my older brother got diagnosed with it a few years back. Some of the main things I have noticed about myself is


Mind is constantly racing

My mind feels like there is almost a constant static that makes it hard to focus at times

Unfinished projects/half read books/games

I tend to procrastinate a lot

I tend to notice little nit noid things and have to correct people on them to the point it annoys them

I sometimes cut people off when they are asking questions and just blurt pout the answer cause it feels like they are taking forever to ask the question

I fidget all the time. I am constantly fiddling with my hands or tapping my foot

I tend to zone out and start day dreaming

When I was a kid I had a very short temper (I have managed to control it now for the most part)


And I was curious if anyone here who has ADD/ADHD or maybe some first hand experience with it could offer some insight to see if I should bother getting tested or is it all in my head?

 

[MindDetective]

You should become a professor! Those traits are considered normal in my occupation.

Seriously, if you feel like it is interfering with your daily life/routine, then you should go get tested. Consider what you're willing to accept as a treatment beforehand, though, as there should be several options available to you. I fit a lot of the symptoms as well and have never been tested. I may have only a mild case or no case. Honestly, I decided it doesn't matter to me because I choose to embrace my flighty side for the creative aspects of my work. It does interfere with the boring parts of my job (like grading horribly written essay exams) but it isn't too bad. That much is for you to decide.

My own personal opinion (I am not a clinician): Distractedness is normal, even extreme distractedness. I would say that evolutionarily, we are well-bred to be alert to threats, especially if we experience a moderate level of constant daily stress. Supreme focus is not the norm, but it is highly prized in our culture. I'm not saying it is wrong to seek out treatment and it is certainly not wrong to take medication that might ease your level of stress/distractedness. As I said above, absolutely do it if you feel your life is being negatively affected. Consider what about your environment you could change as well to reduce stress or increase your general level of activity. These are good in their own right, even if they do nothing to change your distractedness.

 

[Azurephoenix]

Damn dude... I have nearly every symptom you listed but I never felt like it was impacting my quality of life.

I bet I have more unfinished projects than you do!!!

 

[Hylian]

I am having a hard time deciding if my life has been feeling impacted significantly by these traits or not. It seems to vary depending on the task at hand. As far as work I get the major stuff all taken care of but anything that is extra work I tend to procrastinate on. Even if the thing that needs to be done would be for my beneficial gain. When I get home I want to play games/read books/watch TV and yet I end up just surfing the web with dozens of tabs open to dozens of different articles. I bought some stuff to learn Japanese and I haven;t even bothered starting on it an it has been over a year now. I wanted to learn something but I never just sit down and learn it. I have so many half games and books that it is getting ridiculous. I try to sit down and finish them but my attention gets drawn to something else and I never finish it. Once again I am not sure if it is worth getting checked out or not but it has been something that has been on my mind as of late.

 

[Azurephoenix]

By all means, if you feel that it is negatively affecting you then you should definitely look into it further.

Myself, I have three instruments I try to keep at a decent playing level, songs that will never finish being recorded, hundreds of dollars in unpainted plastic models (warhammer 40k), props and scripts for movies I'll probably never even start let alone finish, half finished digital movie effects tests, tons of computer games (most finished... but many not), movies that I want to watch but never get around to, a project engine I'm trying to rebuild as a race motor, loads of workout related stuff that I never use as often as I should, hunting gear galore (but no rifle or hunting license... makes sense?), pepakura halo armour supplies but no progress, soldering projects (LED lighting thingys), a car stereo upgrade including new speakers that has sat around for years, a project car that has sat idle for two years even though I've done most of the hard work on it, piles of role playing materials that have never been played. Sadly, this list is not even remotely complete.

Man typing that makes me seem like such a weirdo lol. I love new things... all the time. I have massive problems finishing my extra stuff. Like you... I get all the major things done (work, family stuff, house things, etc)... but my own free time suffers from extreme lack of focus and a horrific need to try new stuff all the time.

 

[SpecialKO]

My advice, if you are concerned, go get a full psychiatric evaluation.

Unless there's some insurance thing or lead-in deal for free ADD/ADHD testing, a full evaluation will cover all probable likelihoods without pre-disposing yourself towards one outcome or another. Not all anxiety/social disorders are treated the same way, but they can look very similar from the outside.

 

[Mathias]

I'm not a fan of the whole diagnose someone with ADD craze. I have all of those "symptoms" that you described. When I need to sit down and get shit done, I will myself to do it. I know exactly what's going to happen if you go to a doctor. They're going to have you take a really expensive test, and then prescribe some Ritalin for ya.

You listed off a bunch of stuff you want to learn. If you really want to, then do it. Will yourself to do it. If you find it boring, then stop. What's the point of a hobby if you find it boring enough to have to force yourself to do it? My only major advice is to lay off the internet surfing. Internet surfing and online gaming is a sinkhole of wasted time that could otherwise be used to be productive; I often wonder to myself why I still hang around this dump.

 

[Azurephoenix]

I thought you hung around for the scintillating discussions?

 

[SpecialKO]

Telling someone to "will themselves" out of fidgeting or impatience is not particularly helpful. If you don't want to take drugs, and you remain concerned, see a cognitive behavioral psychologist; most of them offer one free session.

I thought you hung around for the scintillating discussions?

He hangs around for his makare fix.

 

[Hylian]

I'm not a fan of the whole diagnose someone with ADD craze. I have all of those "symptoms" that you described. When I need to sit down and get shit done, I will myself to do it. I know exactly what's going to happen if you go to a doctor. They're going to have you take a really expensive test, and then prescribe some Ritalin for ya.

You listed off a bunch of stuff you want to learn. If you really want to, then do it. Will yourself to do it. If you find it boring, then stop. What's the point of a hobby if you find it boring enough to have to force yourself to do it? My only major advice is to lay off the internet surfing. Internet surfing and online gaming is a sinkhole of wasted time that could otherwise be used to be productive; I often wonder to myself why I still hang around this dump.

While I don't agree that everyone who is diagnosed as ADD/ADHD actually has it (especially kids) I do think there are people do have it and can benefit from medication/whatever. I know what you mean to an extent but I also know that no matter how hard I try to will myself I just can't get certain things done. As far as your statement that my hobbies are boring to me. I disagree with that statement as well. I personally find gaming/reading books/watching TV very enjoyable but I just can;t get myself to sit down and actually do them. For instance I started watching a show a few months back and I only have 6 episodes left to watch and yet I am having a hard time getting around to watching it. It is definitely not becuase the show is boring me but I am having a hard time sitting myself down to watch it. I am definitely not the type of person who just wants to pass off responsibility by claiming I have a mental disorder. Now do I have ADD/ADHD? I don't know but I am curious enough to think about it and possibly go see a psychiatrist if I feel the need to.

 

[Dei]

I'll admit that I've been thinking about getting myself tested for ADD for something going on 10 years now, but have always wussed out when it has come to talking to my doctor about it. I ended up not finishing college because I couldn't focus enough to figure shit out for tests, so that's something that significantly impacted my life. I try to will myself to get shit done, and I start getting pissed off and cranky about it. My husband rolls his eyes at "ADD" and at the same time gets mad at me when I get distracted at the drop of a hat when I'm trying to do things. I have quite seriously trained my 5 year old to follow me around when I'm trying to do housework to yell at me if I start getting sidetracked. It's because of the mentality people have that ADD is not a real thing that I talk myself out of talking to my doctor about it year after year.

 

[Dav]

I'm not a fan of the whole diagnose someone with ADD craze. I have all of those "symptoms" that you described. When I need to sit down and get shit done, I will myself to do it. I know exactly what's going to happen if you go to a doctor. They're going to have you take a really expensive test, and then prescribe some Ritalin for ya.

You listed off a bunch of stuff you want to learn. If you really want to, then do it. Will yourself to do it. If you find it boring, then stop. What's the point of a hobby if you find it boring enough to have to force yourself to do it? My only major advice is to lay off the internet surfing. Internet surfing and online gaming is a sinkhole of wasted time that could otherwise be used to be productive; I often wonder to myself why I still hang around this dump.

While it is true that about everybody has these problems occasionally, people with ADD/ADHD can't just will themselves to do things like that. It's a chemical misbalance in the brain that actually prevents them from paying attention, staying focused, etc. Some people can will themselves to, but that just means they don't have ADD. You can't tell him to just make himself do stuff if he has a mental disorder that doesn't allow him to.

 

[MindDetective]

While it is true that about everybody has these problems occasionally, people with ADD/ADHD can't just will themselves to do things like that. It's a chemical misbalance in the brain that actually prevents them from paying attention, staying focused, etc. Some people can will themselves to, but that just means they don't have ADD. You can't tell him to just make himself do stuff if he has a mental disorder that doesn't allow him to.

You have to be carefully about concluding that something like a "chemical imbalance" is the cause and not itself a symptom. I'm not saying a person can will themselves to act a certain way. But cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be equal to or even surpass medication in effectiveness for treatment of some disorders. CBT can be used to treat ADHD as well. The implication here is that behavioral change can lead to neurochemical changes (all learning is neurochemical in nature!) I disagree with Mathias in how easy he makes it sound. For many people, any kind of behavioral change is difficult without some guidance.

 

[Ravenpoe]

CBT is great. It basically teaches you how to have willpower through baby steps.

You know, for some people with particularly dirty minds, CBT stands for something completely different.

And that makes this HILARIOUS.

 

[Dave]

If you have the money/insurance to do so and it bothers you this much, by all means go get tested. Even if you are not diagnosed with anything at least you'll know, and that sometimes can make a world of difference.