I have ADD(no hyperactive feature), and let me tell you, finding out what it is and how to treat is one of the best things that ever happened to me. If I had know at 17 what I know now, I would have made it through to get my degree, and really could have had an easier time of it. I take Welbutrin for ADD, not ritalin. There are a lot of doctors, including mine, who do not think that ritalin is appropriate for adults. It does work. being a anti-depressant also, it does help with the depression some people get with ADD. The effects are pretty mild, it just gets easier to concentrate and you are not always stressed out from having to fight distractions all the time.
As for college, they are required by law to accomadate you. It is considered a disability, so they can in no way discriminate against you for it. Same with employers.
My confidence and self-esteem went up as I learned more about it. I realize now why I do the things I do, and can work towards changing the things I don’t like for the better. There are a lot of things that you can do to deal with it. Email me if you have any questions, or just wanna comunicate with someone who has been there.
There is a great book I have at home, I will look up the tittle after I get off work and post it. Once again, be glad you found out now, instead of later like me. When I think of all the money I blew on college courses that I didnt finish etc…
I was able to function, somewhat into my twentys, with no meds. If you had asked me, I would have thought I was doing fine. It wasnt until I started taking welbutrin that I realized how much better life could be. I was convinced that I could never finish anything I started, Jobs were always going to be tortureously boring, and I being miserable and bored was just a fact of life. The medication I take has a mild effect, I can still tell that I have ADD, and I still have some of the same problems. But now, they are easier to manage. Where used to be I was stressed out from having to constantly force myself to pay attention, and never wanting to start any kind of project, because I was afraid I wouldnt be able to finish it, now it only takes a little effort to concentrate, and as long as I break up projects into smaller tasks, I can finsih what I start. Its not so much about haveing to have the meds, I can do without them. Its just the quality of life is better.
In a perfect world, ADD would just be a personality type, but we live in a world designed and run by people who dont have it, and cant understand those of us who do. We have to play by their rules.
I’ve been reading articles and help docs most of the day and I calmed down a lot. I guess I was just very very frustrated because for so long all I wanted was to be a better student and I knew I couldn’t help my grades and that something was wrong, but after so many people tell you that it’s your fault, you do start to believe it, I’m afraid to say.
I’d like to thank you all for stopping in to talk to me. I really just needed people to talk to me today. It helps me a lot to know that perfect strangers are willing to offer advice and comfort to me. Makes me feel all “warm and fuzzy” so to speak.
I am starting to look at this as a good thing because now that I know the problem, I can go about fixing it, whereas before, I just got depressed. I finally found a nice shrink who is going to help me through psychotherapy, and he says that hopefully by the time I start college I’ll have all of my mind in order.
Oh, and if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s milk the heck out of illness or hurts of any kind. This is definitly one of those things… <grin>
But the only difference was, I didn’t worry about it. Life is far, far more than a GPA and the “ideal” college. Quite frankly, if you work hard and work smart it is irrelevant what college you go to.
Of course, advising an ADHD sufferer that all they have to do in order to succeed is “work hard” is probably not the most tactful course of action. But I do appreciate the spirit of your statement; life has handed us lemons, and it is our job to make lemonade.
[bug-eyed Earl]My mama always said, when life gives you poop…make poop-juice.[/bug-eyed Earl]
I have a friend who’s a very successful Hollywood screenwriter. He has ADHD, and so do his sons. He credits his creativity to the ADHD and has learned to work within his disabilty. And, even as an adult, he takes ritalin. SO do his sons. But most importantly, he’s learned how to manipulate his illness, in some ways. He’s still very distractable, but instead of getting up and wandering around while he writes, which doesn’t allow him to write, he compensates by allowing himself to surf the net while writing. He’s still at his computer, he still gets stuff done, but it allows him to wander in his mind. Don’t consider yourself disabled, think of yourself as a natural-born multitasker! Good luck!
I have a suspicion that your shrink didn’t exactly put it that way. Hopefully you will find that your mind is ALREADY in order, it just isn’t in the order that everyone else expects it to be. Is that a bad thing?
Deiket, I think you’re doing just fine.
I found out just a few months ago that I’m ADD. What an eye-opener! I have always felt guilty because, according to my test scores, I have a high IQ. Yet, I can’t concentrate, and my mind goes blank all the time. I didn’t even try to go to college, because I felt like I’d just space out in class. I thought it was a character-related issue, and beat myself up over it repeatedly over the years. I never talked to anyone about it, because I just wanted more than anything to be “normal”. I have been dogged by depression most of my life.
Now, I understand what’s been going on in my head. I am not a bad person, or lazy. I have a divergent thinking style. Being a divergent thinker can be a very good thing.
People with ADD/ADHD also have the ability to hyperfocus, which comes in handy. We can excel at things that we love.
ADD/ADHD is not an excuse, it’s an explanation. I wish I’d known a lot sooner. I want to try college as soon as I can, now that I know why I have trouble focusing. Knowing what I know now, I can break down tasks, or try meds, whatever—but I can DO something about it.
Now that you have an explanation, you can move ahead with your life.
I put myself on a schedule. I’ve also been throwing out lots of clutter in my house, starting with the extra junk in my bedroom. I seem to be able to think more clearly in uncluttered surroundings. I had a daunting amount of stuff to get rid of, so I just put on my schedule: “get rid of a few useless things today”, so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed. I’m learning to get around my “do it all or do nothing” perfectionist mentality.
Therein lies the difference between you and I, Ultra: I don’t believe that Deiket is “suffering” from anything. The exact same things that you and Deiket describe fits me exactly, but neither I nor my family saw anything wrong with me. Otoh, the school (who didn’t want to bother with an overinquisitive child) “diagnosed” me with MBD (Minimal Brain Disorder, the ADHD of the late-70’s.) I had a tested IQ of 135, I taught myself how to read when I was two, I read my first novel when I was but six, but still I had all the classic “symptoms” of ADHD to the point where the school put me in Resource (read: special ed) - this DESPITE carrying a straight-A average from the first grade until the second quarter of the fifth grade. As far as I could tell, my greatest “wrong” was that I was a kid who kept his own counsel.
He (and I and millions of others) have a personality type that somehow has become a disease in the minds of millions, and people like us are being drugged for the express purpose of making us not like us. Call me paranoid but in a way I think the war against ADHD is a sort of genocide of the mind, a war against people who are fairly bright and pretty focused. And yes, I mean “focused” because I bet if Deitek likes the subject at hand, his (her? I’m new here and don’t even know the regulars) attention span increases to the point of obstinacy and know-it-allism. I know: I’ve been there.
Btw, are you and Deitek the youngest kid in either of your families?
Deiket, I’m sorry that they would take such a long time to diagnose something like this- it must feel really frustrating. I don’t really have any pearls of wisdom except to echo other dopers…I’m sure you’ll do fine. From talking to you online, you appear really intelligent, and you’re a fan of Jurassic Park (constitutes intelligence in my book! :))
If you ever need to talk or anything like that, you know my IM name.
I really don’t know anything about ADHD or those things, except I’d been led to believe it’s not so much a disease or an affliction you’re suffering from - it’s just a behaviour or personality type. And because it’s a widespread personality type that has some difficult factors to negotiate, it has been given a name: ADHD.
So don’t get angry over spending a short lifetime not knowing your personality type has a subgroup title - it really wouldn’t’ve made a difference if they’d named it earlier or later. You still are who you are, and behave how you do.
To answer the question of if I’m the youngest, I’m actually an only child. I’m also adopted, which is kind of a double whammie. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m definitly not saying there’s anything wrong with adoption, just that it’s really tough to get family medical histories and probably with a history, I might’ve been told sooner why my mind wanders. Or so I’m told.
I have three loves. Acting, English literature, and writing. Math, science, history, those I could pretty well care less about. I am top of my class in the first three, not so hot in the others. Apparently, though, my school thinks more of the maths and sciences than the stuff I’m actually good at. And, if you don’t mind a little bragging, I AM good at them.
But even with English and writing, my mind tends to wander. Shiny things are very attractive, flashing also, like TV’s or computers and since I work mainly on a computer it’s tough. So, whenever my mind flips over to the next thing, I just play a game or two of solitaire. I am, however, seeking one of those old typewriters, not the electric kind, because I love them and they won’t distract me as much.
I should clarify…most ADHD people, such as you and I, don’t often suffer from anything other than the prejudices society has for anyone who’s different. On the other hand, some do have a serious learning disability; my cousin falls into the second group. She’s a real sufferer.
I believe Deitek is female. And I’m quite familiar with the know-it-all syndrome.
Can’t speak for her, but I’m the oldest by about six years.
I was always told by my teachers that I wasn’t applying myself.
OR
He won’t pay attention in class, he’s always talking to other people in the middle of class.
OR
(in H.S.)He just doesn’t care, but he is really smart.
I scored a 28 on my ACT’s (IQ is close to genius level), I knew the material they taught me in school, the first time they taught it to me.
Then they would go back over it again and again, thats when I lost interest and quit doing my homework.
They wanted to put me on ritalin, and I said no. It’s a behavioral altering drug. I liked who I was, and saw no need for change, I was also considered border line, though.
Now my youngest brother also has ADD, which is slightly different, ADD means basically that you have a learning disability. And in his case he has to take the medicne to learn, and he is really hyper too.
Depending on your situation, I in my own opinon would discourage taking the pills, but do what you think is best for you.
ADHD really isn’t that big a deal anyways, alot of people have it I mean alot.
If he is hyper, he has ADHD. The only differance between ADHD and ADD is that ADHD has the hyperactive feature, and ADD does not. Its a little more than a learning disability. It effects many other areas of your life as well. Time management for instance, and impulse control. t
