The Forums › Forums › I Just Found Out! › I Suspect I Am › Feeling like a failure, desperate. › Re: Feeling like a failure, desperate.
Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, lost the T-shirt, bought a new T-shirt, forgot I bought it, bought another T-shirt, realized I now have 2…
You get the idea.
I went from straight A’s (except for penmanship in elementary school, and except for math in high school) to barely passing at university, because I couldn’t concentrate on my studies or assignments, and preferred to go to the reference library and study things that were more interesting. Then, I struggled through a succession of jobs that should have been very easy for me, but were actually soul-destroying and very difficult. That was a long time ago, and I only discovered I have ADHD, about 3 years ago. So I can imagine how you’re feeling right now, because that’s how I felt.
Now that you suspect you might have ADD, please do the other diagnostic tests on this site (listed under “Tools”), and print out the results to discuss with your doctor. These tests are just a first step, and you really need a full diagnostic test to determine whether or not you probably have it. I say, “probably” because there are many symptoms that overlap with symptoms of other conditions. Plus, a lifetime of struggling to function, can leave you with comorbidities like depression and anxiety. (Or, in other words, when ADD moves in, it often brings along a bunch of friends.)
Dr. Jain and Rick Green have just published a great little book, organized into small easy-for-the-ADD-brain-to-absorb segments. It’s a great first step to understanding what ADD is, recognizing the symptoms (which you will probably respond to with, “You mean, that’s not how most people feel/act?”), and coming up with structures & plans to maximize the benefits of ADD (and there are lots of them) while minimizing the difficulties.
The book is called “ADD Stole My Car Keys”, and you can get it from here or from Amazon.com. It even comes in e-book form, which means you can adjust the font size on your Kindle to make it even easier to absorb!
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