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Do I Have ADHD?

Do I Have ADHD?2018-04-03T02:53:37+00:00

The Forums Forums Ask The Community Do I Have ADHD?

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  • #128763

    birdie
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    Post count: 2

    Hi guys, sorry, you doubtless get this question all the time, but I’d appreciate hearing from those well versed in the subject. I’ve recently been wondering if I have ADD inattentive type. I’ve already been diagnosed with autism, anxiety, depression and PTSD, and I know that all of those can look similar to, and be confused with, ADHD. I’m still wondering though, because my lifelong struggle to pay attention and remain focused without getting distracted by something else has always felt different than any of my other diagnoses.

    For instance, the autism allows me to hyper focus on a special interest exclusively for months at a time, but for projects that I want to try, but am not necessarily obsessed by, I will start them, then lose all interest in a matter of days or hours and never finish. My room is a graveyard for uncompleted projects.

    My ability to lose things I’ve only just put down is also uncanny. I can never find my phone, and now keep a spare key in a magnetic box under my car’s rear bumper, after having locked myself out for over an hour at a gas station in the middle of the work day, and after having, you guessed it, lost my original key for three days, only to find it later in my coat pocket.

    I have a vivid imagination, and literally spend time in a fantasy world that I created in my head, but I can come out of one of my epic daydreams to find someone asking me a question during a meeting, and my having no idea what’s happening. I’ve had teachers at school ask me questions, and I had to tell them honestly, “sorry, I wasn’t listening, what did you say?”

    I get distracted by external stimuli so easily it’s not even funny. If I’m trying to get ready for work and my sister has the TV on, even if it’s not a show I like, I get stuck staring at the screen, and she has to literally yell my name to get my attention, because the outside world disappears.

    I have more, but this is getting long already. I’m trying to find someone to conduct an assessment, and my immersion in the mental health world thanks to all my other issues will be helpful there. In the meantime, I appreciate any insights you all have.

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    #128770

    That Guy with ADHD
    Participant
    Post count: 123

    Hi birdie and welcome to the forum!

    Those do sound like ADHD traits. I have most of those and more (except the Autism and PTSD). While they do sound like ADHD, however, it can’t be diagnosed based on a single forum entry. That being said I think there is enough there to warrent a visit to a doctor for an evaluation. The testing prossess is quite lengthy and will often involve family members and friends in order to get a clear view of how it affects your life. While you wait for testing you can read up on it. There are some great videos and blog entries on this site as well as other sites and books. You can also learn a lot from reading the forum entries in here.

    Best of luck

    Richard
    AKA That Guy with ADHD

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