Reply To: GRR Highly Suspect I Am…BUT Questioning Assessment, She suspected otherwise

[blackdog]

@skippingrock

Psychiatrists excel at making people feel like crap. It’s their purpose in life. 😉

Actually, there are good ones and bad ones, and some just don’t have a good understanding of ADHD. And without the more obvious symptoms, like hyperactivity, it is harder to diagnose. There is no one specific way to determine if it is ADHD or not because it presents differently in each person and there are so many other things that look like it.

The first stop is almost always depression and anxiety. That was the diagnosis I got the last time too. The best thing to do is go along with it. Take the antidepressants until you know for sure if they are working or not (at least 6-8 weeks). If depression is the problem, you should get better. If you get worse, then it may mean that it is ADHD. But it may also mean that you just need a different antidepressant.

If you have ADHD you were born with it and the signs should have been there right from the start. Ask siblings, friends, cousins, anyone who knew you as a child what they think. Write down some examples of behaviour from your childhood that show signs of ADHD. Then take all of that with you to your appointment.

Just keep at it until you find what works. The diagnosis is not as important as finding what will make you better. If you can’t get this psychiatrist to listen to you then ask your doctor for a referral to another one.

Good luck. 🙂

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