The Forums › Forums › Tools, Techniques & Treatments › What Worked For Me… › Help! ADHD Diagnosis Process – Best Practice???? › Reply To: Help! ADHD Diagnosis Process – Best Practice????
Hello, welcome to T.A.D.D. 🙂
You will find lots of help here from the forums as well as the webinars and videos. Reading some of the stories here will help you to understand yourself a lot better. It was what led me to seek an assessment and official diagnosis.
I don’t really know how to answer your question but I’ll take a stab at it.
I don’t know how long it’s been since you lived in Canada, or what part of Canada you are in, but there is an extreme shortage of doctors in many areas and mental health services are in very short supply. Most psychiatrists will not take you on as a permanent patient. Not unless you are suffering from a severe mental illness.
I’m not sure what you are considering the psychologist for? They are, as I’m sure you know, very expensive and not really necessary for an ADHD diagnosis.
For ongoing support your best bet is probably an ADHD coach. You could also look for support groups in your area, but there don’t seem to be many of them.
There are two things you can do to help with the memory issues. One is to take a family member or good friend with you to the assessment so that they can help answer questions about your past. Some psychiatrists will insist on it, due to the fact that we can’t be trusted to remember things. If the one doing your assessment doesn’t ask you to bring someone you can still do it on your own.
The second is to make notes before you go. Just jot down anything that comes to mind that could be an example of the ADHD symptoms you experience. It’s easier to remember when you don’t have the pressure of trying to come up with an answer on the spot.
Though ADHD may be the primary condition, you also need to take care of the depression and anxiety. If you are not taking medication for it now you might want to consider that as an option, at least temporarily, until you get to a place where you are coping better.
Don’t dwell too much on how you got here. The regret, and guilt, and shame of all those pasts failures is weighing you down and stopping you from moving forward. You have to let it go. Forgive yourself. I know it’s hard but it’s the only way to do it if you want to get your life together and make a better future for yourself. You can’t change what has happened. You can only change what will happen.
REPORT ABUSE