I was skeptical when it was suggested that I might have ADD (male, 41)

[Anonymous]

I recently took the online ADD test and my score was 6/9 for inattentive subtype. Okay, so it wasn’t actually recently, it just took me a long time to get around to writing about it. And taking the test. And joining this site.

I would say the diagnosis fits. I have a hard time focusing, but I also have a hard time NOT focusing on things sometimes. I don’t manage my time well because I feel compelled to try to finish things, or at least start them, or get the feeling that I’ve done enough to deserve to step away from them for a while. I also get caught up in following my curiosity (where does that street lead? what if I took a different way to get to work?). On the whole, though, I come across as not being curious and more withdrawn.

I began psychoanalytic therapy a few years ago, initially because it seemed like my personality was creating problems – time management, forgetting important things, fixating on small details. I actually like being at therapy sessions because it feels like I have the time and space to just observe my thoughts and analyze them. If I try to do that at other times it makes for frustrating conversations and I seem like I don’t know my own thoughts when I’m searching for something to say.

I do like details and curiosities that don’t matter much in the grand scheme of things and I tend to miss the big picture because of it, so I’m told. I get accused of being oblivious, sleepwalking, on autopilot.

At work I might work on something for maybe a minute before feeling drawn to something else, like going online. I think it’s a feeling that I might be missing out on something. I can focus for long periods on what I should be doing but only if it really interests me or if I’m really driven to finish it.

I usually can’t commit to reading just one book at a time. I have 3 or 4 on the go most of the time, but I might finish just one of them, over a really long time. Unless it really fascinates me, in which case I can’t put it down and it becomes a huge time-consuming distraction.

Anyway, what I’m wondering is if this sounds familiar to anyone and whether anyone’s found anything that helps. I’ll try pretty much anything, although I’d rather not turn to medication right away.

Looking forward to learning more here.

REPORT ABUSE

[Wgreen]

As for the attention thing:

Distractibility is classic ADD. ADDers can only rest on a thought until another more interesting thought comes along. It’s a convoluted Pied Piper complex: we cannot resist the temptation to trot off after any notion that is more compelling than the last. Similarly, we often find it hard to resist other temptations (compulsiveness).

Medication helps, if you can afford it, if you can tolerate it, and (increasingly) if you can find it. Many of the forum members have found other strategies useful. You can check out their posts on other strings.

Good luck.

REPORT ABUSE

[kc5jck]

That book thing sounds really familiar with me. It’s almost like I get interested in something, order books from Amazon, and by the time they arrive, like in two days, I’m already on to the next shiny thing.

I used to think that I had all these books because I had a curious mind and a high IQ. Now I am thinking that it may just be another manifestation of ADHD. Thinking . . . thinking . . . no, I think the former is true. ADHD explains why most of the books I have are unread. Well, at least it makes me feel a little better to think so.

As I mentioned before, I like to read fairy tales because they are short and don’t require a large investment of time.

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts