>>34723188
what were your symptoms

All they do is ask questions and if you match up with the criteria that means you have adhd, it's that simple, you have it, don't feel like an imposter silly

>>34723265
mostly hyperactivity, really bad memory, emotional dysregulation, trouble focusing

>>34723188
Same thing as you. I got meds though, especially for work. Before I got them, I thought i was just lowkey quirky, but with meds i realized that i am, actually, bad with attention and too hyperactive. theres this whole thing where the world teaches you to mask. your brain gets stuck in it for a good bit naturally. diagnosis helps unmasking and feeling less shame around symptoms.

adhd get dumbed down to rainbows, unicorns and stuff. but there is sleep problems, emotional dysregulation, lack of social clues, not knowing to speak in terms, rsd... it's shit, but when you make the link that these annoying problems are linked to your disorder, it helps you understand it all better. its not a disorder for nothing, shit is a geniune handicap.

but thankfully there is a whole world of ressources out there for these specific problems, so you arent alone.
meds truly changed my life btw, if you are able to get some i recommend it. makes you so much more productive with focus and hyperactivity

>>34723636
what bothers me is that often times you mention you have adhd or in my case when i wanted to get tested and after i did the test, you get "doesn't everyone have it nowadays?" as a respone. from my experience, no, no they don't. i know some people who have it but for most people they didn't show symptons when they were younger, nor do they exhibit them when they are older. i have seriously struggeld in school and in life because of it. society isn't made in a way to handle people that cant sit still for example. the biggest reason for me to get tested was due to emotional dysregulation.

sleep problems i do have too, but that's also often due to alcohol consumption, which i have a problem with but often enough i just wake up at night and start thinking and can't go to sleep. rsd is also a problem for me, especially when it comes to my love life. i have horrible memory, like seriously, i can't remember most of my past and i even forget stuff like who i went to see a specific movie with. like i remember watching the movie, but i don't remember the people, but they have no problems with that. like everyone just can talk about their childhood. i dont remeber what i did when i was 10 years old. i often feel like under electricity or if there is a motor inside of me that just keeps going.

lack of social cues? i thought that was an autism thing. like what do you mean specifically with that?

i am not sure if i am gonna get meds. i do function in my daily life even if i struggle with some stuff. i don't lose things, like many people do. with tasks i just keep making lists and going through them and then doing them one by one when i have the time. attention for me is also very much tied to wether i am interested in something, that does help a lot. i cant for the life of me listen to lectures though. i always get bored and start daydreaming or fiddling around or doing stuff.

so next step would be to see a psychiatrist or something

>>34723731
people think that adhd is the same as checking your phone. really fucking annoying i agree. adhd isnt fun, it got me misdiagnosed as bipolar because of how impulsive i acted and how hard i crashed.

>sleep problems i do have too
if melatonin is sold in your country, i heavily recommended it. changed my life, not addictive, and defo better than alcohol. i used to drink to put myself to sleep so i gotchu.

>ack of social cues? i thought that was an autism thing. like what do you mean specifically with that?
i also have autism, but most people with adhd ive met have problems when it comes to empathy and cutting sentences. empathy is in feeling too much, talking too much, taking things too much at heart. a girl i'm friend's with who has intense adhd often gets scolded by our group because she keeps interupting and so do i. on the other hand, my brother got diagnosed with adhd as well, and doesnt get social cues either. kinda like object permanance with feelings (??), if something feels boring and annoying to him he wont do it. or he will act impulsive and might make friends with everyone at a party while half drunk and stay friends with people who are obvious creeps because it stimulates him. idk if thats linked to adhd, but just a pattern i noticed.

>don't lose things, like many people do.
lucky, i lost my passport like 5 times as a kid kekw

>>34723731
>>34723762 (follow up)

>attention for me is also very much tied to wether i am interested in something, that does help a lot. i cant for the life of me listen to lectures though. i always get bored and start daydreaming or fiddling around or doing stuff.
yup checks out. adhd brains are all or nothing when it comes to dopamine, which is why meds help for boring tasks. i can hyperfocus like a god when something interests me, but as a grown adult, i need a pill to tackle administrative or boring work.
also adhd pills arent all background treatment, at least mine isnt. they are stimulants, kick in for 4 hours or 8, then youre back to normal. you can not take them for a few days, doesnt change how they work. in facts, break are recommended.i dont take mine on the weekend or when i gotta teach classes and need to be more hyperactive.
if you're into that, i recommend it for your classes. i wish i had my ritalin in college, i would have gotten better grades. as an active adult, it changed my life. home is clean, tasks are done. if you're not or scared, it's fine, pills arent an obligation. but just know you are allowed to take some with your diagnosis. changes life fr

>>34723762
i did take melatonin before, which was mostly due to not being able to fall asleep due to stuff going on in my life and not being able to shut down. i did not like that if you wake up at night and take it, you will feel sleepy during the day. right now, i also have some stress going on in my life and i take some other stuff to help me calm me down during the day, when i am nervous when i need it. not sure if it helps. i dont drink alcohol to fall asleep, i drink it because i am sad, or feel nervous to calm me down, especially in social situations that i am not used to. when i drink alcohol, i will only sleep for around 4 hours and then not be able to fall asleep again, because my brain cant shut down.

talking too much can be an issue for me, depends on the situation and my mood which isn't that good mostly. turns out i have dysthymia, i dont have issues with my self esteem though, i just dont care about it that much. but when i am in a good mood, i am really, really energetic. also have some troubles with people not finishing their scentences fast enough. what i don't get with others often times is why they keep using sub-text instead of being honest and saying what they are actually thinking. it's like they are constantly playing games.

i am not gonna say no to pills. i never do. could be interesting seeing if i get some, if they do make a difference. i am lucky enough to do stuff in my free time that interests me and my day job is also fine as far as work goes. i could never do a job where i sit all day infront of a computer. my job at leat involves physical activity.

do you guys act differently around your friends as compared to strangers? i feel like with many of my friends i don't have to behave in a way that would be unnatural for me. there is few things where i try to be considerate of them and make a conscious effort e.g. by letting them talk and trying not to dominate the conversation, when i notice it happening. with strangers it's different for me. i tend to be rather restrained around them, it takes a while for me to get to know them and loosen up and for them to realise that i have a few screws loose. it's nothing i do consciously.

>>34723636
>diagnosis helps unmasking
I wonder to which extent "masking" is just therapy speech for discipline.

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>getting diagnosed
I was flabbergasted. I always saw myself as a fuckup, but never thought there was something (mentally) wrong with my brain.

>changes
Well, coffee had to go. Stimulants and caffeine don't go well together. Sleep schedule needed to be fixed.
Also had to create scripts/lists to make sure i wouldn't waste my newfound focus on useless things.

Chronic multitasking also had to go - it's far too stressful and again, doesn't work so well when your dopamine levels are back to normal.

>outcome
I'm learning to forgive myself more and trying to give me rest days, where i completely stop and rest. Full on glued to the sofa/bed.

Of course, i take my medications, but that's not just the solution. You still have to put on some effort and sometimes allow yourself to rest from time to time.

Gotta remember that ADHD is a significant impediment and just by having it, your life expectancy is slashed by 20 years and you're 15x more likely to be unemployed/subemployed.

>>34725557
i think the difference mainly amounts to masking being something you do to fit into society, so yes, it requires some form of discipline or self control, but from my understanding, and correct me if i am wrong, you mask to not stick out or cause trouble in social situations. for example not being able to sit still is a problem for many people with adhd, it's also socially unacceptable in many places like school or work or funerals and will draw negative reactions from others. to my understanding most people don't have problems with being able to sit still.

>>34725825
to add to that, there is a wikipedia article that also mentions that for people with autism some masking behaviors are also automatic, so they don't require discipline

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>>34723188
I was diagnosed as a small child. Parents put me on meds but stopped after a year because the relatives were like, he doesn't need that shit.

Then I "forgot" I was ADHD for like 20 years because I was led to believe it's something you grow out of when you're a teenager. My parents had grown up somewhere where mental health education was not a thing. I grew up in the US. Was a clown in elementary school, a weirdo in middle school, and an outsider in high school. My senior year was soul-crushingly lonely, sitting alone at lunch tables reading my books. Managed a Bachelor's degree (sadly in CS, now useless) through a lot of all-nighters and last-minute turn-ins, before I came to the realization during my retail job that this was something I was still dealing with.

Then I became really hyper-fixated on learning about my ADHD and all its symptoms. Got prescribed methylphenidate for a few months. Determined it was making me too autistic to do my social job correctly. So I guess I got undiagnosed autism too, that the ADHD was masking.

Still in the process of trying to manage my ADHD the old-fashioned way with optimizing my diet, exercise, seeing what supplements work and don't work. Quitting caffeine on-and-off. Probably what's most helpful in terms of happiness is finding other ADHD buddies who both vibe in exactly the right way with you, and also completely understand what you're dealing with. I am grateful for my job because it helped me find other people who fell through the cracks.

I was a very extroverted, creative and active kid (sometimes annoyingly so but my parents and relatives found it daring) until I got severely neglected during my early teenage years (10-13 years old, unrestricted and unsupervised use of an iPad and internet) where I lost all my spark and turned shy, angry and with self-image problems. During these years I developed severe executive functioning problems, such as brain fog, difficulty taking care of my hygiene and basically doing anything other than staring at a screen. I would do these out of pressure from my parents. During High School I turned friends with very disciplined and organized people and that helped me alot. My performance was good but I never really applied myself consistently. Now in college was when my problems really started showing, living alone was horrible and I failed two semesters. Decided to get help as things slowly started to get harder and harder (normal things like waking up) and I've been taking atomoxetine for about 6 days now.

>>34725906
in what way would optimizing your diet help? just curious.

> Probably what's most helpful in terms of happiness is finding other ADHD buddies who both vibe in exactly the right way with you

yeah that's super nice!

i know some people with adhd, what's interesting for me is that each of us is also pretty different from each other. but then also, i am in a social circle with people who all struggle with their own issues and have had major lows in the past, and it wasn't always easy with each other, but it's really nice to see that despite all of this, we are still friends and we try to learn from our mistakes, and grow together.

>>34723188
I thought a lot about my ADHD.

At least I tried to, but I kept getting distracted.

>>34725906
>I was diagnosed as a small child
wtf nigga what kinda diagnosis is that? They gonna diagnose me as an old lady next?

>>34723188
Was undiagnosed until near 30. My experience was I was a weird kid but not autistic, I could understand social cues down to the last detail I just had no patience with social pageantry at all and I was easily angered often and I was ruminative as shit, most of my life has been spent in my own head and not in reality, small tasks feel like marathons, checking emails takes an act of courage and my curse is I socially appear as a competent hyper normie but I'm a cognitive retard. If I try to tell people not to expect normie standards from me, if I tell them about my diagnosis, they acknowledge and respect and support..

... Until it hits them I ain't changing because it's cognitively impossible. Then I'm an 'asshole' then I'm the 'lazy retard' then all the prior care and consideration goes out the window and people just fuck off at some point and I have to sit there and take it, bite my tongue, pretend I am sorry for something I can't control 100%, and I carry the social disgrace for just being myself.

My mind copes by getting distracted by hyperfocused interests that last about a week at most, juggling multiple at a time. If I'm lucky impostor syndrome kicks in and makes me forget I have the stupid fucking disorder.

Bad memory, I literally I can forget to do a thing I was thinking about doing in about 5 seconds if an another thought slips in-between.
Either I don't focus or I hyperfocus on some articles I won't remember anyway
Executive function is in the shitter, most of it goes towards my job and not being an absolute dirty pig, my rooms are cluttered, I do bare minimum of cleaning.
Ironically enough, I can remember stuff if I focus enough to write it down
Often miss shit in conversations. It doesn't help I might be autistic/schizoid and lowkey barely care about people unless the risk of ostracism comes in (hello, early school life). RSD, perhaps?
I my life, I managed to make out with a girl many years ago; I'm a virgin so far. I realize there were probably few girls interested in me. 'tism and feeling of being a pariah didn't help
No actual hobbies I would be deep into - I just do little of everything.
I wanted to be an artist/gamedev for years at this point - I barely managed to do few prototypes when I was starting out. Art side is laughable, but I could earn some audience if I actually sat down to draw shit
Can't even talk about it with my parents because they're lowkey retarded when it comes to emotional/psychological stuff and would just tell me off. I have no one to honestly talk to because I would just look like a blunt asshole
I had a weird ache/tightness in my chest since I remember. I was supposed to take a day off to make a reservation to get it tested. Didn't do so despite planning to do so for years.

As far I have estimated, my trajectory is/was on being lone man hopelessly trying to maintain my house after my parents' deaths unless my relatives stepped in.

Got onto methylphenidate, though. It's kinda helping, but not nearly enough most of the time and I can't quite up the dose because it just numbs me and makes me horny as hell, so I just lose time masturbating. I might need to get onto Elvanse if possible.

>>34725906
>Still in the process of trying to manage my ADHD the old-fashioned way with optimizing my diet, exercise, seeing what supplements work and don't work.
Won't help for jack shit. You probably won't be able to stick to whatever stuff you hyperfixated onto for more than a month.

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>>34726494
Just make self-improvement your hyperfixation. Connect it to external motivations like I do. I've been keeping at it for maybe two years.

In terms of diet it's really just a focus on proteins, eating the rainbow, avoiding junk food and sugary drinks. Was fortunate to grow up on a mediterranean diet so it hasn't been that hard. I've drunk maybe like two cans of soda the past couple of years. I do cheat sometimes, but not enough to break what seems like 16-18% bodyfat. I don't drink alcohol in a general sense.

Getting some bodyweight fitness and dumbbells in at home at least twice-thrice a week. Sometimes I slouch on this. Always walking at my job too.

Daily supplementation isn't hard though obviously I'll forget a day here and there. It's a bit of trial and error. I like fish oil. Magnesium glycinate hasn't been kind to me at least lately, too much drowsiness. I think I've overdosed on vitamin D at this point so I'm taking a break from it. Still experimenting with what works and what doesn't, but blood tests do come back wonderful.

Honorable mentions for emotional regulation: Read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Watch David Foster Wallace's speech "This is Water'.

Does doing all this cure my ADHD? Obviously not. My working memory is shite. My executive function is shite. There's still at least a few televisons playing inside my head. But it helps.

>>34727684
vitamine d supplements are useful during winter, it's best not to over do it. too much of a good thing is a bad thing, not to mention that it's summer, you should be getting enough vitamin d anyway unless you aspend all days at home, but even then, just sit at a window for a while and it will do the job. where i live you can get your blood and piss tested once per year and will see any deficiencies. might wanna check that out.

i should probably make some general changes to my diet as well. i do eat lots of healthy stuff, but alcohol i should cut down and trying to eat less sugar. otherwise, coffeine would be good as well, but at this point it does help with functioning. at least i stopped smoking almost a year ago.

also always good for your diet is any fermented foods. highly recommended. it's a nice hobby to ferment stuff and the food is amazing and healthy.