Still Hibernating....Adult ADD Not Just For Kids
Hello all! First, apologies for the hibernation, it seems spring has not yet sprung for me and so I'm still firmly hiding in my hole. We're almost through March now, though, so that's a good thing. January through March are the worst months of the year (for me) and so I'm keeping my head down and plowing on through. It's a strange deal, because I'm no fan of hot weather--so you'd think I'd really enjoy this time of year...but not so. October through December are actually my favorite months. Notice I seem to approach the months in groups of threes. Weird, yet boring observation, yes?
Anyway, I recently posted on my FB some articles and a quiz concerning Adult ADD/ADHD and after the response it got there, I thought perhaps I should share it here as well. If it helps even one person stop beating themselves up over a genuine medical condition, then it's worth crawling, unwillingly, out of my cave to share it. I know a lot of people believe that ADD/ADHD isn't a real medical condition or that it's something people use as an excuse for their undesirable behavior, but I've worked with special ed kids long enough to assure anyone who asks that it is real.
Do some kids (adults?) use the diagnosis to shirk responsibility for their behavior? Sure, that does happen, I've witnessed it first-hand, but I have also witnessed kids so ate up with ADHD that they had to be miserable with the lack of control they had over their own actions. I've watched one in particular struggle with ADHD and, though the kid in question sometimes drove me up a wall and back, I also felt myself feel really bad for the kid because I know he had to be miserable to not be able to just STOP. Stop moving, stop thinking, stop talking, stop and just stop. It was exhausting to watch much less live, I'm sure.
Recently, my sister brought it to my attention that she feels I have Adult ADD (it's not just a condition that affects kids, folks)...which I've pondered myself before but dismissed. As some of you know, I struggle with depression and anxiety and that explains my need to sometimes just hide away and NOT DEAL...but what I didn't know was that people with ADD often are also diagnosed with anxiety and depression as well as other things that "mask" the ADD.
So, I did some research on it and took an online quiz. Now, obviously, taking an online quiz is not the same as seeing a medical professional, but I thought maybe it was a place to start--plus, I was curious. The first time I took the quiz, I was really reluctant with some of the questions and so I tended to be very conservative with my answers--but I still scored 77...when I re-took the quiz and abandoned all hesitation and just answered the questions with my first thoughts, I scored a 100. Heh. Both scores firmly put me in the highest bracket.
Below, I'm sharing the link to the quiz and links to some articles about ADD/ADHD for those of you who might be interested. It might also interest you to note that people who have ADD/ADHD tend have low self-esteem...which in hindsight makes a lot of sense to me and I can see how that would have impacted me on a personal level and how that goes a long way in explaining certain things about myself regarding my low self-esteem.
But, it also explains things like my racing mind, my avoidance of dealing with things as simple as e-mails and PMs, feeling agitated and overwhelmed (almost like my skin is crawling or like shook up soda pop), interrupting people in a conversation and then feeling deep embarrassment and shame at my lack of self control, why it feels almost physically painful to force myself to complete certain tasks and why some tasks go undone, why my internal self-chatter often includes "Idiot, idiot, idiot--what is wrong with you," as well as feeling extreme frustration and a sense of my life being out of control and me being stuck in it like I'm at its mercy, and feeling like I walk around with my foot permanently in my mouth, etc. (I could go on for a while). But, also interesting, it would seem that people with this condition also tend to be very creative...so perhaps there is an up side?
Anyway, here are the links.
Take a the quiz: HERE!
Read more about the condition and its symptoms (I had to put a check my almost all of them, lol): HERE!
Helpful tips on coping with it: Self-Help for Adult ADD/ADHD and 50 Tips of Management
Anyway, I recently posted on my FB some articles and a quiz concerning Adult ADD/ADHD and after the response it got there, I thought perhaps I should share it here as well. If it helps even one person stop beating themselves up over a genuine medical condition, then it's worth crawling, unwillingly, out of my cave to share it. I know a lot of people believe that ADD/ADHD isn't a real medical condition or that it's something people use as an excuse for their undesirable behavior, but I've worked with special ed kids long enough to assure anyone who asks that it is real.
Do some kids (adults?) use the diagnosis to shirk responsibility for their behavior? Sure, that does happen, I've witnessed it first-hand, but I have also witnessed kids so ate up with ADHD that they had to be miserable with the lack of control they had over their own actions. I've watched one in particular struggle with ADHD and, though the kid in question sometimes drove me up a wall and back, I also felt myself feel really bad for the kid because I know he had to be miserable to not be able to just STOP. Stop moving, stop thinking, stop talking, stop and just stop. It was exhausting to watch much less live, I'm sure.
Recently, my sister brought it to my attention that she feels I have Adult ADD (it's not just a condition that affects kids, folks)...which I've pondered myself before but dismissed. As some of you know, I struggle with depression and anxiety and that explains my need to sometimes just hide away and NOT DEAL...but what I didn't know was that people with ADD often are also diagnosed with anxiety and depression as well as other things that "mask" the ADD.
So, I did some research on it and took an online quiz. Now, obviously, taking an online quiz is not the same as seeing a medical professional, but I thought maybe it was a place to start--plus, I was curious. The first time I took the quiz, I was really reluctant with some of the questions and so I tended to be very conservative with my answers--but I still scored 77...when I re-took the quiz and abandoned all hesitation and just answered the questions with my first thoughts, I scored a 100. Heh. Both scores firmly put me in the highest bracket.
Below, I'm sharing the link to the quiz and links to some articles about ADD/ADHD for those of you who might be interested. It might also interest you to note that people who have ADD/ADHD tend have low self-esteem...which in hindsight makes a lot of sense to me and I can see how that would have impacted me on a personal level and how that goes a long way in explaining certain things about myself regarding my low self-esteem.
But, it also explains things like my racing mind, my avoidance of dealing with things as simple as e-mails and PMs, feeling agitated and overwhelmed (almost like my skin is crawling or like shook up soda pop), interrupting people in a conversation and then feeling deep embarrassment and shame at my lack of self control, why it feels almost physically painful to force myself to complete certain tasks and why some tasks go undone, why my internal self-chatter often includes "Idiot, idiot, idiot--what is wrong with you," as well as feeling extreme frustration and a sense of my life being out of control and me being stuck in it like I'm at its mercy, and feeling like I walk around with my foot permanently in my mouth, etc. (I could go on for a while). But, also interesting, it would seem that people with this condition also tend to be very creative...so perhaps there is an up side?
Anyway, here are the links.
Take a the quiz: HERE!
Read more about the condition and its symptoms (I had to put a check my almost all of them, lol): HERE!
Helpful tips on coping with it: Self-Help for Adult ADD/ADHD and 50 Tips of Management