I think I have ADHD? Maybe I should pursue a diagnosis?
Hi, I'm 18 and I'm sure I got a few issues and disturbs that stop me from doing the stuff I want and am supposed to do... Recently I found out I may have ADHD and I think that would explain a lot of stuff. Like, I always let stuff to the last minute, I was always late going to places (school, courses, appointments, everything with specific hour of starting), I can't follow routines, I'm having a lot of trouble remembering stuff I just saw, I'm having a hard time focusing... Idk... I have a lot of stuff going on at the same time in my mind that I just get lost and tired... p.s.: I'm not allowed to go to therapy, so I don't know when I'll get professional help and try to get any diagnosis... I do know other disturbs can cause ADHD symptoms and I'm just so lost.
Hello @thenewkaty. We are not trained enough to provide medical advice but if you would like to talk further our listeners would be happy to talk 1-on-1 with you!
If you want to persue a formal diagnosis the way I’m familiar with that happening is you bring it up with your primary care doctor. I’m not sure if they will refer you to a specialist or do the testing themselves, or just do a screener. However you may not need a formal diagnosis, and it’s up to you to decide that. If you know you have ADHD you can give yourself accommodations and you already understand more of how your brain works. What will a formal diagnosis get you that self diagnosis won’t?
I'm not an expert, I may be wrong about my self diagnosis... But having certainty will help me to understand it better and treat it... Life isn't supposed to be a 24/7 struggle.
While this is a good answer, in some countries you have to have a formal diagnosis to receive accommodations. We can certainly give yourself accommodations in how we approach our daily lives but a formal diagnosis may be needed to receive accommodations for living arrangements on campus and/or classroom accommodations to ensure the person is receiving the best care possible. Also, while I see your point, if we aren't trained and experts on these things then we can't be 100% sure we actually have something.
Yes, but it’s important to keep in mind “experts” get things wrong as well. Nothing is 100% and no one can be 100% sure about anything, especially when it comes to other people. And if a label helps you and isn’t hurting anyone I see no reason not to use it. My sibbling is self diagnosed ADHD and it’s helped us understand her behavior and how to go about making functioning for her easier, and formal diagnosis isn’t available to her atm. Sure we could be wrong about their ADHD but she has almost all of the symptoms for innitentive, relates to the experiences of other ADHDer’s, and saying that they have ADHD has improved their life by explaining what’s going on and giving tools to communicate, as well as giving ideas as to what may help manage their ADHD. Witch is in a lot of circumstances what diagnosis is about! Sure getting a formal diagnosis helps but it’s not always available, and can still be inaccurate. We know what is going on inside our own brains better than anyone else, “experts” just take the knolage we have about our brains and give it a name, if someone was able to give it a name themselves and are confident with that, it doesn’t hurt anyone, and it’s helpful, good for them. Not every diagnosis is correct, and there are obstacles to getting that diagnosis. And I did just mean personal accommodations. /nm /g 🎨
