Similar to Daylen's thread - haven't been officially diagnosed, but I think I have ADHD. Whenever I do work, I tend to overlook things, make mistakes, or lose focus easily. I also take a while to get started at different tasks and often jump on to another one in between. It's a miracle I've gotten thus far. : )
I'm going to ask the therapist I have seen once thus far to see if she can refer me to a test. Not sure what the hell people w/ ADHD do to cope besides take drugs. Hopefully, there's an alternative since I don't like drugs to solve my problems. Too many side effects.
I think I have ADHD and it affects my work?
Re: I think I have ADHD and it affects my work?
or maybe it's just normal and happens to most humans?
Re: I think I have ADHD and it affects my work?
As with anything/everything, it's a spectrum.
I would agree w/ BRUTE that under many conditions most humans can't really focus very well.. not so sure about making mistakes though?
http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/ad ... d-to-know/
I would agree w/ BRUTE that under many conditions most humans can't really focus very well.. not so sure about making mistakes though?
http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/ad ... d-to-know/
Re: I think I have ADHD and it affects my work?
This Is A Public Announcement to Northern Americans: Today it is possible to treat some illnesses and diseases without direct chemical intervention, in spite of what the American healthcare sector tells you.
There is, as a matter of fact, a long list of behavioural treatments that show better cohort results than medical intervention.
Announcement over.
TopHat.
I already said this once, I'll say it again: Your life as experienced via the ERE forums has been chock-a-block stuffed with: polyamory, ERE, investing knowledge, exam prepping, dating, workplace politics, job interviews, physical minimalism, getting fired, career considerations, getting dumped, dumping others, on and on....
First thing to weed out is the possibility that you're stressed the fuck out. Being stressed, paradoxically enough, doesn't feel like you're stressed, until you start coming down from the stress at which point you start to feel really awful all of a sudden. At which point you start working again and the feelings of restlessness, and lack of purpose go away.
A high work load is a high interest loan you take out on your mental ressources. Once you start to relax you start making back payments. The longer the loan has acquired interest, the longer you have to relax. Consider what you daily calender looked like for the last year or two. If your calender does not have several hours blocked out every day to do something that requires NO exertion at all, it's a good bet that you're not ADHD, but stressed.
You're not exactly living in a flow-state existence currently so the planned restitution is the pillar on which your mental health rests. If you we're 'in flow' all day the need for rest would be greatly mitigated. But you're not. Pay down your loan, then start working for real again.
You have money to spare, we all know you do. Three months of sleeping a lot, binge watching series, meditating, and eating whatever the fuck you want should give you a new perspective on life and on your mental health. That money is meant to keep you sane, right? That's the REAL purpose of FU money and FI. Right? Spend that money to keep yourself sane. The cost is a drop in a bucket compared to losing your shit. Trust me on this.
The symptons of over exertion in men and ADHD correlate highly. Take the least damaging treatment first. I've just been on sick leave for more than a year. 13 months, actually, in two days. Stress manifests itself as depression in my case, then the treatment manifested itself as ADHD symptoms because seemingly the depression treatment didn't help. 'turns out I was stressed the f*** out. You might not see the likeness between the two of us, but I do think, act, and plan like you appear to do on these forums; my written communication style is simply very different from how I am in daily life.
Do not, repeat, no NOT test yourself for ADHD until you've gone through stress rehab.
There is, as a matter of fact, a long list of behavioural treatments that show better cohort results than medical intervention.
Announcement over.
TopHat.
I already said this once, I'll say it again: Your life as experienced via the ERE forums has been chock-a-block stuffed with: polyamory, ERE, investing knowledge, exam prepping, dating, workplace politics, job interviews, physical minimalism, getting fired, career considerations, getting dumped, dumping others, on and on....
First thing to weed out is the possibility that you're stressed the fuck out. Being stressed, paradoxically enough, doesn't feel like you're stressed, until you start coming down from the stress at which point you start to feel really awful all of a sudden. At which point you start working again and the feelings of restlessness, and lack of purpose go away.
A high work load is a high interest loan you take out on your mental ressources. Once you start to relax you start making back payments. The longer the loan has acquired interest, the longer you have to relax. Consider what you daily calender looked like for the last year or two. If your calender does not have several hours blocked out every day to do something that requires NO exertion at all, it's a good bet that you're not ADHD, but stressed.
You're not exactly living in a flow-state existence currently so the planned restitution is the pillar on which your mental health rests. If you we're 'in flow' all day the need for rest would be greatly mitigated. But you're not. Pay down your loan, then start working for real again.
You have money to spare, we all know you do. Three months of sleeping a lot, binge watching series, meditating, and eating whatever the fuck you want should give you a new perspective on life and on your mental health. That money is meant to keep you sane, right? That's the REAL purpose of FU money and FI. Right? Spend that money to keep yourself sane. The cost is a drop in a bucket compared to losing your shit. Trust me on this.
The symptons of over exertion in men and ADHD correlate highly. Take the least damaging treatment first. I've just been on sick leave for more than a year. 13 months, actually, in two days. Stress manifests itself as depression in my case, then the treatment manifested itself as ADHD symptoms because seemingly the depression treatment didn't help. 'turns out I was stressed the f*** out. You might not see the likeness between the two of us, but I do think, act, and plan like you appear to do on these forums; my written communication style is simply very different from how I am in daily life.
Do not, repeat, no NOT test yourself for ADHD until you've gone through stress rehab.
Re: I think I have ADHD and it affects my work?
Stress for me is taking a look at my inner self and realizing I'm being torn/dragged in two (or more) different directions in life. It can lead to poor decision making or no decision making at all. Typical stress symptoms for me look exactly like the ones you posted THF. Lack of focus, lack of concentration, depression. Do the stress rehab as suggested 
-
jennypenny
- Posts: 6857
- Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm
Re: I think I have ADHD and it affects my work?
@THF -- You've asked about this before ... viewtopic.php?f=24&t=6593&p=96593#p96593
I agree with FBeyer that you should give yourself a break and avoid meds if possible. OTOH, it's hard to fix things when you don't know what's wrong. Did you look at the links in daylen's thread?
I'll also add that most people struggle during big transitions. You're adjusting to adult work/life in a new place, so it's totally normal to feel off your game. Allow yourself the room to make some mistakes. That's how you learn.
I agree with FBeyer that you should give yourself a break and avoid meds if possible. OTOH, it's hard to fix things when you don't know what's wrong. Did you look at the links in daylen's thread?
I'll also add that most people struggle during big transitions. You're adjusting to adult work/life in a new place, so it's totally normal to feel off your game. Allow yourself the room to make some mistakes. That's how you learn.
Re: I think I have ADHD and it affects my work?
In my personal and professional experience the best approach to many medical problems is to take it slowly, in steps. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Do nothing (sleep, meditate, turn off your phone).
Step 2: Collect information (low-tech/low-cost diagnosis, reference books, support groups).
Step 3: Engage your energy (color, smells, laughter, visualizations, crying, rituals).
Step 4: Nourish (herbs, life-style changes, physical activities).
Step 5: Stimulate/Sedate (hot/cold water, massage, alcohol, herbal remedies).
Step 6: Use supplements.
Step 7: Use drugs.
Step 8: Break and enter: surgery, invasive diagnostic tests, psychoactive drugs.
Good luck!
Step 1: Do nothing (sleep, meditate, turn off your phone).
Step 2: Collect information (low-tech/low-cost diagnosis, reference books, support groups).
Step 3: Engage your energy (color, smells, laughter, visualizations, crying, rituals).
Step 4: Nourish (herbs, life-style changes, physical activities).
Step 5: Stimulate/Sedate (hot/cold water, massage, alcohol, herbal remedies).
Step 6: Use supplements.
Step 7: Use drugs.
Step 8: Break and enter: surgery, invasive diagnostic tests, psychoactive drugs.
Good luck!
-
Dream of Freedom
- Posts: 753
- Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:58 pm
- Location: Nebraska, US
Re: I think I have ADHD and it affects my work?
I started but got distracted and moved on to something more interesting.Dream of Freedom wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:58 pmA short test. I scored 29%.
https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-test-adults/
Just kidding -- I got a 61%. I don't consider myself ADHD, just scatter-brained in the good way where I can process a lot of information at once and I'm not so married to how things are normally done. It may occasionally drive INTJs crazy but it's a terrific quality to have in a creative field.
When I feel stuck and unmotivated, I usually make a list to document ideas and sort them into bite-sized chunks. Check a few off, and motivation tends to snowball. And when I feel overly distracted I've learned to buckle down and focus until I achieve flow on a task, at which point I'm an idea machine and it's hard to pull me away. I'd much rather properly harness my own unique mindset into something positive rather than drug it into a dull gray oblivion.