I just found this site and I want to learn all I can about this condition since I now know I'm ADHD, not just surmising it....(hmmm, that sounds like me!). I have never taken Rx meds for ADHD; however, for 3 yrs now I've been on sertraline (Zoloft) for anxiety and that helps.
My girlfriend asked me how it feels to know you are ADHD and my first response was "it's a label". After I thought about it for awhile, I felt some sadness about learning about this so late (after 36 yrs of FT work). I just think my professional life could have been more satisfying overall. I did have a good run (I loved taking assessment tests and learning about my tendencies), but maybe meds would have made fitting in a bit less painful at times. Just so you know, it is possible to function successfully in a professional career but you need to recognize areas for improvement and be determined to work on those areas (i.e. becoming a better listener, being aware of how one "comes across" to others during team discussions; impulsive behaviors that sabotage organization and prioritization etc.) or your career will be continually upended.
TartanCat gave good advice re. a planner. You really need to make a task list and TRY to prioritize it daily...in a job. At home, you'll get by, but not in a job! For me, the child is alive and well as I near my 60's.
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Originally Posted by TartanCan
Hunter and Adrienne:
I feel your pain. I was first diagnosed with ADHD nearly 30 years ago, just after I got kicked out of engineering school for "lack of progress". It did not seem to matter that I operated the transmitter at the campus TV station or helped to build a prototype of a radical new computer design,
I eventually found my niche, if I have one, working as a writer. I can be interested in everything and then throw it away as quick as the next assignment comes in.
Over the years I've met some fascinating people, and although I've no degree of my own, I've always worked with people who have their master's and doctorates.
There are many books available about how to make a go of it as an ADHD suffer. if I had to summarize their advice, it would be to pick a career where change and pressure are the norm. And lighten up on yourself. ADHD can be a gift. It certainly makes you unique.
Hunter, the most valuable thing I can see you doing is getting an inexpensive daybook -- -- something from Wal-Mart. Keep a running To Do list. Plot activities for each day, and then replot them for the days following when something catches your mind and distracts you. You may sometimes feel crushed under the weight of that list, but remember that you are the one who wrote it. All of your bright ideas and promises are there. You will at least have a chance to act on them before you forget them. And yes, you must constantly guard against misplacing the darn book.
I find that family and friends do not very much understand the challenges I face with ADHD. When something falls through a hole in my mind and is gone, they somehow think it means I do not care. If anyone knows a way to explain this, I'd like to hear it. Best of luck,
TartanCat
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