Hi I hope yall are doing well. I will start off by saying that while I have experienced issues with ADHD throughout my entire life and that I am pretty positive that most of my family has ADD/ADHD, I was only formally diagnosed in 10th grade, which was about 5 years ago. Even then, I still did not take it seriously and went about my life without changing anything or really being aware of everything that being ADHD entailed. Now I am in grad school for Early Childhood Special Education, which is actually causing me to become somewhat introspective about my habits and general personality. Everyone who knows me or has spent any amount of time with me can figure out that I have ADHD and I am constantly reminded of my innattentiveness or randomness by my friends. It is not something that I really mind because everyone accepts me for who I am.

But lately I have been wondering about the correlation between ADHD and Impulsivity. I started to really think about this after I made a rash decision this weekend and hooked up with a guy that my best friend likes and has been talking to this weekend. The thing is that this was never something that I planned to do and I am still not quite sure how it happened. Even though the situation has been somewhat resolved, I do not want to keep making these decisions that I could easily prevent. I tend to act on feeling and jump right into something, and do not always stop to think of the long term effects of my actions. This was okay when I was younger and even in high school, but now I am 21 years old. I have a good heart and never intend to hurt people, so when it is my close friends I feel very regretful.

I have never taken medication for ADHD or really talked to anyone about strategies or ways to successfully manage my time or to make better decisions. Now I am wondering if I should as these things do not come naturally to me. What are some thoughts on how I can make better decisions and not give in to my own impulses (or really in most cases I give in to the influence of others, even if it os something that I am normally against.)

I realize that this is very long and I thank in advance whoever decides to read this whole thing. Any advice at all will be helpful and I will read others' posts and try to offer my own insight as well.

Thank you!!