I'm sorry if this is too long. I really felt that I needed to explain things in detail. I'd appreciate if you could read and reply.
Also, I posted this on the 'Ask a therapist' section. Just thought I'd mention.

I'm a 21 year guy from India (yes, the third world country in Asia). I cannot go to a therapist or a doctor because problems like ADD are not taken very seriously in my country. People here believe that neurological/emotional/psychological disorders are things that the westerners came up with because they have too much money and time on their hands. People who think they are suffering from some kind of a disorder are thought of as people who are seeking excuses to justify their failure(s). Which is why I desperately need help from people on this site.

In my country, being academically poor is tantamount to being a criminal. And I'm not exaggerating. I'm a 2nd year college student. I'm studying Information Technology Engineering and I'm really struggling.

I've had a lot of problem with academics since I was in 6th grade. Unlike other academically bad people, I don't go out, party, smoke, drink etc etc. I try to study all day but its just too hard for me to actually concentrate. Especially on subjects that do not interest me. I have very little efficiency. I need like an entire day to study what others might get done in 3 or 4 hours. And its not because I can't comprehend the subject. Its because I get distracted too easily and end up wasting all my time. And because I can't pay attention to what is being taught in class. I've taken many IQ tests to see if I have low IQ or something, but it seems that my IQ is just as good as my other friends who are doing good well in college.

I've typed some of the symptoms that I have, that I think might have something to do with ADD :-
- I'm barely able to meet deadlines (for submission of assignments)
- I'm extremely careless. Have always been careless. If someone tells me, in the morning, to do something later on in the afternoon or in the evening, you can pretty much rest assured I won't remember to do it (unless I set a reminder on my cell phone).
- Sometimes when people are talking to me, I find myself drifting away from the conversation and start thinking about something completely different. But I keep nodding my head and I keep saying "oh", "uh huh", "yes", "I see", etc etc... so the other person thinks that I'm actually listening to them. But I don't do it on purpose. It just happens.
- Sometimes when someone ask me something, I'll reply 'yes' or 'no' without actually realizing what I'm saying or what the other person has asked. Its almost like a reflex.
For example - if my mother asks me - "Do you want coffee?"
I'll say "Yes" without even realizing what she has asked me. Off course this happens mostly when I'm busy doing something else.
- Sitting in a class has always been extremely difficult for me.
Whenever I'm in class, I keep looking at my watch and I basically can't wait for the period to get over so I can just run out of the class. Because of this, I skip a lot of classes and often lose marks because of lack of attendance.
- If I do manage to attend a lecture, paying attention to what the teacher is saying is just impossible for me. Whereas the other students don't find it difficult at all. I mostly start day dreaming when I'm sitting in class.
- During practical sessions, our professors teach/demonstrate to us a particular assignment/experiment in groups of 10-15 students. When all the others are carefully paying attention to what the professor is saying or doing, I find myself getting restless and paying attention is not only difficult, but almost impossible. This happens more when we(the students) are standing in laboratory instead of sitting in a classroom.
And this is how it was in elementary school and high school too.
- I daydream a lot. A LOT! I just can't help it. I'm known as "the guy who's always on another planet".
- if I sit down to study something, I'll do it for like 10 minutes and then I'll have urges to get up, walk around, watch some TV etc etc...
- I make extremely careless mistake in subjects like mathematics. If I'm solving a calculus problem, I'll do it all correctly till the last few steps, which are actually supposed to be the easiest. I'll end up making an extremely careless mistake. You cannot even imagine how many times I've been shouted at by both, teachers and my dad because of this (my dad is an engineer. so he taught me science and math in high school).
- I have trouble being punctual too. I'm always running 10-15 minutes late.
- In school, some teachers would tell me that I'm not living up to my potential.
- In 10th grade, a couple of teachers told my parents that they thought "something is not quite right with your child". They thought that I was suffering from depression and that it seemed to them like I always have a lot on mind. Obviously, nothing was done about it.
- I have trouble falling asleep at night. And I'm always sleepy and tired during daytime.

What are the chances that I do have ADD? Will it be worth the trouble finding and consulting a therapist?

I took 3 of your quizzes on this site :-
1. Depression Quiz - 75 (Severe depression)
2. Anxiety Screen - 49 (Severe anxiety)
3. Adult ADD Screen - 73 (Adult ADD or ADHD)

Even if I do have depression and anxiety disorder, it is because of my academic problems.

Looking forward to your replies.
Thank you.