[meedo]

Hi!

I really need you to help me with my case and tell me your opinion of what exactly do I have!! ( I know i am not getting professional advise , i am not asking for a professional diagnose, so don't worry )

I was diagnosed last year with social anxiety and but on top of that, I found I experience the following points lately. My main concern is at work . because this is where the symptoms have their effect on my career and income. I am not sure if they a re depression or inattentive ADD ( I am sure i am not hyperactive)

I really appreciate your help!

• Lost motivation . Nearly no motivation to work at all .
• Can’t concentrate .
  
• Can’t bring myself to start a degree, start a long term project, investigate a complex issue at work etc. Basically anything that requires effort and time or difficult or difficult details. I never was fond of school or going to it .
• Out of 8 hours work I can only effectively work 6 or 7 and the rest is on the net because I can’t bring myself to work, specially at the end of the day , it’s like my fuel couldn’t go all way . (Of course no overtime!)
• My memory is very short.
• Loss of energy.
  
• Procrastination.
• Feeling slow or thick, make stupid mistakes .I was an average student.
• I have trouble being organized and following the same structure that I put for myself or being consistent.
  
• I have problems demanding from people and dealing with authority figures.

when i am about to sleep or when i am sleeping

• I have this urge to stay late in the night and do something fun ( YouTube, games, read articles).
• I don’t want to go to sleep because I feel I haven’t had fun enough!! & because I am afraid of confronting tomorrow. Feels like I can't handle it or I am no up to speed.
• My worries & anxiety haunt me during sleep and sometimes they wake me up 1 or 2 times as if a mild panic. Feeling cold during my sleep etc...
  
• I wake up every day tired , with a headache or feeling drowsy (no matter how much sleep I get!)
• I never get deep restful sleep and never wake up sharp!
• I know I have some bruxism problem. Both during the day and during sleep.
• I daydream in bed about things that interest me .

Just normally during the day

• Can’t bring myself to clean and wash dishes etc…
• Don’t feel my life is going where I want it to go.
• Loss of energy.
• Feeling that I have no control over my life and it is just on inertia . Like life overwhelms me.
• My apartment is a mess.
• It's like I have a permanent mild headache.
  
• I have self esteem and self confidence issues. I was more of a follower than a leader.
• Can't keep a habit , I always have sort of indecisions where to put the dishes after I wash them . Always put them in different places.
• I am obsessed with reading self help materials ( never finish a book though) and self help forums on the net in search of getting better .
• I want to sit in my pajamas all day because I feel I cant handle life.

The items that are in purple above i think i had since childhood!

Is there anybody who have similar symptoms and was able to figure out if its Depression or ADD?!

Thanks!!

[sunrise]

It's hard to tell without meeting you personally and talking thoroughly and perhaps doing some assessments. The symptoms you list could be ADHD or depression, or some of each. ADHD and other psych disorders are often comorbid, such as ADHD + depression or anxiety or OCD. Are you an adult? Are you willing to take psych meds? Since you do have some depression and anxiety symptoms, a starting place might be an antidepressant that also has efficacy with anxiety and ADHD. Venlafaxine comes to mind.

I hope you can visit a psych provider soon and get a face to face assessment. Best of luck.

[meedo]

Hello Sunrise,

Yes i am an adult and i am already put on Buspar ( It worked great for the first 3 days , afterwords it just stopped working for my anxiety!) Couple of years ago i used to be on Prozac . I wasn't depressed then. It zombied me out . Didn't see a big change either.

I was thinking about wellbutrin. They say it's good with energy , concentration and wakefulness ( thes ecould help with add symptoms) as well as depression. I know it has a risk of increased anxiety . But i am willing to try and see .. may be it wont in my case. I really need the energy and upbeat feeling from wellbutrin .

One thing i am trying to search for is an effective drug for my social anxiety with minimum side effects. I am thinking of Atarax if Buspar keeps not working for me.

Thanks again !

[SoupDragon]

I can relate to many of your symptoms apart from the night time ones - I have no diagnosis and don't take prescribed medication - just working throught stuff with my T. Do you have a therapist?

[sunrise]

Meedo, I take Wellbutrin and it has helped me with ADHD symptoms. I didn't suggest it for you because you have quite a few anxiety symptoms. I think an SNRI like Effexor could be a good starting place. Because it has the "N", it hopefully won't give you zombie symptoms like Prozac did.

How is it going?

[alohakitty]

hi meedo.. i could relate to everything you stated there

at first i thought i was just depressed but then i talk to my counselor on campus (i am an undergraduate student) and she said i might have anxiety problems.
then i told her i've been having problems with not being able to stay focus/concentrating and it had a huge impact on me because i find it really hard to meet deadline for my assignments (hard to start & hard to finish)..

i have not gone to any doctors or psychologist or psychiatrist and therefore i have never take any medication..

where should i go for help? doctors? psychologist? psychiatrist?
and how do i tell my parents about this?

[sarek]

One key element that is missing in your story is whether you have had these symptoms for a long time or they are recent. If AD(H)D is a part of your problem you must have had some kind of symptoms or signals of it since your childhood. ADHD does not suddenly rear its head, its a lifetime commitment.

[meedo]

Originally Posted by SoupDragon

I can relate to many of your symptoms apart from the night time ones - I have no diagnosis and don't take prescribed medication - just working throught stuff with my T. Do you have a therapist?

Hey SoupDragon ,

I also worked through stuff on my own without medication untill i felt handicapped at work. I couldn't even get the motivation to read a therapy book!!

I have had 3 different therapists in the past year . Mainly for social anxiety. The first two thought that ( after 5 sessions ) i was in a good state and that i could continue on my own . The last one i am still seeing but he focused on my sleep issues and we haven't yet worked on the anxiety. I actually do believe that therapy works .. but slowly.... However , i never felt good with therapy like the first 3 days i was on BuSpar. I felt like a different man , more courageous & confident . Chatted with confidence at work ,wasn't afraid of my manager ( fear of authority is a huge problem for me ) and said whats on my mind, its like my anxiety was reduced by 80% . Sadly BuSpar stopped working after 3 days . I was left with the side effects. Nausea, headaches

I have an appointment with the GP on the 14th and with the therapist Tuesday 15th , so i will see whats their plan.

How is it going for you ?

[meedo]

Originally Posted by sunrise

Meedo, I take Wellbutrin and it has helped me with ADHD symptoms. I didn't suggest it for you because you have quite a few anxiety symptoms. I think an SNRI like Effexor could be a good starting place. Because it has the "N", it hopefully won't give you zombie symptoms like Prozac did.

How is it going?

Sunrise,

Thank you , i understand.. am myself a bit scared of Wellbutrin ... i am just inclined to it because of the energy and focus part.. which i lack a lot. I am thinking that may be i will be lucky and will not be affected. However I will have to mention this concern to my GP on Monday the 14th . Do you have an experience with Effexor?

Meedo

[meedo]

Originally Posted by alohakitty

hi meedo.. i could relate to everything you stated there

at first i thought i was just depressed but then i talk to my counselor on campus (i am an undergraduate student) and she said i might have anxiety problems.
then i told her i've been having problems with not being able to stay focus/concentrating and it had a huge impact on me because i find it really hard to meet deadline for my assignments (hard to start & hard to finish)..

i have not gone to any doctors or psychologist or psychiatrist and therefore i have never take any medication..

where should i go for help? doctors? psychologist? psychiatrist?
and how do i tell my parents about this?

Hello alohakitty,

One thing that i heard from my first psychologist that i firmly believe in , is that your experience is valid , and it's YOUR experience. If you feel there is something that is inhibiting you from functioning then you got to address it. Family and loved ones are still different people and they might not understand what you go through.

If you have reached to a point where you feel you are severely hindered through your studies , then i recommend seeing a Psychiatrist. Medication could help give you a push you need. But you have to do your homework first . You have to write down your symptoms in order to get an accurate diagnose.

I am basically advising you with what i am trying to do myself.

1- write down your symptoms

2- Go to a Psychiatrist , get a diagnose and start a medication ( It might take time before you find the one that first you best ) .

3- Start changing your situation... , leave a bad relationship, start a hobby, volunteer etc... basically take an active decision to search for what you are missing .

Again, i am saying you should get medication only if you reach a point where you need fast action. However therapy can work for some people and actually it is the option that has the longer lasting effects. For my case i just wanna keep my job so i don't go down further.

Tell us how you are doing

[meedo]

Originally Posted by sarek

One key element that is missing in your story is whether you have had these symptoms for a long time or they are recent. If AD(H)D is a part of your problem you must have had some kind of symptoms or signals of it since your childhood. ADHD does not suddenly rear its head, its a lifetime commitment.

Hi Sarek,

Well.. the lines that i wrote in purple in my first post are mostly symptoms that i had from childhood, some related to ADD and some to other stuff.

I really... wish it isn't ADD .. for me i just wanna be able to function and perform . I am from Egypt and currently living in Sweden . Sadly in Egypt there was no way to get a diagnose in your childhood because simply psychiatry and Psychology branches there are like a new born baby.

in any case i will write the symptoms that i feel i had since childhood

1- Low motivation to follow through something to the end / concentration

2- Get bored quickly, procrastinate.

3- Feeling slow or thicker than others.

4- Don't like stuff that requires hard mental effort

Meedo

[Jshect]

I think I saw more depression symptoms listed but it's tough to say. When you are depressed you concentration, focus, and general cognitive functioning will declined. However if you can't concnetrate due to ADD that can cause depression because of all the frustration you have. You may just need to find another job if your not happy at all. Defintely see a psychiatrist first and print out that list of symptoms so that he can make the best possible diagnosis. Then he will either put you on an antidepressant or an ADHD stimulant medication, and it will be trial and error until you find the right med.

[Vibe]

I experience most of what you do and have always chalked it up to depression. I have depression and anxiety issues with a major genetic background in both. I've also had suicidal bouts and don't question the depression. Sleep issues and lack of motivation can easily be symptoms of it. I have problems with dissociation as well, and those made my t question whether I'd ever been assessed for ADD. However, it seems more likely to me that they're a result of childhood abuse (although I'd certainly be willing to take a test and find out).

Honestly, I'm not very familiar with ADD. And sometimes two different people can experience very similar symptoms and have different illnesses. So although I lean towards depression from your description of your experiences, I don't know enough about the alternative to say that it doesn't fit ADD.