Having lots of ADD/ADHD problems...

Okay so I'm a 14 year old girl going on to 15 in a couple of months, I'm new to this website too... I've been having so much trouble with life it's stressing out my mother like crazy and she's always yelling at me. I just finished my freshman year in high school and it was absolutely terrible. I've never gotten so many bad grades and never have I felt like I was a huge failure. I failed 2 classes so I must take them next school year, the reason I'm having so much trouble is because I have a very very hard time learning and keeping my attention and it's not just at school it's also here at home. School is boring and very uninteresting to me and I've become so careless toward it same goes for at home, video gaming is something I enjoy and it's very interesting to me and I enjoy it but when it comes to my responsibilities I become careless and uninterested in it, like my chores and respecting myself and my parents and siblings. I just can't get myself to fully commit to being responsible at home and at school. I have such a hard time learning at school I loose attention very quickly and I'm bored. At home, all I do is play video games, it's very entertaining to me, I feel like I do have ADHD/ADD. I'm not like the other kids, they actually care about their grades and can actually pay their full attention at school they actually respect their parents and can get the good grades. I tell my mother how I have a hard time learning and remembering things at school but it seems like she doesn't really care, I did mention ADHD/ADD but she just shut me up and kinda blew it away. I have such a hard time and my attempts at fixing it all failed.
A list of things that occur:
* Very short memory
* Cannot pay attention (at home and at school)
* I do feel sad about it all and am never in a good mood.
* I blurt out things without thinking about it.
* My responsibilities are something I absolutely have no interest in
* I become very disrespectful to my mother
* Things I find interest in only keep me entertained and keep me away from sadness and boredom.
* I get very hyper and I cannot help it at all once it kicks in.
* Crazy mood swings
* Carelessness is a huge problem
* Very disorganized
* Lazy
* Super restless
These are just a few examples of my problems daily and it's really affecting me negativity, it results in bad grades, angry mother who can never trust me or believe anything I say, and me? Well I just feel sad all the time. My mother yells at me all the time about my behavior and like I said before I've have my attempts but they've never succeed.

Lilly Aubrie,

Welcome to Psych Central!

Hi, welcome!

There's a number of things that can cause attention problems. ADD or ADHD is one of them. Your sadness and disinterest in things could be a sign of depression which can cause attention problems. However, low grade depression often accompanies ADD/ADHD. I know there's more conditions and illnesses that can cause attention problems, but I can't think of them off the top of my head right now.

Your mother doesn't sound very responsive right now, and I think you could use a supportive adult in your life as you try to work this all out. Is there a counselor at your school that you can talk to about this? Whether or not you are ADD/ADHD, you definitely need some help as soon as possible. A counselor can support you and be in your "corner" and maybe talk to your mother, as she might be more receptive to listening if an adult is backing you up.

--Ceara1010

I do have a counselor and I will plan to talk to her when school starts up again. I just wish my mother understood this when I tell her my problems that happen at school and home. But she never listens.

I just want to get good grades so my mom will stop fighting with me, I also really need to stop being so loud and hyper but sometimes it feels impossible but I try sometimes and it seems to never work out. I just want to be normal.

Hello. Like Ceara1010 mentioned above, several things can cause attention problems. I thought (but kinda still think) I have AD/HD, but less sure now. I have major anxiety, which tends to throw my attention off. Also, I have ASD which would explain things related to AD/HD like not interested in many things. I also have a learning disability (for memory, executive functions, and fine motor skills), so I have a hard time remembering things, had time multitasking, forget a lot. All of those were signs of AD/HD, but none of them are AD/HD. So, my advice to you is to seek a professional for advice. You are old enough to seek a doctor on your own. You have to be at least 16 years old to make your own treatment options. You can ask your mom to take you to the doctors. You don't have to tell you why, but not telling her is not advised. Your doctor should be able to help you figure out what is causing your problems and refer you to the right people. It may take a long time, but once you know, it is a relief. Hope this helps .

Yes, even hormonal changes can cause attention problems, and 14yrs old is an age where all kinds of hormonal things are happening. (Because they effect hormones, going on birth control can even cause this problem.)

--Ceara1010