My ADHD is not improving as i age :(
Hi,
I am coming here seeking advice. I am 21, studying and am currently doing an internship. But it's not going well. I am struggling so much with getting disctracted and watching youtube. Even though i often do want to do someting, i often don't do anything except watch youtube. When i do actually do something it's often not what i need to do. It's getting really tiring and i just want to be able to do the shit i want and need to do. I often watch youtube to have some sound, but i can't turn it off after, it is also often the same with listening to podcasts. Often when i try to improve it only works for about a week and then i fall back into my same habbits. Do many of you struggle with this, and what do you do about it?
You are viewing a single comment
You should not jump to any conclusions, procrastination does not directly mean that you have ADHD or ADD. The diagnosis should be made professionally through tests by a psychotherapist.
If you are diagnosed with ADD you will need a very individual treatment. This usually consists of behavioural therapy that should be supported by medication. With the help of medication you build up routines (like brushing your teeth, which you have probably already established and do not forget, despite ADD) that ADD does not prevent you from doing because they have become a habit. This is very individual and has to be repeated every now and then when life circumstances change.
In addition, depth psychological treatment is useful to deal with depth psychological problems that may have arisen due to the untreated and undiagnosed ADD (depression, anxiety disorder, eating disorders, etc.).
And even then, ADD may prevent you from doing certain things. For me, for example, studying just didn't work out, that's something you can accept and be OK with. Someone with an IQ of 80 can't study, just like a wheelchair user can't run a marathon, no matter how much they want to. So it may also be that ADD means that studying doesn't work for you either. This is not meant to sound demotivating but sometimes it is better to focus on your strengths instead of trying to compensate for your weaknesses.
And to answer your question: You never grow out of ADD. It is a congenital predisposition that can occur in various degrees of severity. To be precise, it is an adaptation disorder that makes it difficult for you to adapt to new life circumstances because it affects your sense of time, your perception of time, your reward centre and your ability to filter and prioritise external impressions.
I agree that a professional diagnostic is important in order to confirm that one has ADD/ADHD and that - amongst other things - one should avoid to self medicate.
Otoh it can also be quite a hard diagnostic to get depending on your age, gender, and which symptoms you get. A lot of people fall through the cracks and struggle to get an official medical diagnosis and we shouldn't completely invalidate patient knowledge of themselves.
thank you for your insight. but I am actually diagnosed :)