Thanks for this video. Just diagnosed at 37 two weeks ago - combined. Appointment to discuss meds in two weeks. Think I had my first emotional burst today as no idea where my feeling about it are at.....its ALOT.....its overwhelming. Will now binge all your content to try and help me figure it out! Its weird and confusing....you just hit the nail on the head!
I'm still pursuing a diagnosis. I was told by a psych back in November that "It can't be adhd because I performed to well on the cognitive testing" so she diagnosed me with depression and anxiety, even though: A. I've ALWAYS been inattentive B. I have a stutter that required speech Therapy because my brain moves to fast. C. BOTH my siblings are formally diagnosed D. I've struggled my WHOLE life with feeling different, and the shame of not living up to my own potential and not understanding why. And I finally have an answer, and there's a weird sense of relief with that. I'm getting a second opinion in April. I've started keeping a list of the random ADHD moments in my life. I'm worried I'm going to just be dismissed again, but I'm trying to not let that discourage me. I'm still pursuing a formal diagnosis. Everything I've seen and researched over the last year has SCREAMED "This is me!!!"
Have you taken an IQ test ever? Sometimes high IQ people are able to test for ADHD in the normal range, but only after the scoring is adjusted for above-average cognitive baseline, the ADHD diagnosis is made. This happened to me. My ADHD inattentive wasn’t recognized until I was 45, after my son was diagnosed. I had all of the symptoms lifelong, but was able to get good grades in college because of my high IQ. A failed marriage and lost job later, I started to see the similarities between my struggles and my sons. I just don’t have the hyperactive symptoms. Anyway, It was still a 14 month journey for me to get diagnosed after I sought help from my doctor. I had to request referrals. I went through Neuropsych testing and then testing with a psychologist. I supplied past work performance reviews, and even wrote a narrative for the reviewer. My father provided testimony (recalling 40 years back!) It was very difficult to get all of the materials together, make it to the appointments (I was late to all of them 😉), and I really had to research and come prepared to advocate for myself. Which is the very thing I struggle with. Now, I am finally being treated with methylphenidate, and it is life-changing. It was worth the work! Good luck to you! You can do it!!
61 yo here…awaiting first appt with gen pract to discuss completed ADHD questionnaire. I was Dx and being treated with depression many years ago. I’ve been watching a few different RU-vid channels on ADHD. I love “how to ADHD “, she keeps it real and reminds me that there isn’t a cure all. And she’s documented so many years. When I watched this video and a couple others of yours it made me want to send it to anyone who knows me so they understand me. I feel invisible/insignificant because I have masked my whole, I’m tired. You have articulated visually and verbally what my brain does. I am unable to communicate without uncontrolled crying. I just want to tell everyone… see, this is how it is… all…the…time, I’m tired😔 You give me hope, thank you for giving me a glimpse of your experiences as you tread the uncharted waters of life after dx and treatment.❤
Im also appreciating her and 61! Im in NZ so the only choice for diagnosis and treatment is private psychology and then a psychiatrist. Are you in the UK? Im sure NZ will catch up.
@@barbaralevittwarren9809 I’m in the US, I got an initial impression from m regular doctor and referral to psychiatrist. Currently a two month wait🙁 but I have hope ☺️
The way you lose your train of thought really resonates with me, and in another video you mentioned you ruminate when you are inbetween waiting to start something new for me those both hit the nail on the head for me. I have always felt anxious and overwhelmed driving I’d be interested to hear your experiences on this and on IBS, for as long as I can remember my emotional state has a bad effect on my stomach
I’m just now restarting my adhd journey after well over ten years… I was diagnosed as a teen but in one of the most adhd moves ever I gaslit myself into thinking I didn’t have adhd but I’ve related to everything you’ve said in all of your videos and nothing has helped coming at it from the depression/anxiety angle so I’m gonna take that first diagnosis seriously and switch tactics. Thanks for pulling back the curtain I have listened to experts talk for hours about adhd but it took one real genuine person to put it all in perspective, there’s not a lot of first hand accounts of peoples experience before and after meds and such. I think what you’re doing is great and I’ve already learned so much and have notes for when I start meds. Sorry this is a rambling mess lol
This is such serendipitous timing that RU-vid fed me this video in its algorithm. I just turned 27, and the day before I did, I began down the rabbit hole of reading about ADHD. I had never considered I could be, because like you I did well in school and things and didn't fit the stereotypical mold of ADHD. But, I related to damn near every point you brought up in this video, and even to the ways in which you went off on tangents or lost your sentences. That internal sense of restlessness... I feel that, on such a deep level. I haven't gotten a formal diagnosis yet (though I'll probably be looking into one soon because I also like to figure these things out for certain), but this video in particular was so affirming for me. I also seriously relate to being messy, yet being neat at work because of procrastination.
Thanks so much for watching and sharing your thoughts ❤️ I'm glad it was affirming for you, it can be a difficult thing to figure out about yourself but it makes aaaall the difference when you can connect with people that get it 😊
Was diagnosed last year at 36. I used to be productive. I wrote almost two dozen books in no time. But then it felt like out of nowhere came all the things you describe. Restlessness. Overwhelmed. Bad memory. Etc I also suffer depression. And that finally got under control... and i think that it somehow hid the ADHD. Ive yet to get a medication to help with focus. Energy yes. But now i have energy. And not being able to focus feels worse. When i watched some your videos i got emotional. Just to hear someone speak the systems I experience. It made me realize im not alone in this. Im not the only one. And Im not losing my mind or being lazy. Thank you for this.
I'm about to get my ASD diagnosis. Also first suspected it age 30, took me longer to go for the diagnosis. I got into the thread of watching your videos because of some of the outward appearances of Autism and ADHD, so wanted to see a bit who I could be sure of the one and not the other. And there is a similarity in the otherness how can others, how could I go so long. And the whole paradigm shift of I'm me, I'm still me but now I understand myself in a whole new light that explains everything so much. And it's terrifying and overwhelming and so eye opening in what a difference not hitting your self for not being... and just letting oneself being one's natural self with this new acceptance and forgiveness. As far as I know there are no equivalent medication for ASD as there is for ADHD but well the whole this is what I need to be able to function to my fullest self, it's not neurotypical but it's what I need and it works. So let me be me. That is similar the whole wow its not just this small piece of me it effects my everything for good, bad, ugly and terrific ways. So thanks for sharing, thanks for helping normalise neurodiversity. And thanks for sharing your messy process in all its raw glory because it helps me relate, in my way about my situation with ASD
Sorry my dyslexia means that I mix up who and how a lot. In my mind the letters mix them self up so much that even when I double check I still misses it somewhere. And that part I have been aware of almost my whole school life and got official diagnosis for at the middle of my university studies. A few years before the, am I autistic revelation.
This was like looking in a mirror with speed of speech, tangents, retracing to get back on track, self-mocking (do it before they do it?!) so, I hope you won’t be offended by this question; what stage of taking the medication were you on when you recorded the video? I used to live on adrenaline or cortisol (never sure which, but deadlines were my friends throughout work until one day they didn’t flow and since then I’ve had problems. Even getting allergic reaction to all kinds of stress (including good stress like a nice surprise). Biggest problem is total lack of energy even before possibility of having ADHD. Also I have physical disabilities (from injuries through overwork and accidents plus hypermobility and unstable spine) that make me worry about stimulant meds, in case I injure myself if I’m finally able to do things. I was on steroids for about 6 weeks and it was amazing, I felt I could do anything and there was no pain (or it didn’t matter, not sure which now), anything I wanted to do or saw needed doing I just did it. But I told people it felt like I was a 2CV that had had a Maserati engine put in it and I was a bit worried the wheels or bits of the bodywork could rattle off any minute. So. (I’m 61 by the way and only learning about all this after a young close relative was diagnosed. But omg, I tick the boxes with big bold ticks and so does my dad.) Anyhoo. This was an excellent unpolished vlog. Thanks for doing this.
@@cgayle92cg sometimes I talk fast just to stay focused and/or not to lose my listener’s interest plus it always feels like there’s so much to tell, and a need to be clear means providing context and detail. But I’m realising it’s less to do with having been punished for stuff I didn’t do and more because that’s just how I’m wired! Trying to calm down and shush myself is hard but working so far…
I got diagnosed in september 2022, and tomorrow i will meet a doctor and talk about, and hopefully get, medication. And I am feeling terrified and wierd, but also very kuch looking forward to it. I have no idea how medication will effect me, and it feels like, if it actually would work, then it will come a bomb with emotions with it😅😅
If you or, in fact, anything at all were to exploded into a million shiny pieces I'd be so exceptionally doomed. I'm also looking into ADHD, other friends have "diagnosed" me but I'm finally going to seek medical opinion. Anything you want to talk about will be of potential use!
Thanks Jason - there's sooo much I wanna share with you so look out for future videos. Though I am also trying to not burn myself out as I have a very 'ADHD' habit of doing that when I get excited 🤣
I am at the point where I now know why I am unable to do, or do the things that I do. But! That isn't helping me be better at life. If anything, I am more tired than I have ever been. From what I can see online, it is really common at the point of diagnosis for things to get worse first.
It is a rollercoaster for sure. I'm 6 months down the line and I went from validation, excitement, to total burnout, to feeling relaxed and confident, to feeling good or bad depending on what day it is. You're not alone 💛
