U are telling the story of my life. I think people think i am stupid but im not. Im bubbly and happy around the public but i dont have patience to listen to everyones full story. ADD TO PEOPLE By me is something they think is something i can control. Ever try controling something u have no contol over? U dont. It sucks. I sorry u feel the way i do. I dont wish for people to be so negative on theirselves. Keep ur head up thats what i try to do and laugh when all posible because the depression sets in harder if u dont. Hey u get really depressed at night? I do its almost scary.

It’s nice to know that someone understands…thank you so much Linze. =-)

I agree, it’s hard to control something that you can’t control…and people think that you can…it’s horrible.

Thank you for responding to my message…. you’re a very nice person.

I try to keep my sense of humor,but it gets hard sometimes when everyone around you seems to be against you and says they’re your friend or says they care.

Yes, I definitely get depressed at night. I think it’s because that’s the time that everything finally gets to me after a long day and then I’m thinking it about it the most.

Thank You again for your words. =-)

Ugh, story of my life! People talk about stuff like this and all I want to say is “welcome to my world, have fun!”  and Linze is right people want to say “oh you could control it if you really wanted to”. That isn’t true, sure I have developed the ability to push through and get a handle on it most of the time. Work through if you will but you have been doing this since I was in second grade and I’m 24 now.

Don’t let it get you down there is a way to get through it you just have to figure out what works best for you.

Thank you CSIKaty =-)

I like your handle by the way.=-) ....it’s cool. B-)

I really appreciate your support.
I really need it right now.

I’m trying to find what works for me,but…wow…I wish I’d find it soon. =-)

That is exactly what my doctor diagnosed me with at first, that medicine just made it worse! ADD is very misunderstood, most think we are dumb. I have a very high IQ and earned 2 degrees with top honors while working a professional career full time in under 3 years.
You will start finding ways to deal with this that work for you, caffeine, high protien, excersise and sleep are all good for focus. I have problems listening to people talk too, but it’s not our fault they have nothing interesting to say ! Right? . Hang in there, it sounds like you found a home with us, so your in good company!

Has anyone ever checked to see if food allergies or leaky gut may cause your problems?  Currently we are testing our daughter who has brain fog.  You may want to see a nutritionist to see if food allergies or yeast is living in the stomach.  Please see this thread: http://www.brighterdayfoods.com/PDFDocs/d/DR3C27M98FWC9G33VJ916NSGP7RTAG86.PDF

i have the same problems. am also have dyslexia and dyscalculia. when i was diagnosed with add - bingo.

take care of yourself. talk to your therapist - and like jan33 said above, keep hanging out here; we’re all good people.

I also experience this - my old roomate would be like you have to meet my roomate she’s so awesome and smart then they’d meet me and be like what? and she said wait wait - cuz yeah I often come off beng very “dingy” but later I pull in items of conversation that stick with me and those clear smart comments come through. I always said it was the absent minded professor syndrome seemed to work for me.

It’s so wonderful to meet so many others who “get it” ^_^ !

This gives me so much hope especially because I’ve been feeling like there isn’t any for me

but I see, with the comments I’m seeing here and throughout these forums, that there’s a chance that despite that fact that I feel completely stupid, I am better than I think that I am.

Hi Speedwalker, =-)

I actually was diagnosed with a mild allergy to wheat when I was a little girl.

I also get the symptoms of hypoglycemia,but I treat that with a diet of no sugar/high protein/no or low starch vegetables and no grains…

I didn’t know that I had an allergy because my mother never told me about the allergy until a few months ago….

yet she still gave me bread when I was a little girl and as a teenager…(???)

I had to figure it out on my own that I had an allergy through trying to both lose weight, improve my emotions, and improve my thinking through diet.

So, when I tried the Atkins diet…it turned out to be kind of an elimination diet….and when I went back to eating wheat based products I would develop hives.

I can usually handle small amounts of wheat without getting hives,but I prefer not to risk it because well, why do that your body if your body is rejecting the substance?

Hi Jan33,

I’m very impressed. =-)

You are an inspiration believe it or not…
You must be extremely intelligent and motivated to able to do all of that.

What you’ve accomplished, is close to what I aspire to do…I’ll be thrilled if I can at least get the degree that I’m working toward now…

I agree, the antidepressants and anti anxiety medication don’t seem to help much do they?

I need something that will help me think straight consistently and then I probably wouldn’t get as frustrated and depressed.

I do know that caffeine helps me think more clearly….I drink coffee and/or diet pepsi…

and a high protein/low carb diet has also really helped…I’ve been told by people that they’ve seen improvement over the years…

but to my frustration it doesn’t seem to be enough for them(except for my husband, at least lately)
that I’ve improved and making an effort to further improve.

I’m sorry to sound like I’m complaining so much….

Hi mariadkins,=-)

I have a friend who has dyslexia (I was told that I may have a very mild form of it myself) and part of my learning disability is with numbers…

Thank You for being kind ^_^

Thank You for your kind words lietric, =-)

I can definitely relate to the absent minded professor syndrome.

What you said sounds very similar to me.

People I know will tell others how smart I am and then when people meet me I come across as scattered mentally.

I think it’s great that the people you know actually see and focus on the part of you that’s intelligent instead of focusing on any perceived lacking of intelligence.

I hope that makes sense…I’m not sure if it made sense too me… lol! =-D

Glad to be a part of this interesting struggle!  I can completely relate to pervasive attention and mood challenges.

I’ve made great strides in the past few years.  Several factors contributed to my progress:  1) Diagnoses of ADD, an auditory processing disorder, and Bipolar Disorder; 2) Finding a medication that stabilizes the dangerous highs and lows that come with manic depression; 3) Finding an excellent therapist and psychiatrist; 4) Targeted one-on-one training with a specialist to address the auditory processing disorder at a learning disabilities center; 5) A lifetime commitment to personal brain training in different cognitive areas; 6) Some daily exercise to get my heart rate up and needed oxygen to my brain; 7) Discovery of [non-religious] Buddhism to pull all the above together and thrive. Bottom line, it’s all about working with my mind.

The side effects of ADD medication were intolerable for me.  But that’s okay because I know what I’m dealing with, and I don’t blame myself for it when the fogginess occurs here and there. Self-talk (either silently or out loud) to counter negative thoughts and feelings helps me tremendously.

Meditation/spiritual engagement allows me to let go of ego and aim for small improvements each day through mindfulness/learning from mistakes however tiny and imperceivable to others. It’s hard, humbling, and highly personal work, but never boring.  Observing myself without emotional involvement helps me progress.  Slowing down to look carefully at what is going on may be the key to my progress.

Good luck on your journeys to be the best that you can be, and to help others whenever you can.  The bigger picture to all of this is that if it’s not one struggle, it’s another kind of difficulty.  It’s the human condition. Understanding and relating better to our minds alleviates our personal suffering and the suffering of others.

I was diagnosed about a year ago and I sure understand what you are saying!!!  I got a verbal warning at work because my boss thinks ADD is bull.  I told her and those I work with that I will ask many questions as I have trouble getting the point of what they are saying.  I asked them to email instructions so I can refer back to them.

Well I got the verbal warning after that.  So Thursday I put in a “Request for Accommedation” under the ADA.  Man was that hard to do.

I have handled this by recording meetings, I have an app that randomly beeps and makes me choose “On Task” or “Off Task”.  I have an app that enables me to put that day’s tasks into a list I can refer back to and check off when they are done.  I email those I am working with, what I think the instructions were and the priority is. They email me back if I have not gotten it. (yeppers I am a Geek!)  These are very helpful.  I also have folders on my desktop to put all documents that belong to each project, that way I know where to look.  Feel free to ask what the apps are if you like.  I have a Kindle Fire so I know the have Android but don’t have a clue if they have Iphone versions.

Thank you so much for posting this, I don’t feel quite so alone now.

Wow Clarity007,

You seem very aware of your situation…seriously, good for you. =-)

My step father was bi polar and I had a friend who is bi polar…needless to say that in combination with ADD and auditory processing disorder must make life a little compromising for you.

Thank you for sharing your methods.=-)

Congratulations on finding a good therapist.
That’s something I would like to happen for me too…one that’s sliding scale on the financial end.

I wish you good luck and I wish you well, as well, on your journeys.

Hi Catie =-)

I should be thanking YOU because now I don’t feel quite so alone due to what YOU wrote.

Thank You.^_^

RjoyD,

You’re just as aware of your situation as I am…hats off to you.

The combination of ADD, APD, and Bipolar Disorder was almost a lethal combination for me, but I was fortunate in that I had a solid family support structure (unconditionally loving & protective) and innate determination that paved a much brighter path for me.

The methods that I’ve shared merely scratch the surface, but they are a simple starting point for progress.  If you have any specific experiences that bother you, we can dissect it together to see if there are ways to help you work through them.  Staying on an endless treadmill of depression and anxiety doesn’t help improve the quality of your life.  There are limits to what medication and therapists can do.  The rest (and most critical) is in how we work with and relate to our minds, using the resources/tools that we have access to and seeing what works on a case-by-case basis.

I’ve reach a point where seeing a therapist is no longer crucial…my kind and honest therapist went as far as saying, “You no longer need me!” this past year.  But I still plan on checking in with both her (a PhD) and the MD (for Rx management) on an occasional as-needed basis.  I’ve found that the best therapists for me tend to have some kind of background in non-religious Buddhism.  I evaluate them based on the kinds of results that I get.

I’m glad to hear that you may be able to work out an ideal sliding scale financial arrangement with the right therapist for you.

Again, if you have any specific questions about how to work through what bothers you, feel free to express them.  There are answers, and it’s a matter of finding the right one(s) for you.  The only requirement is that you don’t give up!  Take care, and always remember to be kind to yourself. =)

RjoyD,

I am so glad you have family support, I imagin that can make a huge difference!  I have no family and live alone (if you can call having 5 dogs alone |:}).  I have moved to a new state so I haven’t made friends.  Ok I suck at making friends.  Being able to connect with people here has been a godsend!

Having anxiety and depression can definitely impair your ability to focus.  Perhaps you weren’t diagnosed with ADD, as the other challenges - such as a learning disability with anxiety and depression - took center focus.

While I dislike taking meds, holistic ADD supplements didn’t work for me.  Have you tried visualization, hypnosis, self-hypnosis, etc.?

If you’ve exhausted ALL non-medication interventions, you may want to try to pharmaceuticals.  Adderall or Strattera didn’t work for me but Celexa and Concerta did.  I’m presently on Welbutrin, which I don’t like, but it enables me to get up in the morning.

Wishing you best of luck.  I still struggle with brain fog.  I think I have auditory-processing challenges but don’t have the money right now to pay for testing.  To circumvent mishearing information, I will restate what I think was said for clarification and/or ask questions

Because I’m an adult, doctors told me that I’d already developed coping strategies. I couldn’t qualify as a student with disabilities during grad school because my grades were too high.  I only would have qualified if I had failed. 

Prior to finding meds that worked for me - my strategies were and are (to a lesser degree) crying, filing late taxes, losing the opportunity to save thousands of dollars in loan forgiveness ($5-15,000) by working at a low performing school (I’m a special ed teacher) because of late income tax returns, etc.

Hang in there.  Be tenacious.  It can get better, and you can prevail.

I taken specific ADD tests twice with results of a significant attention problem. I have two children with diagnosed ADD and other diagnosed ADD in my extended family. I have read all the “bibles” on ADD from the leading authors and am one hundred percent convinced that I have ADD. Because I have anxiety and PTSD and am close to fifty and work too much and sleep too little I cannot get a diagnosis on paper of ADD. At first I was frustrated but when I got a denial from the insurance company for the second test I started to think maybe the docs are doing me a favor. My whole family has had extensive doctoring and testing and insurance has paid for it all. This was the first denial. Now I don’t care what it is called. I have great docs and don’t need special services. My boss understands my issues but lets me do my little weird things to prevent mistakes because she appreciates my great attendance and super fast speed. So as an adult being labled as ADD may not always be a blessing.

Now as to what can help. If finances permit a good therapist can do much to help anxiety and depresion and boost self esteem. Unfortunately the more of this burden that was lifted the worse my focus and ability to stay on task became. I was using the anger and bad feelings to center me and keep me focused. I feel very mellow yellow now but am not getting much done at home. She recently introduced me to a book called “The Happiness Trap” which teaches you how to let your thoughts and feelings come and go without taking you away from what you are currently doing. It teaches that you really can’t control what comes and goes in your head but you can decide how much to pay attention to it. Reading that book changed my life immediately. No more stress or fighting my head and I can stay focused longer. The book cost about ten bucks but the value was immeasurable. I hope it helps. If you want more info email me a .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

RjoyD - have yourself tested for dyscalculia glad i could help.

klirones thank you for the book recommendation!!

Hi mariadkins, =-)

That’s a good suggestion….

I think I may have dyscalculia too,but I was only diagnosed with a learning disability in math at age 5 and with further testing in college in my twenties -as well as a pretest with a psychologist not too long ago- I have problems with focus, problems with numbers, problems with auditory learning, problems with reading comprehension (even though I could read at college level 13 in grade school)....

it’s all very weird… =-D

....don’t ask me how but I managed to get all the way through intermediate algebra with an A, because I learn well on computers for some reason and I had a private testing room….