if i think i have Inattentive ADD that means i probably do huh?

Question

i have no direction in life, i give up on my goals all the time, everything seems pointless really (even life itself), i'm dependent of others, i don't see myself being a responsible mature adult ever, i've never been interested enough in anything to develope any hobbies or passions for life. also i'm pretty sure i didn't learn anything in highschool though i tried. it takes me forever just to stay focused and read a paragraph. i'm not stupid i just get distracted. but i have self-esteem problems so maybe that's why i'm so bad at writing. does this make me unmotivated and inattentive or just depressed?

Answer 1

You have to be tested for it to be sure. It all falls under ADHD today with the type you are talking about being the inattentive type. The trouble is, given that I dealt with it for a long time, is that ADHD can bring on anxiety which could eventually lead to the road of depression.

This happened to me. I was treated for depression when I was 23-24 with Zoloft. It wasn't practical I suppose at the time to consider ADHD, or the older ADD term for me since I was in my adulthood so I was treated for depression, and anxiety.

It was until two years ago when I was 36 that I discovered that I wasn't able to do anything but hyperfocus on tasks or I was off on a tangent. I had struggled with all the notions of just anxiety and depression until my stepdaughter of five years now has been dealing with ADHD since she was five and she is going on thirteen. She is the hyperactive type but I began to realize similarities in our traits so I took a leap of faith and consulted her psychiatrist. Man, that was a huge walk through a door.

Wouldn't you know it that I tested positive for ADHD inattentive type. It didn't take long for him to fish out that I performed very poorly in high school, see how I would hyperfoucus only on things of interest, and that I was still out in a zone somewhere at times.

We started with Straterra, and some Concerta, a.k.a. time released Ritalin. There were unwanted side effects with the Straterra so I stuck with the Concerta, and I take some Klonopin for anxiety.

It takes a lot of guts as some anonymous person to jump on the Internet and tell you these things but I feel like I have some stability in my life as a result of just taking the first steps. I can do more things at once. My ability to concentrate has improved and I'm better at home and at work.

There are risks with taking these medications. All of them. I'm sure some are still undocumented for all I know, alas that's speculation of course ;-) They are very bad on the liver, or at least ritalin or aderall is. I drink plenty of water to compensate for it all the same. I exercise more. I can stay on track more. I had to accept that my brain chemistry was in a state where these medications helped. Before my stepdaughter I was just another skeptic about ritalin and medication for these things, but then I've lived with her struggles and learned that I was seeing some of my past at the same time.

It just takes courage to stand up, go get testing, and be honest about the process. The narcartics are abused since ritlian is just a few molecules from being leagalized coccain. In my body thing start to focus, but in the wrong body it can be an addictive drug and it is sold and abused as one.

That's why Straterra may be a non-narcartic solution for you as well. I only take the Conerta because of the side-effects of Straterra. It works differently in a way that is a cousin to anti-depressants like Paxil or Zoloft but it is a different chemical.

All this being said I care enough about your question to be open and honest because I spent a long time in a cloud of confusion for whatever reasons battling a couple of failed marriages, and battling myself in the wrong way with a therapist here and a therapist there when there was simple a dopamine problem in my noodle that modern medicine has been able to help some.

You need the courage to get completely testing --- blood tests, family history, a whole series of questions and discussion designed to help figure out what you need. All that is required is not shame or embarrasment of something you think is wrong and you're tragically stuck. I spent 30 or so years like that and then I had to swallow my pride and see if I really had this problem.

I'm better for it. I'm not 100% all the time, and there are still times where the medication can't resolve things I've become over time, but now I can see things more clearly as to how I get in certain frames of mind. I can observe myself more objectively, and be more open to something that is nothing to be ashamed of, but just something a doctor that was good enough help me figure out.

It's all about adaptation, you're life will always be adapting to its surrounding for as long as you breath air so the trick is to go along and help those adaptations and stand tall in your journey to help resolve how things like this can be treated if you're truly honest and open for the help. Keep the search up until you're looking in the mirror in the morning, and you can say you're a good person, and that you're going to have a good day. The medications won't do all of the work but without really trying to get some help the adaptations will be higher and higher hills to climb and by asking the question, I can tell that you already don't want to be a quiter. I believe in you because we're human beings, that are sympathetic and compassionate, and care about each other in the all the lost connections, and diverse amount of distance that this Internet affords us. You can do it.

Brian

'Temet Nosce'

Answer 2

No,I understand. You can end up wasting time by posting questions on a fairly esoteric subject and getting a lot of lame responses. He probably wants the contacts so that when he sees a worthwhile question he can circulate it within a more rarefied element,or someone in his contacts might do the same for him. People with highly specialized interests do that all the time. I don't generally get intelligent responses except from contacts that I have chosen. You are being a little paranoid,methinks.

Answer 3

Abby, I had the same kind of problem in school too! ADD is currently being treated with Ridlin; however; I really think that doctors should do a thorough test to determine whether this may be the result of something else before prescribing Ridlin! It could be anything from digestive disorders to diabetes or arthritis.

Answer 4

Be careful about diagnosing yourself. While you may have some sort of emotional, mental or medical issue, you may also be perfectly normal.

You might want to seek out counseling - but don't go to someone who just wants to prescribe the latest pills advertised on TV! I have waaaaaaaaay too many friends who are prescribed anti-anxiety drugs and they seem to be just as messed up as before.

Everyone has problems and coping mechanisms. Sometimes these coping mechanisms are healthy and other times, they are not. Sometimes cognitive therapy is necessary so that you can turn negative coping mechanisms into positive ones. I was in therapy for two years and it was great to just have an unbiased person with whom to converse. I worked out my problems, learned constructive ways of dealing with my issues and never once took a pill.

When one looks around at all the utterly insane wars, maldistribution of wealth, social and economic injustice in the world (or just in our neighborhoods!), it's sometimes hard to escape the conclusion that life is pointless.

So what gives life meaning? Contemplation. Helping others. Working to better ones self. Struggling to right systematic wrongs and injustices. Working for a better world than the one you were born into.

Step outside of yourself - try to define who you are by what you do everyday. Try volunteering your time to help the less fortunate. Donate blood. Spend a day at a soup kitchen. Contact your local library - they have lists of organizations looking for volunteers. It doesn't have to be a long-term thing - just donate a few hours.

Pursue aesthetic interests - if you haven't found a creative outlet, keep trying new things. Art is one of the most therapeutic endeavors for whatever ails you. Try writing. Or drawing. Or photography.

I read somewhere that if you read the life stories of the most successful people in history, you would come away thinking they were the biggest losers ever born ... until they succeeded. Most successful people struggle to overcome disappointment (and depression!) over their failed ventures. We read about the hundreds of inventions of Thomas Edison ... but never about his hundreds of other inventions that were complete failures. Same thing with Leonardo Da Vinci.

Distraction is a big problem for everyone. In fact, I shouldn't be on Yahoo Answers ... I should be spending my time working on the documentary film I launched six months ago.

Neurosis has often been described as the West's substitute for real problems. Most people in highly-advanced, technological societies do not have to worry about shelter and food the way people in the so-called Third World do. Neuroses are irrational fears, which, when properly recognized as such, can be overcome.

One last thing - be VERY careful about ascribing your problems to ADD. Attention Deficit Disorder is hotly debated and many doctors feel that it is non-existent. How many kids are diagnosed with ADD when in fact, their lifestyle and diet are the main factors in their problems?

I can't encourage you strongly enough to visit your local library - not only are there a wealth of books, scholarly journals, etc. which might help you, there are also resources for individuals like yourself who are doing everything they can to better their situation.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Depressed.

Answer 6

have you thought about going to a doctor and see if you have add. i went to a doctor this year and i was just like how you were and now im on medicine and everything is going a lot smoother. im doing better at work and school.

Answer 7

More like depression, I would highly suggest you talk with your Dr. You don't have to live like this..... Ther are many good options out there for you.

Answer 8

Possably, or depression.
I have ADHD and it sucks I lost a job because of it not beeing able to foccuss

Answer 9

You forgot one choice.....just plain lazy.