Attention Deficit, Hyper-activity Disorder/ Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD/ADD) can be a serious condition impacting not just children but also adults. The self-assessment below is just a check-list of major symptoms.
Diagnosis & treatment always needs to be done by a Medical Doctor.
I’ve never thought of myself as having ADD. When I was growing up this was not a diagnosis. Even though my answers are tongue-in-cheek (but true) this type of brain processing can be a serious impairment for many.
Self-assessment check-list:
Adults with ADHD are more likely to:
- Lose their jobs (I have been close to losing my job but I’m smarter than my boss and clever enough to talk her out of it)
- Have interpersonal difficulties with coworkers and managers (Solution: I work for myself)
- Experience relationship difficulties and breakups (I break myself up as often as I can. The laughs help minimize the difficulties)
- Struggle with substance abuse, if they’re not treating their condition (My substance of choice is carbs and sugar. It’s never a struggle . . . just give in)
If you think you might have ADHD or ADD, answer the below questions. Do you often do the following?
- Find it difficult to concentrate? (So far, so good)
- Hyperfocus on things you want to do and don’t notice the passage of time? (I have 4 clocks in my 12 x 12 office. AND my job IS to HYPERFOCUS on my clients)
- Have difficulty getting organized? (Too personal a question)
- Miss appointments, deadlines, or other obligations? (Way too personal)
- Make lots of careless mistakes? (They aren’t careless, just relatively unimportant. I hyperfocus on what IS important)
- Procrastinate when given a task? (Only on tasks that are not fun or interesting)
- Bounce from project to project, unable to complete most of them? (I rarely complete any project because I’m into process not product)
- Have racing thoughts? (Only when I’m taking a test like this)
- Become easily bored and lose track in conversations? (When the conversations are about me I never bore)
- Make impulsive decisions (e.g., spend money, change plans, or become sexually involved with someone? (WAAAAAAAY too personal a questions)
- Blurt inappropriate things and sometimes get in trouble for it? (I never blurt, only interject)
- Find it difficult to sit still? (Not when I’m hyperfocusing)
- Have low self-esteem as a result of past failures? (I’ve moved on from past failures – remember I’m into PROCESS, not product)
- Consider yourself an underachiever in school? (I WAS an under achiever – graduated at the BOTTOM of the top 10%)
If you answered yes to at least 10 of these questions, you may have ADHD. (You be the judge, I lost interest in counting half way through)
“Diagnosing adult ADHD is a difficult science because it overlaps with other mental health disorders, which makes diagnosis tricky. Also, much of the diagnostic research to date has been done on children, and the diagnostic features that doctors use for children often take different form in adults. The only way to know for sure if you have adult ADHD is to work closely with your doctor on assessing your symptoms and medical history.” Managing Adult ADHD symptoms
I have my own version (of course — all my issues are atypical) that I’m about to publish a blog on. Great minds again. Now, if I remember to focus on getting the . . .
I lost track of how many I experience often!!
Wait,…what? I forgot what I was going to say. To clarify, there are many levels of ADD/ADHD also and many factors that go with it. For women, memory loss after menopause is significant as well as taking different prescriptions. Fibro Fog? That in itself is a killer.There are also different doctors to go to; nuerologist, psychiatrist etc. Some people need medication and there are many, some, like my husband, drink coffee. It seems to be the disease of the month, people are talking about it a lot, magazine articles are written but it can be devastating.Our daughter has ADD as well and the difference was incredible!!!