no sense of direction(need help!!) | ADHD Information

I felt the same way at 19, which was 7 years ago. I was in my second sememster at college and I was struggling misserably. I was so depressed that I didn't feel like leaving my appartment. I blew everything off and my grades were the lowest they've been in my life. My girlfriend told me that she couldn't see herself with me in the long run, b/c I had no motivation. I had great ideas, and could come up with stuff that nobody else would think about, but I could never follow through with anything because of my lack of motivation.

My depression got worse in the summer semester and I lived by myself. After a couple of suicide attempts, I decided to go to a psychiatrist that specializes in ADD/ADHD, and I had to go through many of psychological tests, and the result was ADHD with depression. I had decided to get on medication, so they put me on (Adderall and Welbutrin). I hallucinated on this medicine and got off ASAP. I have been on Adderall and Celexa ever since, and I find that I am at my peak with job performance, and able to go the extra mile. My bosses love me b/c I do more that what is expected of me.

I am married to the girlfriend that I had 7 years ago, and our relationship has been great. Our relationship got a lot better once I was diagnosed and put on medicine.

The road is very rough, once you get out of high school, especially with ADD/ADHD, so the first thing that you must do is admit that you have a problem, and go with it from there. I orginally went to my famliy doctor in high school and my dad told him that he thinks that I have ADD, and the doctor ran a blood test on me and said that I didn't. I have also heard of other people go to their famlily doctors and tell them that they think their kid has ADD, and the doctor doesn't agree. Please go to a pychologist or ADD/ADHD specialist, a family doctor can not give someone a true diagnosis.

[QUOTE=quixtarr44]

My girlfriend told me that she couldn't
see herself with me in the long run, b/c I had no motivation. I
had great ideas, and could come up with stuff that nobody else
would think about, but I could never follow through with
anything because of my lack of motivation.

[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I have problems with all of my friends because I'm
unmotivated and depressed all the time. And I have so many
ideas that fill my head, things that nobody ever thinks up, but I
can never do them. So I'm constantly dissatisfied with myself. I
know I can do so much better, but I'm practically disabled. Not
because I'm physically unable, inexcusably lazy, or I'm too
stupid to. It's just that I can't get myself to do anything. If things
take too much effort or brain power, I can't get around to it and
procrastinate, horribly. I recently forced my parents to listen to
me, and admit I have a problem. But they didn't want to believe
I have ADD and depression. I know that I have ADD and
depression. I had ADD as a child. So my parents made me go
to a regular doctor, and he prescribed me Strattera. It was
working great, but it's making me sick to the stomach. So I have
to go on a lighter dose or a new med.yeah i get depressed too along with some serious thoughts about suicide. i think my lack of motivation and failure builds up for a big depressive episode. Along with that I'm in college and I havent been attending classes. which is on the road for failure and along with that My parents would literally kill me if they knew. I don't know why I skip classes I just don't feel good in them. I want to be free. I am a serious risk taker and I am frightened I'm gonna get myself into some serious trouble sometime.There's only one requirement for being happy. You just have to be a good person. Every other reason for being happy or not has to do with pride, and is therefore an illusion. Try to do good, and not to do harm. If you can do that, then being happy or not is entirely up to your own choosing. Its all arbitrary after that. [QUOTE=wildlad088]
Along with that I'm in college and I havent been attending
classes. which is on the road for failure and along with that My
parents would literally kill me if they knew. I don't know why I
skip classes I just don't feel good in them. I want to be free.
www.adhdnews.com/forum/smileys/smiley18.gif">[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I skipped class today. Just because I woke up and I felt
too tired to go. I think it was my 11th time skipping Art History
class, even though we're only supposed to have up to 6
absences during the semster, or we will be forced to drop the
class. I worry that I'll become suicidal too.yummypinkblobs38302.6946296296

wildlad088, I was in the same boat you are when I was just out of high school. I had no motivation to do anything and not much interest in anything either. I just happened to fall into my career which has been a real blessing for me because I can see myslef working for minimum wage and just living for the moment if I hadn't gotten the job I did which provided me with other opportunities. Unfortunately that was 30 years ago and those situations just don't happen much any more. I am lucky in the fact that I do like my job although there are moments when I could do without it. That is true of most jobs though so don't be discouraged.

I would sugget you take a good long look at yourself and ask what is it that really interests me? Make a list of things your interested in even if it doesn't seem like something you could make a carrer out of. Then go see someone who can council you on carrers. Maybe your High School counselor or someone at a local Technical College or other learning institution. Bring your list of interests and find out what carrer options might be available in the fields you are interested in. You might also be able to do web searches on your interests and available carreers. Once you know what options are it will be easier to pursue further education or an apprenticeship towards a carreer.

Remember, once you start working you do the same thing every day for years and years it might as well be something you are interested in or like.

Best Wishes, Gettingagrip

Oooh, been there. Just out of highschool was the most depressing time of my life. I had no interests...none. Oh, except marrying my childhood sweetheart and even that didn't happen.

I was forced to trudge along at a miserable, MISERABLE job until one day I got the idea to move out of state to have an adventure. I signed up for school with no degree in mind. I just took a couple of fun classes (horseback riding for one---yes, this was a class. haha)

I took an English class and we had to write an essay about something that interested us. What could I write? "I love remembering how cute my boyfriend looked in his surf shorts?" LOL.

Finding interests for me has just been a trial and error process that has evolved with trying a few things. Sometimes I read a book or an article and get inspired; getting a college degree forced me to give attention to subjects that I would normally pooh-pooh, but ideas came from them. Some of my best ideas come when I am trying to distract myself from a deadly boring class lecture.

Hope that helps.

bluebird3838301.5625115741AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! I'm just turning 20, and I'm failing every
single one of my five classes. I'm really depressed right now,
stuck at a boring community college, with no friends, living at
home with my parents, too lazy to get a job, and no direction. I
was hoping to transfer to a university, but they will never ever
accept me now. I already blew off high school, and now
blowing off my two years of college.

I have a rough idea of what I want to do for a career. I really
love animation and mulitmedia art, but have no idea what to do
with it. There are a million directions to go with it, but afriad to
choose the wrong one. I don't know if I could even hold a job. I
can't even hold relationships. I feel sick to the stomach
everytime I think of my life right now. All I have is my family. And
they don't seem to understand me and my problems. I don't like
being a lazy nothing.

If I could have a choice, I would have done good in
school, went to a decent university, held a job and made a lot of
friends. But I can't. Not that easily. I just want to take a semester
off school, move in my sister in another town, make friends and
work on my talents until I figure out what I want to do. Maybe I
can get a portfolio together and go to the art institute. But I don't
know if she will let me, once she knows I blew it this year. I
have no idea what I'm going to do next year, or this coming
semester. I will never pass my classes. I'm way too deep in a
pit. I need to leave this town. I feel so trapped. yummypinkblobs38301.6708796296That you recognize this means that you are WAY ahead where I was at 19. Find inspiration, and stick with it through the times, (coming soon) where it's no longer inspiring.

I think it was Harrison Ford who said, "The force is with you. Force yourself."

hey.....i'm 19 and have adhd but i have no sense of direction. i feel as though i don't have the mind to plan a career. it's like i could go on for the rest of my life doing nothing only dreaming. This will get me nowhere since i will not have the mind to do anything! does anyone else feel the same or is it just me? what can i do to help myself?

[QUOTE=wildlad088]

[/QUOTE]

Relax. The good news is alot of people... with or without ADD... have no clue what they want to do with their lives. ESPECIALLY at your age. Don't think of it as a crisis for the future, just think of it as keeping your options open.

When I graduated high school, I had plans on being a movie director <snicker>. After one year at college, I enlisted in the Army for several years and then changed my major to Computer Science (partly because I didn't feel like waiting tables in Los Angeles waiting for my "big break" in show business).

Course, while in school I drank too much and withdrew completely after another year. After that, I worked as a water delivery guy, commercial bill collector, local driver, etc, not really knowing what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I was 27 at the time and married with one kid.

After a while I finally decided to go back to school, finish my degree in CS and I'm now 31. The point to my babbling? You're 19... don't sweat it. You will find something or something will find you.

My problem in my first year of college was that I went to a small high school where everybody knows everybody and I guess I was one of the popular ones, and once you go to college, you don't have all of that attention anymore, you are nothing but a number in college.

I stuck it out and graduated college, which was not easy, considering what I went through the first year, but my suggestion is to go to a psychologist and get some therapy, and just talk about it. Medicine does help, but therapy did a lot for me, it helped me understand what was going on, and I realized that I was not the lazy idiot that I thought I was.

I was extremely lazy, the biggest procrastinater out there, and I did skip a lot of classes. Once I got on medicine (Adderall for ADHD and Celexa for Depression), it was a whole new ball game. I was motivated, I followed through with my ideas, and I had the feeling of accomplishment when I would go to bed.

I didn't just start out on Adderall and Celexa, after a while of trial and error, I found that this combination of meds worked for me, although everybody reacts differently to different meds.

PS. If you dug yourself in a whole in school, if it's not too late, drop the classes. You be better off dropping the classes, then having to spend a few semesters trying to fix the classes you fail. I learned the hard way, so it took me 5 1/2 years including summers to finish.

I am all for school, so don't get me wrong, but yummy and wildlad you don't seem like school is the place for you at the moment. I am not sure why you are in school (I bet you aren't either), but until you find something you are intensely interested in studying, you will likely have problems. Are you depressed and not interested in anything because you feel like other people are expecting you to follow a particular path and your heart isn't in it? This time in your life is scary, because you are expected to go to school and be secure with the support of your family, and all too often these days if you quit school you likely lose the financial and emotional support of your family.

I'm sorry I don't have a easy answer. Maybe it is possible to find something else that is sort of acceptable to your parents and will give you an new environment for a while? Possibly something like Outward Bound or Americorp? Good luck