Can you develop ADD as an adult | ADHD Information
Hello! I was wondering if you can develop ADD as an adult. I am 28 years old. I always got good grades growing up. But now I struggle. Whenever I read anything I have to read it over and over and over again. When people talk to me I start to space out thinking about other things. I have every symptom of ADD. I talked to my primary care dr and he said I am probaly just stressed. I made an appt with a psychiatrist in a few weeks. Does that happen??? You don't have ADD as a child, but develop it as an adult?No. ADHD does not suddenly appear when you are an adult.DebDeb:I'd first have to ask, "Has anything important or very impactful such as the death of a parent or a major life change happened in the past year?"
ADHD doesn't just "appear". It's a genetic anamoly. However, lack of focus can be the result of major life upheavals.
[QUOTE=DebDeb]Hello! I was wondering if you can develop ADD as an adult. I am 28 years old. I always got good grades growing up. But now I struggle. Whenever I read anything I have to read it over and over and over again. When people talk to me I start to space out thinking about other things. I have every symptom of ADD. I talked to my primary care dr and he said I am probaly just stressed. I made an appt with a psychiatrist in a few weeks. Does that happen??? You don't have ADD as a child, but develop it as an adult?[/QUOTE]
Hello!
I was reading over this forum and felt compelled to sign up so I could respond to your post. I have actually been wondering the same thing.
All throughout my teenage years, I had huge problems with anxiety (mostly social anxiety disorder). I also struggle w/ OCD, which my dad also has, but never talks about.
Anyway, I am now nearly 22. Several months back I got on anxiety meds and started seeing a psychologist. She gave me some news that I never saw coming: She said she believed I have ADD.
I did not believe her at first. I always made good grades growing up, and, as a senior in college I still do (although I HATE school because I find it so stressful and hate doing the work and having to read/concentrate/pay attention in class, etc.). I was never a discipline problem in school. I really couldn't think of any symptoms of ADD that I experienced as a kid. The doc responded that she thinks this is just because of my personality (I am, and always have been, painfully shy, and always wanted to be good to avoid getting in trouble/disappointed my parents/etc.
So I went home and thought about what she said. I figured, well I guess I do have some symptoms: I am always fidgeting, can't sit still unless I'm just totally tired, I hate reading (like you, I also feel the need to read things over and over, especially if it's something important and boring, like a textbook), I have trouble paying attention when people are talking directly to me, etc., and I also get angry/frustrated very easily (although I'm not sure if that's a symptom), I always feel the need to rush, even if there is no reason.
I looked up several different online tests that you can take to see if you may have ADD, and to my great surprise, I scored in the "severe" category of nearly every one of them. And that was even while trying to be conservative in my answers, to sort of try to "sway" the test in my favor!
So anyway, I stopped seeing the doc because I didn't have the time or the money. So now I am very curious as well about when the actual "onset" of ADD is. I remember my doc saying it is pretty common for women to not get diagnosed until college age because we are naturally less aggressive.
Could my symptoms just be further manifistations of my anxiety problems, or do I really have ADD?
Thank you for you reply's. I really haven't had a major life change. I do know that my whole life I struggled with anything that had to do with reading...I would have to read it over and over again...to see what it was saying. I am very good at math...but reading math problems is a different story. I have always been hard on myself...especially with my school grades...so I would study and study...as much as I can. I talked to my mom about it, to see if anybody had ADD in our family. She wasn't sure, but she told me that is why she never went to college...she couldn't focus on anything. Well, I'll talk to the psychiatrist in a few weeks. Thanks again for your reply's.Get a good assessment.It may just be that you've worked harder than you've need to, to keep up, not knowing why you struggled so. A mild form of dyslexia could also mean difficulties reading.
I couldn't understand math "problems" either. It's as if they made no sense. They still don't!
I once tutored a woman in literacy who got straight "a"s in high school--and couldn't read. She was functionally illiterate, memorized every word people said [some kind of aural eidetic memory] then spewed it out on test papers. You may have been bright enough to be overlooked, or have compensated and just now noticing that you struggle.
An assessment should tell you that. I'm sure you'll find a way to sort it out when you really know what's going on.
[QUOTE=aaaaaaaarg]
Hello!
I was reading over this forum and felt compelled to sign up so I could respond to your post. I have actually been wondering the same thing.
All throughout my teenage years, I had huge problems with anxiety (mostly social anxiety disorder). I also struggle w/ OCD, which my dad also has, but never talks about.
I always find it kinda hard to say much with OCD or bi-polar plus ADHD because I have to wonder, "how much focus can one have when manic or if one is constantly repeating a behaviour"? If anyone out there can answer that it might help me understand it better...Anyway, I am now nearly 22. Several months back I got on anxiety meds and started seeing a psychologist. She gave me some news that I never saw coming: She said she believed I have ADD.
I did not believe her at first. I always made good grades growing up, and, as a senior in college I still do (although I HATE school because I find it so stressful and hate doing the work and having to read/concentrate/pay attention in class, etc.).
The first six months in college I physically HURT from clenching up my muscles to pay attention. I didn't disclose to my classmates why I was always hurting, why I guzzled coffee [cheap stims] or why I always ate food [protein assists focus].
I was never a discipline problem in school.
I wasn't violent/bad hyper--I just never stopped moving. So I spent a lot of time in the hallway, not the principal's office
It's different for different people.
I really couldn't think of any symptoms of ADD that I experienced as a kid. The doc responded that she thinks this is just because of my personality (I am, and always have been, painfully shy, and always wanted to be good to avoid getting in trouble/disappointed my parents/etc.
My sis has your kind of symptoms. She was always one of those browner-goodie kids.
My bro has the same as me. NONE of us can focus very well *sigh*So I went home and thought about what she said. I figured, well I guess I do have some symptoms: I am always fidgeting, can't sit still unless I'm just totally tired, I hate reading (like you, I also feel the need to read things over and over, especially if it's something important and boring, like a textbook), I have trouble paying attention when people are talking directly to me, etc., and I also get angry/frustrated very easily (although I'm not sure if that's a symptom),
We are often frustrated because tasks take more effort than we know they should. Does that sound like you? Or frustrated because we missed part of the conversation while we were chasing trains through our heads...
I also can't spend a long time with people because focus on conversation is exhausting.
I always feel the need to rush, even if there is no reason.
I looked up several different online tests that you can take to see if you may have ADD, and to my great surprise, I scored in the "severe" category of nearly every one of them. And that was even while trying to be conservative in my answers, to sort of try to "sway" the test in my favor!
So anyway, I stopped seeing the doc because I didn't have the time or the money. So now I am very curious as well about when the actual "onset" of ADD is. I remember my doc saying it is pretty common for women to not get diagnosed until college age because we are naturally less aggressive.
Here's weird for ya--the doc gave me dexedrine as a kid [it helped but made me sleepy--that should have been a BIG clue] but NO diagnosis. Figure that one out!
Could my symptoms just be further manifistations of my anxiety problems, or do I really have ADD?
It's hard to say. Could be both. It's hard to focus when we're sad, or anxious or whatever. If you can't focus when things are going okay then it gets really, really bad when you're stressed--that's a good sign you're ADHD.
I really do think it would be wise to get a full-scale assessment so you at least have some direction to point yourself in
Despite the fact now I am having to CONVINCE someone that I have ADD (moved to a different state.....) and they told me instead I am stressed and have anxiety because there is no way that anyone with over 20 years of education can POSSIBLY have this..........let me tell you how I came about this diagnosis....
It's not true that all people with ADHD are uneducated. Hallowell himself [adhd specialist] is a psychiatrist with a number of specialties. Just how many years does THAT take...[you could sarcastically tell them this
]
I did indeed go for counseling just to employ some stress management techniques, as I was under a tremendous amount of pressure between home and work. He said, I think you have ADD. I laughed it off, because I thought of the hyperactive kid who did poorly in school.
I was actually considered brilliant in school. But I got a lot of those, "Doesn't live up to IQ/potential/pay attention/whatever letters." In some subjects I blew them away. Won a number of awards for history & literature. So, it's still a possibility if you took subjects in school that worked for your kind of mind.
That was NOT me. I have overachieved my entire life, though it has always been an "extra effort" required. He told me to go the amenclinic.org website to take a test, and I did....it was highly probable that I had ADD. Then I purchased, "Driven to Distraction" where the Utah Criteria are listed, and all but one was me. Even my husband said so. The kicker is that this had to have been present in childhood. Of course, I'm not going to go to my parents at this point in my life to ask them about it, so I looked at my report card from Kindergarten, and indeed, "exibits self control" box was checked, "needs improvement".
"Self control" ha ha ha ha ha--What's that?
After a trial on adderall, I was a new person, I could focus, I was patient and calm and not harried and frustrated all the time.
If it works for you--jump on it with both feet.
Adderall gave me some side effects, so in trying to work through those, I was told there is no way I have this condition, and they wanted to hear nothing of my evolution to the diagnosis.
Your psych is showing a bias against it. Obviously. Even if he doesn't agree that doesn't mean it's impossible! He's also quite ignorant of the facts of what it is and how it manifests. That's not to say his diagnosis is correct or incorrect--only that he is obviously ignorant around this particular [and probably other] conditions. His ignorance is the part that scares me. Do you know what discipline he hails from? [Freudian? Jungian?]
I was even asked if I was diagnosed in a college town because the psych people there tend to over diagnose ADD. Now I'm a miserable person who cannot focus and the wellbutrin I convinced him to give me is not working at all. I feel completely betrayed by the medical system!
Welcome to my world. Really it isn't as bad as all that. This psych has an opinion because that's all a "diagnosis" is--an informed medical opinion.
Wellbutrin doesn't work on everyone. In fact--it's horrid for some people. I can't "do" anything that messes with seretonin, nor can any women in my family without hallucinations. Very not fun.
Get a full psych/learning disorder assessment. If it shows up ADHD then there you are--unbiased paper-checked proof. It may also show other anomalies [like creativity, good coping skills or high IQ or a strange ability to build steamships without ever having seen one] that show WHY it didn't show up on the radar. Or you could find out you have some weird emotional block with a fear of toothpicks that none of us even thought of here.
Hope that helps...
So go get that book and see where you fit......good luck to you!
[/QUOTE]Despite the fact now I am having to CONVINCE someone that I have ADD (moved to a different state.....) and they told me instead I am stressed and have anxiety because there is no way that anyone with over 20 years of education can POSSIBLY have this..........let me tell you how I came about this diagnosis....
I did indeed go for counseling just to employ some stress management techniques, as I was under a tremendous amount of pressure between home and work. He said, I think you have ADD. I laughed it off, because I thought of the hyperactive kid who did poorly in school. That was NOT me. I have overachieved my entire life, though it has always been an "extra effort" required. He told me to go the amenclinic.org website to take a test, and I did....it was highly probable that I had ADD. Then I purchased, "Driven to Distraction" where the Utah Criteria are listed, and all but one was me. Even my husband said so. The kicker is that this had to have been present in childhood. Of course, I'm not going to go to my parents at this point in my life to ask them about it, so I looked at my report card from Kindergarten, and indeed, "exibits self control" box was checked, "needs improvement". After a trial on adderall, I was a new person, I could focus, I was patient and calm and not harried and frustrated all the time.
Adderall gave me some side effects, so in trying to work through those, I was told there is no way I have this condition, and they wanted to hear nothing of my evolution to the diagnosis. I was even asked if I was diagnosed in a college town because the psych people there tend to over diagnose ADD. Now I'm a miserable person who cannot focus and the wellbutrin I convinced him to give me is not working at all. I feel completely betrayed by the medical system!
So go get that book and see where you fit......good luck to you!
[QUOTE=aaaaaaaarg]Hello!
I was reading over this forum and felt compelled to sign up so I could respond to your post. I have actually been wondering the same thing.
All throughout my teenage years, I had huge problems with anxiety (mostly social anxiety disorder). I also struggle w/ OCD, which my dad also has, but never talks about.
Anyway, I am now nearly 22. Several months back I got on anxiety meds and started seeing a psychologist. She gave me some news that I never saw coming: She said she believed I have ADD.
I did not believe her at first. I always made good grades growing up, and, as a senior in college I still do (although I HATE school because I find it so stressful and hate doing the work and having to read/concentrate/pay attention in class, etc.). I was never a discipline problem in school. I really couldn't think of any symptoms of ADD that I experienced as a kid. The doc responded that she thinks this is just because of my personality (I am, and always have been, painfully shy, and always wanted to be good to avoid getting in trouble/disappointed my parents/etc.
So I went home and thought about what she said. I figured, well I guess I do have some symptoms: I am always fidgeting, can't sit still unless I'm just totally tired, I hate reading (like you, I also feel the need to read things over and over, especially if it's something important and boring, like a textbook), I have trouble paying attention when people are talking directly to me, etc., and I also get angry/frustrated very easily (although I'm not sure if that's a symptom), I always feel the need to rush, even if there is no reason.
I looked up several different online tests that you can take to see if you may have ADD, and to my great surprise, I scored in the "severe" category of nearly every one of them. And that was even while trying to be conservative in my answers, to sort of try to "sway" the test in my favor!
So anyway, I stopped seeing the doc because I didn't have the time or the money. So now I am very curious as well about when the actual "onset" of ADD is. I remember my doc saying it is pretty common for women to not get diagnosed until college age because we are naturally less aggressive.
Could my symptoms just be further manifistations of my anxiety problems, or do I really have ADD?
[/QUOTE]
Wow!!! I thought I was reading my own post. You sound EXACTLY like me!!!!! Two months ago my doctor started me on Paxil...for my anxiety. I totally have social anxiety disorder. When ever I have to talk in front of a couple of people my heart races a million beats a minute... Anyways, I have always been shy growing up too. I always did everything to please everybody else. That is so funny...you said when you took the ADD test online you tried to be conservative in your answers and you still ended up with ADD...I did the exact same thing!!! Anyways, I am going to a psychiatrist in a few weeks so I'll keep you posted with the outcome.
Deb
DebDeb39369.126087963I'm a bit confoozled here.Lots of folks think they have ADHD because they have anxiety about talking in groups of people.
Anxiety in this situation is normal.
The only difference is that I [or others] may appear to look confident. That's years of being a musician and overcompensation. Also, they see hyperactivity as "high energy" . What the average listener doesn't realize is that I can't turn it OFF.
Before anyone makes assumptions the first test, if you are uncomfortable with others is to find out whether you are an introvert or an extrovert.
Contrary to popular opinion introverts are not necessarily shy. Introverts are internally driven [internal locus of control] as opposed to driven by outside opinion [external locus of control].
It would be fairly accurate to say that introverts LOSE energy in groups while extroverts GAIN energy.
In Euro-American society, extroversion is considered "the norm". Yet in Asian, Native, and a number of other cultures, introversion is considered "the norm".
Regardless of the ADHD part of this--it's important that you discover what your basic personality traits are. Because that will have a great deal to do with how you are going to compensate regardless of an ADHD diagnosis, or not.
I'd suggest to everyone that they take a Myers-Briggs personality test before you consider any diagnosis. You may find out you're not as "disordered" as you think you are. You may be struggling against extroversion in a society that doesn't appreciate your particular talents.
Also, online ADHD tests tend to be extremely broad. The European DSM is far more concise and IMO, accurate.
Please consider that I am not anti-diagnosis nor anti-med. Whatever works to get you through a dysfunctional society is all good in my book.
However, it's best not to buy into restrictive labels if you want to live your life to its' fullest
Tomorrow--those labels could change.