ADD in the work place | ADHD Information

Gibby, I can only share the advice I have been given before starting a new job, not that I would ever heed the words of advice, still getting myself into a pickle. I talk a lot and have a loud laugh (who, me? ) Relatives have told me not to laugh or talk too much when first starting a job. I was also advised not to get too friendly with the co-workers too soon. Let them feel me out first. I have a habit of feeling at home right away, and with the years of experience I also have, my confidence comes across like I'm better than they are (which I don't feel).

From your post, I don't know if these are any problems you may have or what you're looking for in answers. But it's the only advice I have from my own experience.

I've also had the problem SlugBug mentions....do too well, end up having more work come my way, or special proejcts because they knew they would get done well.

This sounds SOOOO much like me !!! I would always excel at a new job. I would "hyper focus" the first few weeks - you know the routine - I've got a great job now, I can be the best employee they've ever had - I'm going to show them what I can do, I swear to myself I'm going to do better about being on time, not calling in sick too much, be the Star Employee !!!!!!!! And I WAS....for a little while. I would be the NEW girl who could tackle a week's worth of rejected insurance claims in two hours!!!!!!! so they would bring me more, and then I would get bored with it and have to try to find a way to not to so good so they would quit bringing me stuff.....and then it's like they would say well what happened to you ???? It didn't matter what new job I was starting, (Ive had about 20 in my 37 years) it would always be this way......a few times it got so bad that I would find a way to sabotage myself so I would get fired - I couldn't quit - husbands don't understand -"I can't do that job anymore" so you have to find a way to "get out".

I had my last job for 3 years (!!!!! ) it was in the medical insurance field. Pure HELL........I finally told my husband about my suspected ADD/ADHD and that I really needed to stay at home and do ebay or something like that . I told him that I was mentally exhausted and I was about to blow a gasket. This was two years ago. We talked and talked and finally decided to open our own business! It was a hard decision for both of us. My husband works at Nissan full time. So I have to be SURE to keep all of my duckies in a row which is VERY hard. It has been the challenge of my life!!! But I do not have to answer to anyone !!!!!!! We opened a little shop in the historic district of our town. We carry Vintage and Antique clothing, Furniture, etc. - Something that I LOVE, to keep me interested!!!and manage to make ends meet, not much more, but I'm doing better at paying the bills, I know that if the store doesn't make it, then My goose is COOKED !!!!

I still have lazy days when I don't want to do anything, so I go to the store and sit at the counter and play solitaire on the computer. People still come in and occasionally buy something....

ANYWAY............I was "formally" diagnosed last month, innatentive type....It's so nice to be with people of my own "kind" !!!!!!!!!!!! Hope someone can relate....Kim

[QUOTE=gibby]This is my first post.

I am an adult with ADD and it gets me into trouble in the work environment. At this point, I have had enough experiences across various jobs to conclude with confidence that the problem is that my performance comes across as an attitude problem, like I'm not trying or a don't care about doing my work well. Has anyone experienced these problems too? Does anyone have any advice?

Also, sometimes I feel my particular case of ADD isn't the genuine article. I mean, I don't really have much trouble concentrating on instructions or the task at hand, but I am very forgetful (which makes it seem like I wasn't paying attention to instructions), and my mind tends to misinterpret and skew information. This is primarily due to the fact that my mind views the world very differently, and what would be a common interpretation of a situation or someone's instructions, is usually very skewed from my perspective. This also causes me to miscommunicate a lot. Does anyone share this kind of experience with their ADD?[/QUOTE]

Oh, yeah, Gibby, I definitely believe it sounds like the genuine article!    And I think most of us here will agree.   WELCOME, Gibby, to finding so many great people with whom you'll be able to relate! This may be your first post, but it sure sounds like I posted it!!! (I've had zillions of jobs, thanks to me getting myself in trouble in the work environment for same reasons.)

I can't count the number of times those exact words underlined in your above quote have shown up in this forum!

Not all AD(H)Ders are inattentive. In fact, just the opposite. I can quite often understand instructions, but forget very easily. And not just instructions, forget anything and everything! If you're fortunate enough to work at something you really, truly enjoy, it makes a big difference!

It's getting late tonight, Gibby, so I'm going to suggest you go to the top of the Board page, and use the Search. Search for the words at work in "topic" in "Adult ADHD forum" and there are about 3 or 4 recent topics that will provide you with some good reading.

Also search the topic Are you misinterrpreted? or just misinterrpreted-- there's another several-page topic/posts on this subject.

Again, welcome, and you'll find you are NOT alone.
[quote=Wyrd]I would interpret about 5 extra levels of meaning to any statement, it seemed, and act on every one of them. I don't do that so much now. I seem to have normalized somewhat (socially), by forcing myself to take things more at face value. It feels like a bad compromise.

I do still have the problem with translating what's in my head into words (when speaking, at least). Does anyone else have this problem: By the time you've forced what's in your head out through your mouth (in whatever mangled form) it's just a shadow of it's former self and you find yourself in the middle of trying to express this idea and you've lost interest in it and, because you still have to finish talking, you begin to hate the idea and you just wish the person you're talking to would forget and go away...? Then, of course, WHILE you're still talking, you begin to wonder if the other person is as disinterested as you are in the topic and is beginning to despise you as much as you despise the talking... [/quote]

Hi Wyrd, and welcome again to you! Ha Ha, while I was typing away replying to Gibby, I guess you were also. Your post wasn't there when I started typing.

I wish I knew what skills you used to not do the multi-level interpretations of what you were hearing and acting on all of them -- normalize, as you stated it. I'm 55 and still doing it strong! It drives my friends crazy!

When I have the usual difficulty of getting words from brain to mouth, I usually either stick my foot in my mouth instead, or just entirely lose the attention of whomever I was speaking with.

And again, I will say this is a very common AD[H)D trait.

Are you sure both of you, Gibby and Wyrd, haven't been with this board more than one day?

Welcome a-board! Yeah, gibby. I smell what you're steppin' in.   I think my performance comes across that way too. I can usually hold on to a job for a pretty long time, but I think it's just masochism or stubborness. Even though I have really low motivation for most things (including going to bed at a decent hour on Sunday night), I've learned to compensate by trying to manipulate my own interest in a subject so I can do what I need to do. Somehow, this often results (to the delight of my employer) in obsessively doing the parts I CAN get interested in too well. I guess it's the E for effort factor. When I say obsessive, I mean that if I'm not accomplishing as much as I think I need to, I go home and continue working or stay late at work (a lot!). sigh. I spend much more time trying to configure my brain to want to do stuff I don't like than actually doing it. It's a big waste of time.

Know how I got through college? I learned (finally) that to stay interested in what the prof was saying, I had to develop some kind of weird crush on him/her. Not a sexual one, really... I just had to fall in love with some funny atribute he/she had and do my best to adore him for it. So it was always a blessing when one of my professors was really weird...looked like a monkey or flailed his arms and paced while lecturing or (I really liked this one) wore socks with sandals and dug his toes in when making an important point haha!

And about the 'genuine article' thing: I feel that way too. I don't even know if I have ADD. Pretty sure I don't have H. I do have trouble concentrating and listening and my memory is abominable (ooh! but my vocab's good! ) and getting worse, but I was never hyperactive, just spacey. And I always loved school. Maybe we're just all individuals and what we're thinking of as 'the genuine article' is just a category description. I've always had a very different perspective than others, too. I thought it was a good thing. In fact, as I get older (31 now), I seem to become more and more like everyone else. And I don't like it. Maybe your unique perspective can work for you. Maybe you notice things others miss.

On the subject of communication: I misinterpret, too. More like overinterpreting, really. (Drives boyfriends mad.) When I was younger, I was very aware that I was different; when I responded to someone they would often look at me like I was an alien and I realized we weren't having the same conversation. I would interpret about 5 extra levels of meaning to any statement, it seemed, and act on every one of them. I don't do that so much now. I seem to have normalized somewhat (socially), by forcing myself to take things more at face value. It feels like a bad compromise.

I do still have the problem with translating what's in my head into words (when speaking, at least). Does anyone else have this problem: By the time you've forced what's in your head out through your mouth (in whatever mangled form) it's just a shadow of it's former self and you find yourself in the middle of trying to express this idea and you've lost interest in it and, because you still have to finish talking, you begin to hate the idea and you just wish the person you're talking to would forget and go away...? Then, of course, WHILE you're still talking, you begin to wonder if the other person is as disinterested as you are in the topic and is beginning to despise you as much as you despise the talking...

Just me? I won't be offended; it usually is. haha

k. didn't mean to write a book... (oh, yeah, and I tend to overdo EVERYTHING.)
My performance doesn't usually come across to people as an 'attitude problem', my real attitude problem does that all by itself. Thanks everyone, reading your responses really helped. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or advice on what I can do at work to give off a better impression?

This is my first post.