After years of suspecting ADHD (and two decades of struggling), I decided that maybe I have ADHD. While I wait for an answer from the psychologists, I decided to take an online ADHD self-diagnosis questionnaire out of curiosity.
I found myself mousing over and highlighting the text in one of the questions over and over, thinking about something my girlfriend told me the other day, struggling to actually read the question. When I finally read the question, it was:
How often are you easily distracted by external stimuli, like something in your environment or unrelated thoughts?
Safe to say I started laughing out loud. Starting to feel pretty certain that I’m one of you :P
(I am still mid questionnaire)
The best part is when you get a diagnosis and whenever you share this with practically any friends or family, their response is some variant of “uhhh, you didn’t know? Because we all knew”.
I’d hate this kind of reaction. Like, why didn’t they tell me anything? Was it not obvious enough how much I struggled in life?
This type of feedback is not always well-received. Do you think your friends know that you are open to hearing their critical analysis of your personality traits?
I understand where you’re coming from, but I reckon there’s a lot someone can say or do to steer a person in the right direction, without being overly harsh or direct.
I wouldn’t expect anyone to just outright say Hey, you exhibit strong symptoms of ADHD, might wanna get that checked out.
But maybe a few hints here and there could go a long way already. Casually bring the topic up when it might fit into a conversation, making it occupy a portion of their mind, just enough for them to get interested in some research.
That can be tricky but understand what you’re saying. I think many people are concerned, sometimes overly concerned, with offending others, so they avoid even making the barest hint that someone may have an issue.
Better that than “uh yeah, everyone has a little ADHD anyway”
Haha, yeah… That’s what my mom used to say when I questioned why it seemed like my brain was run by a dysfunctional group of squirrels. As a child, I remember having to leave myself notes each night so I’d know in the morning if I was in a fight with a friend or similar situations. I’d just squirrel out and forget. Yep, ADHD. Thanks, Mom!
Yeh I got the diagnosis mid twenties, told some old friends as I saw them and got the sarcastic “oh wow no way” with an eye roll. Well! I didn’t know!
Ex boss (still friends with) who has been officially diagnosed said that to me. She had seen me in a work setting and knew
See I got: “that behaviour is normal, I do that” and how do you politely tell a 60yr that that means they probably also have adhd…… I mean she took it well when I started pointing it out after I was diagnosed but literally all she said for years is “well I do that”