Anyone on NS have ADD/ADHD?

I have these. They're moments when every fucking thing is just pissing me off. I can usually stop myself from being violent or yelling, but recently I've broken a few bones in my hand from punching a wall and have come very close to (badly) hurting a few people. I've experienced major depression for as long as I can remember, but I have no idea how to deal with it. When I was young I thought about/threatened to kill myself on numerous occasions but I haven't gotten help yet. These feelings are coming back. Maybe counseling would be the best option for this, but for some reason I highly doubt it will help my performance in school especially after reading some of the testimonials in this thread about how amazing the drugs are.

Now NS is just turning into my diary, maybe it's time to log off.
 
I´ve had these rage episodes for a long time. I get furious and often sort of yell or hit something. A few times when I was around 15 a got into fights because of this. Just got really mad and punched, it never lasts long and afterwards I just feel like shit.

Starting to think I might have ADD. Growing upp I´ve allways had periods with intense energi and then beeing rally tired afterwards. I never used to notice I had difficulty with focusing on homework and simular stuff, because I thought everything was simple. The last two years though I´ve noticed I can´t study for 10 minutes without my mind drifting. I always delay things and do it the last minute.

A lot of the stuff in this thread and other things I´ve read fits with me...
 
Yeah, they suck. I am usually the calmest most easy going guy I know, but I was working on a video project on a heavy dose of Vyvanse and some girls were talking and laughing in the background of my interview. I absolutely verbally shit on them. I just yelled my fucking head off. Scary shit. I don't do it anymore.
 
ADHD but havent got my addie script filled in forever. love the shit just havent needed. prolly will need it next semester as I have more than 1 class.

the shit really is like that drug in limitless haha
 
I definitely don't have ADD. I probably have the opposite. At my best (usually during finals) I can study for about 4 hours before I need to take a break and probably 7 hours total in a day.

Can anyone explain what it's like to have ADD?

Is it the feeling like after you've been studying for a while you feel like your brain is fried and you just can't read a single more sentence. Then you need to go to the gym or eat something or take a break and once you've re-charged then you can get back into it?

Or is it more like you'll start out reading something you're interested in and your mind just disappears and you realize you haven't read more than a page in 15 minutes?

One thing I've noticed is that my tolerance for studying goes up the more I 'work out' my brain muscles. So at the beginning of the semester after summer break I usually can't study for too long. But as the semester goes on I can study for longer and longer. Finals week is the same way. By the last day of finals I can study for a longer time than on the first day.

Also how does ADD affect you socially? What about playing a sport? Or is it only a problem when it comes to academics?
 
I have ADD and was on meds for a while and fucking hated it. I felt like it made everything dull and boring. I'm off them now and while I may not do as good with math and sciences, I certainly enjoy it more. But when I do need to focus i'll just have a cup of coffee and slaughter tests and such.

But good for you OP, whatever works.
 
Ive sat in front of my computer and attempted to write a research paper. 5 hours in I had one sentence down after being distracted by things like the internet, my phone and my friends. Does this mean I have add?

Same paper I was able to sit down a few days later and work on it for 9 hours straight with no distractions.

I cant pay attention in class to save my life. Sometimes entire lectures go by and I didnt hear a word, but I feel like that happens to everyone. For me the solution is to be able to apply enough pressure to get the task done without getting distracted. Its an acquired skill in almost all cases, which is why I feel ADD is for the most part made up
 
For me it's just not being able to focus if i'm not invested, if something is interesting i'll pursue the shit out of it and love it, but, if for instance i'm reading something boring i'll usually read like a sentence or two then just think about other stuff while i'm reading, then i'll say good fucking damnit, go back two pages and repeat.

Like I love history, so I can study it effortlessly for hours, but if its math, I just shut down after like half an hour.

I do pretty well socially though, so I don't think it effects that, and I play sports, write poetry and play music just fine. I think it's mostly academic, for me anyways.
 
I kinda think I have it but I haven't been evaluated yet. I just find it really really hard to focus on things at school, and I get distracted so easily.
 
i have it but dont take drugs for it have some self regulating techniques i was thought when i was 10 and still use them, wouldnt want to take drugs for it, its part of me and think its what makes my life more fun than my friends without it
 
I wouldn't claim i have ADDcause I can concentrate sometimes, if its really needed

but most of the time I'm just fucking hyperactive singing songs and saying the randomest shit

might be ADD

anyways I like it

fuck those prescription drugs
 
i have ADHD, ii take 60mg of biphentin every morning before school. biphentin is the only adhd drug ive ever taken that doesnt make me feel like a zombie
 
This will be long, but if you think ADD/ADHD is not real, please read it.

ADHD and all other mental disorders are not likely on the rise. With modern medicine, we just know much more about them and can easily identify them. The brain is complicated, and I am not surprised that things seem to frequently go awry. We now have treatment to fix them, so why wouldn't we?

A lot of people don't really understand ADHD... it's not laziness or any of that, given that there is a fine line between the two.

It is a regulatory disorder. You can't regulate emotions, intentions, or motivation. An ADD/ADHD child can focus on a video game for a LONG time (incorrectly known as hyperfocus) because they cannot regulate their intentions. They should have stopped what they were doing hours ago, but they didn't. They have awful working memory which controls the impulses that remind you of what you should be doing in the moment, so their brain does not remember to tell them to do things that they should be doing. It's like when you walk into a room and forget why you're there, except it happens frequently. They forget that they should be doing homework while doing homework and instead they are off in daydream land thinking about other things. It is not their fault. This is a result of a deficiency of neurotransmitters in the brain, mainly dopamine.

I spent years thinking ADD/ADHD were overdiagnosed, "made up" disorders, and they are very real. I recently started thinking I had it about 5 months ago and got diagnosed just a week ago. There is lots of evidence that suggests it is overdiagnosed, and lots to suggest it is only more common than previously thought.

It's awful not being able to understand things and be unable to channel your focus where it should be, especially in today's college-oriented world. That's where shit was unraveling for me since it was more difficult to teach myself to be accountable for myself and it felt terrible, especially when I did exceptionally well in highschool. This is common for late-diagnosed ADHD-PI(aka ADD) people. If you are "smart", you slip through the cracks.

When I took the intelligence scale test (WAISC if you feel like wiki-ing), I got the highest score possible for verbal reasoning and very high for perceptual reasoning. I scored in the 34th percentile for processing speed and 40th for working memory. This dissonance is indescribably frustrating and I can't even begin to tell you what it is like. It is a red flag for ADD/ADHD. It feels like one part of your brain wants to surge ahead and no matter how hard you try the other part of your brain just will not pick. up. the fucking. slack.

Part of ADD/ADHD is the insecurity and the being unsure of oneself that comes from years of feeling like an underacheiver and ridicule from lifelong failures. This whole "ADD is not real" attitude does not help those who have it. The disorder comes with a lot of self-doubt and that includes questioning your diagnosis and feelings of worthlessness. It only compounds those feelings when you insinuate that the disorder is not real. I spent months feeling like I was taking fucking crazy pills because deep down I knew something was wrong. I wanted to succeed and ace my classes so bad that I would spend HOURS longer in the library than any of my roomates (all the same major) only to see them succeed way ahead of me while I dropped a class and failed the other two out of the four I was taking.

This whole time I had my parents and friends telling me I was psyching myself out and that I didn't have ADD and I just needed to try harder, when I literally could not.

It's a chemical imbalance in the brain, and medications fix this. There are other ways, but medication is the most efficient.

If you're going to go around spouting ignorant shit about the legitimacy of the disorder, at least take some time to listen to the other side before you do it.
 
take 4 pills erryday, but i agree that it is way over treated with doctors prescribing all these pills to kids. but some people do need it
 
i am severely ADHD and i know exactly what you feel like with the limitless stuff, every time without my meds i feel like im out of control
 
It's kind of complicated and I don't understand all of it but it has to do with the levels of dopamine and the work/reward system.

ADHD is misunderstood in the sense that most people think people with the disorder cannot pay attention to anything for a long time. It is more of a disorder that makes it difficult to direct, re-direct, and regulate your attention.

They don't necessarily receive the same sense of accomplishment that anyone else will from completing a task due to the lack of dopamine. This is what makes it hard to persevere towards a goal such as completing school work. That sense of accomplishment is not as strong as it is in "normal" brains.

They may still receive that stimulation from something they enjoy which makes it easy to keep at that task. Combined with poor working memory (reminding yourself in the moment what time it is/what you should be doing/etc) makes it very difficult to redirect your attention when others would have moved on to a different activity long ago. ADD/ADHD'ers are drawn to these kinds of tasks that provide instant stimulation. It may have felt like you've been playing for an hour or so, but really it's been three hours when you finally "snap out of it".
 
Iv'e been taking ADD medication since I was in second grade. I notice a huge difference in my level of focus but like other people have said I have a love/hate relationship with it. I don't take it during the summer and once I start back up again for school I get agitated/ mad easily and I get depressed and lose my appetite. It does work wonders though. I am unable to do big projects unless I have taken it. the difference that it makes is astounding.
 
I've "had it since I was12" And honestly I think if I ate correctly And not Shoveled fast food sugary crap into me. which I never have I would probably not "have it"
 
true for kids. i dont think any kid under 14 should be prescribed add drugs but adults that cant focus on what needs to be done is a different story
 
First of all, I do not at all deny that you suffer from ADHD. And I have, in fact, dedicated nearly half a semester's worth of research to this issue.

You are responding as if the majority of the comments on this thread have implied that it is made up, and I think you're misdirecting your efforts. The majority that mention issues with ADHD bring up misdiagnosis, a very, very different problem from what your post attempts to address. As you said, misdiagnosis is rampant (it is actually simultaneously over and under diagnosed; I know that's contradictory but it actually is the case, check this out: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121019141124.htm) and I think most people do agree that it is real, but misdiagnosis is an extremely serious, very touchy, and ultimately hard to tackle problem.

I just want to clarify to people reading your post that over diagnosis is NOT a problem that is going away any time soon, and no matter whether or not you think ADHD is real (from experiences/data I do believe it is) the problem of misdiagnosis still remains. There are simply too many factors and influences to easily sort out this epic of a problem, and it's not going away anytime soon.

With that, I can't believe I just posted something somewhat scholarly on NewSchoolers. Reaching new lows all the time...
 
Yeah man. I know it's a crazy, heated subject and I just wanted to provide some clarification. I hope you can successfully and healthfully deal with/live with your symptoms, thanks for providing your input.

Also, just to clarify about an earlier comment comparing cocaine and the stimulants in ADHD medication: though yes, they of course are completely different drugs, it is worth noting that they are both Class 2 drugs according the the DEA. This class contains the most addictive and commonly abused drugs that still have some medical purpose; morphine, opium, codeine, oxycodone, and methamphetamines are in there too. Just to provide a comparison, Valium is in the much less serious Class 4.

The ADHD drugs are nearly all amphetamine based stimulants and have proven to be especially addictive, as many of the posts here confirm, and misdiagnosis only fuels the abuse. This is why misdiagnosis is such a hard-to-sort issue: although the drug can be extremely dangerous, it also can completely revolutionize someone's life who suffers ADHD symptoms.
 
Just curious as to what made you get tested however they diagnose it. I had been asked by teachers all through school if I had it, and now at work where attention is very important I simply could not pay attention. What made you think you had it?
 
Uhm, can anyone tell me abit about thoe symptoms and stuff+ Because i feel like i can relate to you guys a lot when it comes to studying and school. I can't fucking concentrate for shit, dont think i have any anger/temper problems though that i think are related to adhd
 
One of the key components of diagnosing (often ignored by whoever's writing the prescription) is the criteria that you must have shown symptoms at or before SEVEN years old that impaired your ability to function at an expected level.

So don't mistake being addicted to NS and Shredsauce for ADHD (not saying that's your case, but I know it happens, and quite often). More info below.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html

Notice that it says "inappropriate for developmental level." In my opinion, this is way too subjective of a term. I think it's totally normal for me to be constantly distracted by NS, and I clearly don't meet any of the criteria, so I have no intent of going and getting a diagnosis. But some (again, not everyone--many people have severely debilitating ADHD symptoms) think that not being able to sit down and write a 10 page paper without getting distracted at all means you have ADHD. No, it's just being a normal high school/college kid who gets distracted. And for teenagers/college kids, getting distracted is certainly developmentally appropriate.

And for goodness' sake don't go to an ADHD drug's website to do one of those "checklists" to see if you have ADHD, a meditating monk would prove positive on one of those things.
 
I take my medication and game out super fucking hard. like go from 1.5:1 k:d to like 3:1!!

but on the real I feel what you are saying. I have adhd and experienced all this shit.
 
I've lived with it pretty much my whole life and the medicine i used didn't really work out so i just live with it. it isn't too bad if your okay with being frequently distracted and cant sit still over all you learn to live with it... and there's a slight chance that you bug the crap out of your teachers
 
It's a matter of what the person is interested in. No matter the severity of the A.D.D the person can focus on something they like doing. Most people don't enjoy doing schoolwork and that is why kids with A.D.D can't focus in school/when they are doing homework.
 
I feel as if I might have it. It is impossible for me to do homework. I can only focus for about 30 seconds. I cannot read books for longer than 30 minutes. And after saying its easier for you to do math in your head, well, I can't do mental math for my life.
 
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