Hi I am new to this forum. I was diagnosed with ADD about 8 years ago when I was in school (am 22 now) and was re dignosed with it a few months ago.

It is hard for me to seek help due to the job I have. If my employers find out, I could lose my job, not to mention get in trouble for the fact that I did not disclose that I have been previously treated for ADD. I like my job very much been with it for 5 years, I have done well, no discipline problems, recieved awards etc.

My problem now is that I switched locations, I had no choice in the matter. The place I work at now has no clear set tasks and I dont really have a clear job like I used to. This is wrecking havoc on my motovation and now I almost want to tell them I have problems that I have been hiding so I can leave.

When I am busy I dont dream as much. It has been a big problem for me latley. I cant seem to get certain things out of my head. I cant stop the dreams and there is nothing to distract me from my distraction. I feel like I am losing my mind since I cant seem to stay in the present. Does anyone have advice on making the daydreams go away? I have lived with them my whole life but I just wish they would go for a day or two so I could figure out what is really going on in my head.

Also one of the guys I used to work for told me that I need to set goals for myself, or at least write them out. This may sound stupid, but I dont really have any goals. Does anyone else feel like they are wandering without direction and dont know what they want to do? How do you find out what you want to do with your life? I know I am itelligent and could do something amazing but I dont know what and I feel like I am just letting my life slip away while I could be curing cancer or saving the rainforest or something.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings, and adivice/comments would be appreciated.

Megan

Megan: Welcome to Forums....When you were at the first location, you refer to at that time, having liked your job very much. You did well, no discipline, awards, etc. You don't say what you were doing -- BUT were you enjoying it enough to be able to come up with some career goals around it? I mean I guess what I am saying is no use in reinventing your wheel if you enjoy what you're doing presently even if you're struggling with it (apparently at your new location).

Check out career threads here on forums elsewhere...there is a lot of dialogue on this topic...Also perhaps get some career counselling and testing done which will show what you are suited for. Also have you ever read the book What Color is Your Parachute? It is excellent. The book Do What You Love the Money Will Follow is also very good.

As for struggles you are having now in your job -- are you actually on meds for your ADD? If so, perhaps it may be time to see your M.D. again.....:)

You could set up some sort of reminders for yourself to stop day dreaming and get back on track. If you are at a computer for your job there are many reminder programs that can help. Setting something to go off every 15 minutes or so could help.

Keeping track of when you are daydreaming could also he helpful too. It could have something to do with the time of day. Maybe it has something to do with what you eating or not eating.

DISCLAIMER: I tend to get "keyboard diarrhea" when it comes to discussing topics that are very dear to me, and since I'm going through a similarly critical issue right now…well…you've all been forewarned….. ;)

Is it possible for you to disclose your ADD now and ask for accommodations, i.e., a more clearly defined job description/purposes of your job and more clearly defined job tasks? If I understand the Americans with Disabilities Act, you should not get in trouble for doing so. I would hope your employer would look at it as a responsible move, but I realize there are several factors that could cause your disclosure to backfire, like them asking why you didn't disclose at the other location or people just being general jerks about the whole thing, etc. Of course, if you think your job would still blow chunks even if things were more clearly defined, then I definitely support you in a decision to get out asap, but if you're responsible for paying the bills, asap might not be the easiest thing to do.

I relate to everything you said about an abundance of boredom equaling an absence of motivation when it comes to jobs. For me, I think having such an unfulfilling job is what keeps my anxiety and depression so troublesome. I'm reading Kathleen Nadeau's book ADD in the Workplace (along with about five other books right now!), and I highly recommend it to anyone who's not happy in his/her current career. It gives excellent advice, including how to determine what the best career choice might be for you. There are also some articles on the web that talk about ADDers and careers. Do a search for "adult ADHD" + job or career. You could also search for Nadeau + ADHD + job or career, and I think you'll hit on some interviews and/or articles where she discusses some of the tips in her book. I know I have printed out several…and of course they're in a pile with all the other research I've been doing, but at least I have only one [ten-inch tall!] pile! :)

All the articles I've read about ADDers and their careers seem to state the same thing: it is CRITICAL that we have a job we love (Nadeau also states this in the abovementioned book, and Hallowell/Ratey discuss it too in Answers to Distraction). I totally loved teaching, but NOT all the increasing amounts of administrative crapola taking away my time to plan for lessons, etc., and the impending micromanagement I saw coming down the pipes from the school district Powers that Be.

While the job I have now is soooo completely wrong for me, I do see the value in having come to this firm: I've come to know some truly wonderful people, and some truly FOUL people, and I've learned from all of them. In addition, if I didn't take this job I never would have become as computer savvy as I am now, despite using some technology in my classroom. I believe there's a reason for everything, even having a crappy job. We just have to be open to and acknowledging of the lessons we're supposed to learn.

....yeah, yeah...I was monologuing. who among you can cast the first stone??? ;)

Goals

Also one of the guys I used to work for told me that I need to set goals for myself, or at least write them out. This may sound stupid, but I dont really have any goals. Does anyone else feel like they are wandering without direction and dont know what they want to do? How do you find out what you want to do with your life? I know I am itelligent and could do something amazing but I dont know what and I feel like I am just letting my life slip away while I could be curing cancer or saving the rainforest or something.

I have one major goal in Life

That is to enjoy LIFE to the fullest in whatever may come my way as time passes by




Life is a Journey, Not a Destination

For now I'm just commenting on the whole "Goals" thing.

I am right there with you in the sense that I don't have goals because I seem to "take it as it comes" to so boreingly put it.
I have goals for today and some mild ones of educating myself.
I have been cursed with not being able to futureize or be absorbed in the past, i can only live for this day. Some see that as a blessing but I see it as a fault in some ways. I can't project my future and I don't have my finger on why at the moment but it seems like every time I try to think about it I end up thinking about something else. I know that just sounds like distraction. and it is, but I don't really push it also. I think I fear my self doubt.
I know I'm capable of alot, but I feel safer with just doing it. If I let myself get the best of me who knows how far I will make it.
k, I hope that doesn't sound depressing. It's really just a way to be, it doesn't make me sad. I have dreams, but they usually don't make any sense by the time they are finished. haha

I have been the same way all my life Sara. Could never set any goals or see forward. That never stopped me from worrying about it though hehe.

Maybe that is just part of my anxiety but I have always worried about the future without a clue as to how to affect it in any way.

Anyone have any goal setting strategies? Maybe starting out with small things or something.

I learned about one approach to setting goals by having to teach a goal-setting mini-unit to my students, but it's not just a "kid thing." When I remember to use the formula, it can be pretty helpful to me with trying to break down things I want to accomplish into more manageable bits--I'm so easily overwhelmed by both the multitude of "goal options" swimming in my head and by all the other stuff swimming in my head at the same time. It's supposed to be a pretty basic formula/starting point, but sometimes I just need a good swift kick to get started on even basic stuff…. Here's the method:

There are so many different types of goals…career, relationship-specific, exercise, nutritional, household chore, and so on. For each type of goal, there can be 3 levels of goals you have to "cross," based on the amount of time it might take to accomplish them: short-term, intermediate, and long-term. The 3 levels are closely connected to each other.

A long-term goal (LTG) will take a year or more to accomplish. Seems easiest to start with this level and work backwards. (ex. Go back and finish college.)

Intermediate goals (IG) can be accomplished in a few weeks to 12 months and will help you accomplish a LTG. You can set several IGs to help accomplish the same LTG. (ex. Decide if what I started studying in college is still for me. Decide which college I'll attend. Enroll in a class or two required by my degree.)

Short-term goals (STG) are something that you can do today (or within the next 2 weeks or so) that will have a forward-moving effect on either an IG or, ultimately, a LTG. STGs are pretty specific and therefore easy to measure. (ex. Research 3 websites containing current information about my original major. Look for 3-6 people who graduated with the degree I originally pursued and talk to at least 3 of them about their happiness with their decision. Request financial aid, application and enrollment information from 3 colleges I might attend.)

Chances of success increase when goals (and don't forget rewards!!!! :D ) are actually written down and posted for easy and consistent viewing—a visual aid. That way you (and others who can be supportive) can see how each small step has a direct effect on how much closer you are to reaching your goal. You can use color-coded tables/charts; post-its on poster boards—pretty cool to yank and trash 'em when you accomplish each one; a checklist; a dry-erase board…the possibilities are endless! The more folks involved in making the "visual aid," the more fun the goal-setting process (and the more folks you might enlist to help you with your accountability), but be sure you have someone NOT ADD there as you make the VA. Otherwise we ADDers might get so caught up in the VA project that we end up goofin' off.

Goals may need to be broadened, narrowed or rewritten altogether once you start acting on them—they're YOUR goals, so make 'em work for you.
:cool:

I'm sorry I've been away for so long. Depressed.
I have no developed strategy for myself but if I think of one you will be the first to know.