Anyone every live in a foreign place and come to find out that your adhd mind was "overwhelmed". I studied in Australia for a 5 month period and felt very "panic" stricken most of the time. It was like I could barely function at all. Could this be GAD or just a part of ADD? With my luck probably both...

I studied abroad in Japan. I got a case of culture shock, but that's pretty common. Probably universal even, to some degree. I don't know whether it is ADD-related or not, but I feel like I thrive in new circumstances.

No I don't think it was culture shock. Those aussies arn't that different then we Americans....or are they...I can't even answer this question after being over there for 6 months. I just tried to operate at the most basic level to get by. That is exactly what I experienced when Iwas over there. It was like I couldn't even get a feel for people I was so overwhelmed...i don't know exactly what it was; anxity of some sort maybe. This explains how I felt to a ti: like a deer in headlights. He is so shocked he doesn't know what to do so he "freezes".

Well I think its like it was ADD related I mean, we all know how we fail to pick up certain social skills et cetera, so its hard enough to co-exist with others in your own 'home' so its no suprise there its been overwhelming with other way of doing things, other way of think. Australians to make a huge generalisation are a very lively bunch so if you came from places not so lively that could have been a problem too.

I moved over here to America at that key age of 18 (i'm 22 now) and its been the hardest thing ever (although I would never have gotten diagnosed had i still lived in England so that is something to be eternally greatful for i suppose)
Change it seems is a huge problem for me (and you don't get a bigger change than a new country to adjust to), i spend a vast amount of time trying to get into a routine or get some level of consistency, but change is too constant, registering for new classes at different times of the week each semester for example, meaning trying to find a new routine again. I say i could just stay a free spirit, but generally speaking people tend to do a lot better in life with routine, and change for me means striving to find one. Is this just me or is Change a big problem for all of us ADDers.

I dont know..I havent really strudied abroad(not yet anyway) but I find new situations really energizing at first but if I have to make any effort to get by at all I get very overloaded. I thihnk too much is going through my mind at a time and Im trying too hard or something...but thats just a guess. I can't really relate to your specific situation...

When I am in my own country, I never feel like I quite fit in. In Japan I also don't feel like I fit in, but I'm not supposed to. It's very liberating -- I can be myself, and nobody thinks it's particularly strange. Or they do rather, but just attribute it to my being foreign...

In other words, it's much easier to be the crazy foreign dude than just the crazy dude. :)

Maybe Australia was too similar -- like they could actually tell how weird you are.

Anyone every live in a foreign place and come to find out that your adhd mind was "overwhelmed". I studied in Australia for a 5 month period and felt very "panic" stricken most of the time. It was like I could barely function at all. Could this be GAD or just a part of ADD? With my luck probably both...
Yea Autralia. Ok to the serious stuff where exactly in Australia were you and have you been to any other countries and experinced the same thing. GAD?

GAD = Generalized Anxiety Disorder. (Moving this thread to that section :) )

Yea I think it might be GAD....I don't know at this point in time. I can't seem to make up my mind yet I spend hours and hours on the internet trying to find a solution. Yes I do get nervous when say I go to a bar w/ friends and definetly when I was in Australia (Melbourne). Its hard to say. I have noticed that I put off doing a lot of things because I just "don't want to deal with it". In Australia no other descriptor other then "Deer in the headlights" seems to signify how I felt. It was rather terrifying.