Hi All,

First and foremost, I'm new to the forum and to be honest damn glad to have found it, can't tell you how good it feels to know that there are others who share the kinds of trials and tribulations i seem to face on a daily basis.

I am currently in something of a quandry and I was hoping some of you good people might be able to help me out here.

In my late teens i suffered a traumatic experience, after which I seemed to begin to utter phrases without intending to, when this first began i would turn to one of my friends and ask in a highly confused manner "WTF DID I JUST SAY?!" they all denied that it was happening and this led to me denying that the incidents were even occuring, blocking out what i said and blocking out most of the conversation which ensued among bystanders about what i had just said. I have however become very sensitive to body language and signs that i have had an "outburst". This has for obvious reasons led to severe social paranoia, i mean social 'anxiety', paranoia is when it's not real isnt it.

Generally i function relatively normally but when I am undernourished, stressed or havent had sufficient sleep or am overexcited i lose control of my vocal chords and they proceed to say whatever they like, which usually is pretty damn offensive judging by peoples reactions.

Now my question is this, why why why why WHY!? is it that I could not be told what was going on so that i could properly deal with it in spite of asking directly "What the hell is happening to me?" when it began, and then renewing my interest in it after 7 years of feeling alone ,unsure and completely convinced that I should be in a room with rubber wallpaper! I have looked everywhere and have never read about ADD being treated in this manner, but all ive got to do is look through this forum at other peoples experiences and think and find myself thinking yep thats me, and that, thats happened to me, so has that, and that........ you get the picture.

So im pretty convinced that I have it, one thing is though that I have never been medicated or professionally diagnosed, since the very existence of my affliction was denied! So im guessing that i might not be as symptomatic as alot of you guys who seem to be talking about this med and that med. maybe i should be medicated?! I dont know ive never seen a psychiatrist about it so I guess its possible it could be nescessary. Ive always known that ive had it but it keeps being flatly denied, if anyone could give me a reason why then i would really appreciate it!

Oh and just in case youre thinking i could be delusional there have been several instances where people have thought that my mouth was on autopilot and interjected when in fact it wasnt and i was in the middle of saying something deliberately whilst in full control of my faculties, thats happened lots so for me thats pretty solid evidence. I think I must dissociate somehow when i have these 'episodes' because i really cant remember a thing that happened during them. Also I have just tried murmering incoheherent gibberish in front of someone I know deliberately and it was completely disregarded......... I rest my case.

If anyone that can offer me any guidance then I would really REALLY appreciate it!

First - welcome to the boards! I'm sure you're here 'cuz you're an ADDer, right? Hah, even if you didn't mention it. :D

Ah...I've gotta admit, I've never heard of anything like that. Without prying too much, of what general nature was this traumatic experience? Did you hit your head at any point, or were you injured?

I'm thinking...maybe some kind of seizure? Even if the trauma wasn't physical, maybe it triggered some dormant seizure disorder? Um.

Failing that, no ideas at present.

Welcome to the forums! This is a great place to find out about ADD and other psych diagnoses.

You sound as if you've developed a verbal tick, which is a kind of twitch that affects your speech. This is a feature of Touretts syndrome, but can also be caused by other things.

You best bet is to see a neurologist or psychologist/psychiatrist who might send you to a neurologist, and get diagnosed.

Verbal twitching is not characteristic of ADD. ADD seems to disinhibit the mouth; an ADD will spout things uncontrollably (aka: without thinking) that they regret later or that offends, etc. Disinhibition is exacerbated by lack of sleep, stress, etc.

A verbal tick is less coherent than what an ADDer would produce. I know a fellow who sometimes swears and sometimes makes loud noises, more so when he is nervious. These are his verbal ticks, he has Tourettes.

Good luck and feel free to introduce yourself in New Member Introductions (http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=14)

I think you shouldn't autodiagnose an ADD problem. You should find a very qualified person to do so... I've been told that you can not diagnose your own ADD because symptoms no matter how obvious they appear to be can belong to other troubles, like anxiety or other. I recommande you find someone to help you in that way. That person has also the skills and knoledge to give you the right treatment for you.

My first thought was verbal ticks as well. I definitely think you should speak with a professional so that you can find the proper treatment.
Good luck:)

Welcome to the forums Daniel....

In my late teens I suffered a traumatic experience


The fact this began after a traumatic experience I question ADD because ADD is some thing you struggle with for life. On the other hand you may have ADD and the experience added some thing else to it.

Seeing a professional who knows the difference between PTSD, ADD, bipolar and a hole in the wall is important because a symptom can mean so many different things.

Inattention- can be ADD, depression, anxiety,

Hyperactivity- PTSD, bipolar, ADHD

To added to the difficulty one person can have more than one "disorder"....

People can have ADD and bipolar!

Besides no one can diagnosis you over the internet even if they happen to be “qualified”….I wish you luck but please have this “vocal thing” checked out so you can increase the quality of your life!

I agree with my fellow posters - a professional diagnosis is a must.
As an ADDer I say things I regret, but that's because my mind-to-mouth censor is defective. I know what I say, I just can't shut myself up in time. So it's different than your symptom. I've never experienced your symptom.

As an ADDer I say things I regret, but that's because my mind-to-mouth censor is defective. I know what I say, I just can't shut myself up in time. So it's different than your symptom. I've never experienced your symptom.

I used to have this problem REAL bad. My husband used to tell me all the time "You're so mean" or "You're so cold" but that's not really the case my mouth just flys open and it doesn't matter what's in my brain, it's coming out. It's taken alot of practice but I'm better at controlling it. Not completely but almost.

Hi - what practice or strategies help

Hi - what practice or strategies help
For me it has just been alot of tongue biting and making a real consious effort to watch what I say. I keep trying to tell myself "how is what your about to say going to make them feel" and trying to put myself into their position. You know, "how would I feel". And although I feel like I can tell my husband anything, I don't anymore, the little stuff anyway. He doesn't tell me how mean I am anymore either.

It doesn't sound like the kind of thing trying a strategy is going to help much. I'd encourage you to see a clinical psychologist familiar with ADD and related conditions or a psychiatrist and get checked out. Tourettes, bipolar, ADHD, disassociation and other conditions including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and maybe some I'm not thinking about could be involved. There is medication to help most of the conditions that could be responsible or psychotherapy or a combination of both. I hope you'll look into it further. Proper treatment can make a big difference.

ADHD tends to removed the brakes between the brain and speech and medication can help that in most cases. It sounds like there may be more than just regular ADHD going on -- it's not at all uncommon (in fact 88% of adult ADDers) have more than one psychiatric diagnosis. All of the above mentioned plus others are possible but only an on site specialist can really tell you for sure.

You might want to read in the ADD Forums under Coexisting Conditions section under Tourettes, bipolar, etc. and see if any of those ring a bell for you.

Scattered

This is my first post. I have not been formally diagnosed with ADHD. I have always thought it was a Hyperactive issue with kids but years of depression and anxiety, along with other symptoms that depression and anxiety medications have been unable to help with, led me to doing a lot of research the past couple of weeks. All my symptoms seem to lead to ADHD. Well during my research I found a web site that mentioned that 50-70% of people with Tourett's syndrome have ADD/ADDHD. I have it as well (slight ticks and jerking motions, nothing severe). Maybe you have it and the accident increased it's severity to a noticeable level that you now reccognize.

I have another possibility to toss out for ya OP. Did the injury by any chance, occur on the front of your head? I ask this because my partner had such an injury, resulting in damage to his frontal lobe (a part of the brain located under the forehead). Frontal Lobe Syndrome can greatly resemble ADD, in fact hubby took both the Amen tests, the first for ADD came back "ADD not probable"...yet when he took the brain function test? He came back "highly probable" for ALL possibilies except ADD w/hyperactivity. I have never seen such a thing!

Brain damage and resulting syndromes must be diagnosed by a highly qualified professional who understands brain injuries and is able to use all modern methods to diagnose the issue at hand. When hubby got injured there were no MRIs, no SPECT scans, etc.

I agree with my forum family here, PLEASE see a doctor and persist in seeking a correct diagnosis. Best of luck to you :).

I can only add 1 thing to this post, and that is you don't have to live with this.
Please be sure to seek help, Do not feel alone or isolated.
There are many in similar situations that have had great successes with medication.
My nephew had tourets syndrome and was very down on himself he now has been medicated for the last several years now that this part of his life is under control he has the confidence in himself that he never had before. He in 19 years old in his first year at college and doing quite well
He also for the first time has a beatiful girlfriend in his life that is very supportive.

If he had not gone for treatment today he would not be in college and probably not have this person in his life.
It simply amazes me that what confidence can do for a person.

Good luck to you and keep up posted of your improvements