sdeco
12-18-06, 12:30 PM
Hi everyone,
This is my first post to the forum. I think I might have the inattentive type of ADD, but I wanted to get some feedback to see if this sounds like ADD to you. Here are the traits I have that I think are ADD-related: <O:p
I’ve always been a very dreamy, “head in the clouds” sort of person. It started when I was 9 or 10 years old. I would daydream constantly and often find myself not paying attention in class or to the conversation around the dinner table, completely involuntarily. Teachers always said I was a very pleasant child but would just “get lost in my own world” sometimes.
In school I would always do my homework, but I would often forget to turn it in, unless the teacher said “everyone turn in your homework now.” This became a real problem in classes where the teacher didn’t remind us to turn in our homework – like if we just had to remember to leave it on the teacher’s desk or something.
I find it almost impossible to pay attention to something that doesn’t interest me, whether I’m reading it or listening to it. I’ll tell myself I’m going to pay attention and 30 seconds later my mind will start wandering.
Sometimes I’ll ask someone a question that I truly want or need to know the answer to, and my mind will immediately start thinking about something else, completely involuntarily, causing me to miss the answer to my question that I really wanted to know.
I have what I would call an “overactive mind.” I’m constantly thinking and daydreaming. Sometimes I’m fantasizing and imagining myself in a certain situation, and other times I’m mulling over a moral, political or philosophical issue. Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about some issue and won’t be able to get back to sleep for a long time.
I’m very, very introverted and have struggled with shyness all my life. During my first year of preschool I had a condition called selective mutism, where I didn’t say a word to anyone the whole year. I’ve always been a very cautious person. Not sure if any of this is related to ADD. My Myers-Briggs type is INFP, if that helps.
I’ve always been quite uncoordinated. In elementary school I was actually in a special physical education class for awhile for kids who had underdeveloped motor skills. I’m 26 now and have been driving for almost ten years, and I drive every day, but I’m still terrible at parking. I have a very hard time parking straight and I’m always crooked or over one line or the other. Don’t even get me started on parallel parking.
I’ll often walk into a room and forget why I’m there. It will take me a few seconds to remember. Sometimes I’ll leave the room and then remember.
I’m very dependent on my day planner, in which I write down everything. (And I mean *everything.*) I write down when to get my oil changed, when to take out the trash, a reminder to give my 2-year-old her Flintstone vitamin, etc. I refer to my planner constantly. If I didn’t have it I would forget these things at least 50% of the time and my life would completely fall apart. I also make a detailed list every day at work of what I need to do.
If someone asks me to do something, I either need to do it immediately or write it down immediately. Otherwise there’s a very good chance I’ll forget.
In order to remember something I either need to write it down or make it a habit. Some things I don’t have to write down – like brushing my teeth, for example – because it’s a habit. On the other hand, if something becomes habitual for me, it’s very difficult to break the habit if I need to. For example, when I leave a room I instinctively turn off the light. It’s become a habit. But if my husband tells me, “this time when you leave the room leave the light on,” I’ll say “ok” and then 5 minutes later I’ll leave the room and turn the light off, because it’s automatic.
I tend to not notice things in the external world unless they’re glaringly obvious. I don’t notice subtle differences. I can go for months without noticing the stain on the carpet, which my husband would notice immediately.
If I’m reading a good book or otherwise engrossed in something that interests me, I completely tune out the outside world and am completely unaware of everything going on around me.
On the other hand, here are some traits I have that do not sound like ADD:<O:p
I always did very well in school, both growing up and in college. I was always an A/B student. It would take me longer than most people to get my homework done because of my mind frequently wondering, but I usually did a good job. Most of the time the teacher would remind us to turn in our homework, so not turning it in was only a problem occasionally. I would never dream of blowing off schoolwork or not doing it. I was always very aware of the consequences of my actions (in fact, sometimes to the point where I was constantly worrying).
I was always a very good reader. In elementary school I was always in the top reading group and was a voracious reader. I have always loved to read fiction, especially classics and literary fiction. I was an English major in college. Assuming the book was interesting, I never had trouble finishing it.
I was never impulsive my any stretch of the imagination. If anything, I’ve always been overly cautious about just about everything.
I was never hyperactive at all. (Then again, if I do have ADD I think I have the inattentive type).
I was never one to seek additional stimulation. If anything, I was constantly trying to reduce stimulation.
I try to keep my house and desk at work neat and organized. I can’t stand to be in a messy environment. It’s very distracting.
What do you think? Does this sound like inattentive type ADD to you? It has occurred to me that the ways in which I don’t seem like I have ADD may simply be ways I’ve compensated – writing everything down, keeping things very neat so I don’t lose things, etc. Also, does anyone know of a good doctor in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><st1:City w:st=Washington</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></ST1:p metro area who treats adults with ADD, especially with the predominantly inattentive type? Thanks.
This is my first post to the forum. I think I might have the inattentive type of ADD, but I wanted to get some feedback to see if this sounds like ADD to you. Here are the traits I have that I think are ADD-related: <O:p
I’ve always been a very dreamy, “head in the clouds” sort of person. It started when I was 9 or 10 years old. I would daydream constantly and often find myself not paying attention in class or to the conversation around the dinner table, completely involuntarily. Teachers always said I was a very pleasant child but would just “get lost in my own world” sometimes.
In school I would always do my homework, but I would often forget to turn it in, unless the teacher said “everyone turn in your homework now.” This became a real problem in classes where the teacher didn’t remind us to turn in our homework – like if we just had to remember to leave it on the teacher’s desk or something.
I find it almost impossible to pay attention to something that doesn’t interest me, whether I’m reading it or listening to it. I’ll tell myself I’m going to pay attention and 30 seconds later my mind will start wandering.
Sometimes I’ll ask someone a question that I truly want or need to know the answer to, and my mind will immediately start thinking about something else, completely involuntarily, causing me to miss the answer to my question that I really wanted to know.
I have what I would call an “overactive mind.” I’m constantly thinking and daydreaming. Sometimes I’m fantasizing and imagining myself in a certain situation, and other times I’m mulling over a moral, political or philosophical issue. Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about some issue and won’t be able to get back to sleep for a long time.
I’m very, very introverted and have struggled with shyness all my life. During my first year of preschool I had a condition called selective mutism, where I didn’t say a word to anyone the whole year. I’ve always been a very cautious person. Not sure if any of this is related to ADD. My Myers-Briggs type is INFP, if that helps.
I’ve always been quite uncoordinated. In elementary school I was actually in a special physical education class for awhile for kids who had underdeveloped motor skills. I’m 26 now and have been driving for almost ten years, and I drive every day, but I’m still terrible at parking. I have a very hard time parking straight and I’m always crooked or over one line or the other. Don’t even get me started on parallel parking.
I’ll often walk into a room and forget why I’m there. It will take me a few seconds to remember. Sometimes I’ll leave the room and then remember.
I’m very dependent on my day planner, in which I write down everything. (And I mean *everything.*) I write down when to get my oil changed, when to take out the trash, a reminder to give my 2-year-old her Flintstone vitamin, etc. I refer to my planner constantly. If I didn’t have it I would forget these things at least 50% of the time and my life would completely fall apart. I also make a detailed list every day at work of what I need to do.
If someone asks me to do something, I either need to do it immediately or write it down immediately. Otherwise there’s a very good chance I’ll forget.
In order to remember something I either need to write it down or make it a habit. Some things I don’t have to write down – like brushing my teeth, for example – because it’s a habit. On the other hand, if something becomes habitual for me, it’s very difficult to break the habit if I need to. For example, when I leave a room I instinctively turn off the light. It’s become a habit. But if my husband tells me, “this time when you leave the room leave the light on,” I’ll say “ok” and then 5 minutes later I’ll leave the room and turn the light off, because it’s automatic.
I tend to not notice things in the external world unless they’re glaringly obvious. I don’t notice subtle differences. I can go for months without noticing the stain on the carpet, which my husband would notice immediately.
If I’m reading a good book or otherwise engrossed in something that interests me, I completely tune out the outside world and am completely unaware of everything going on around me.
On the other hand, here are some traits I have that do not sound like ADD:<O:p
I always did very well in school, both growing up and in college. I was always an A/B student. It would take me longer than most people to get my homework done because of my mind frequently wondering, but I usually did a good job. Most of the time the teacher would remind us to turn in our homework, so not turning it in was only a problem occasionally. I would never dream of blowing off schoolwork or not doing it. I was always very aware of the consequences of my actions (in fact, sometimes to the point where I was constantly worrying).
I was always a very good reader. In elementary school I was always in the top reading group and was a voracious reader. I have always loved to read fiction, especially classics and literary fiction. I was an English major in college. Assuming the book was interesting, I never had trouble finishing it.
I was never impulsive my any stretch of the imagination. If anything, I’ve always been overly cautious about just about everything.
I was never hyperactive at all. (Then again, if I do have ADD I think I have the inattentive type).
I was never one to seek additional stimulation. If anything, I was constantly trying to reduce stimulation.
I try to keep my house and desk at work neat and organized. I can’t stand to be in a messy environment. It’s very distracting.
What do you think? Does this sound like inattentive type ADD to you? It has occurred to me that the ways in which I don’t seem like I have ADD may simply be ways I’ve compensated – writing everything down, keeping things very neat so I don’t lose things, etc. Also, does anyone know of a good doctor in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com /><st1:City w:st=Washington</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></ST1:p metro area who treats adults with ADD, especially with the predominantly inattentive type? Thanks.