hey guys!

i was in class today and we were doing some Maths which while i failed at in high school i actually like doing in real life!

i think that the thing about my add i was so sensitive about my enviroment that i couldn't consentrate. i'm like that way still in TAFE. If i am with my friends i can't really listen cause they are whispering or giggling.

but that's just a common effect of Add right? what i wanna talk about it the effects of those situations.

i remember being a teenager and my dad used to call me things like stupid and why doesn't she remember to close the door/shut the draw after herself/so on so on

as you can tell "The Great Struggle" in my family that has to do with ADD is with my dad.

not the best relationship...

i remember not trying with things i knew i could do in high school because i knew that, even when i tried to appy myself, it would never stick so i'ld rather fail now and not get my hopes up by trying.

i think the worst thing is though that sometimes i still think that i'm making up excuses....i don't have ADD i really am just lazy or stupid. i think that is the thought that cripples me the worst.

lol sorry guys i'm in one of those moods....i'm thinking about how much i wanna go to uni but...i'm still really scared i won't be able to handle it :o


Anyway, hope everyone is good and well

SandydeADD:p

Sometimes we do make up excuses, but we still have ADD, excuses or not.
I've come up with excuses WHY I can't move to another job, or WHY I can't do this or that.
It's just me trying to be down on myself.
ADD isn't a curse, it's a blessing.
You just have to find out where your strengths are, and your weaknesses.
Once you find those, you can go into a weakness situation, knowing you need to add a bit more focus. (making a list, etc)
It's the only way I get through work.
I do the same at home, and it's a great idea.

i think that the thing about my add i was so sensitive about my enviroment that i couldn't consentrate. i'm like that way still in TAFE. If i am with my friends i can't really listen cause they are whispering or giggling.Boy does that sound familiar. The worst part is when you gets so frustrated by your friends' giggling and stuff that you yell at them. Now not only are you not getting your work done, but they think you're a ****** too.

My sensitivity is so severe that even the faintest human produced sounds wake me up out of a dead sleep. When my husband and I visit my parents, we stay in the guest room in the basement. And if my dad is typing on his laptop one floor above, it will wake me up.

I was like that too.
2yrs ago, I went 60% deaf in my left ear, with the permanent ringing (tinitis).
I have to have noise during the day because that ringing drives me nuts.
At night, I just wear myself down to where I eventually pass out in the bed.
I have a fan to sleep with at night (doesn't snore as much as my wife! LOL).
That sound helps me sleep.
As for consentration, I gotta have almost quiet, since I can no longer have complete silence with the ringing.
Oh, my wife figured out why I sit to the right of her at parties, gatherings, etc.
And now she makes me sit on her left side, so I can hear her. :D

I am very sensitive to sounds. I get so rattled with too much sound going on and I get snappish and my family thinks I'm trying to be too controlling... and I'm just trying to stop the chaos they're putting in my head; I can feel my brain crashing when they keep putting sounds into it, sometimes. I'm trying to find some solution other than snapping at them because it makes things worse, and of course everyone feels bad afterward. I don't know if they'll ever get it, how much they can invade my brain with the constant talk. It seems to them that I'm butting in and managing things and I can understand that feeling. So what you're describing, yeah, I can sooo relate.

So maybe your Dad has some issue like that, visually; things out of place shake him up more than he can handle, and his brain crashes; and if he's insensitive, too, well, that would explain it. not excuse it; he shouldn't talk to you that way.

Anyway, your Dad has his own issues, and you're not lazy or stupid; you look to me like you're working hard there, kiddo. Hugs to you. I hope things get better. Keep your courage up, I think you have a lot to offer; from what I read you appear to have a kind and sensitive nature.

Sometimes it's a thing you go through temporarily and "A-ha" you realize it and stop... that's what seems to be frequent with me.

hi SandydeADD

Looks like your pretty self aware, noise distraction is a real hassle for me too but I managed Uni OK, there were aspects of my ADD behaviour which made it tough, but in the Uni environment it was possible to work round them.

The ADDer has strengths though.....and if I had the self knowledge then I have now I could have played more to those strengths. Now I realise that working late at night helped me focus.....quiet....no knocks on the door and the ability to keep hyperfocus going to hit the deadline for the essay the following morning...and get an A for "originality of approach"...after weeks of procrastination!

For me it was actually easier as I left home and was able to organise my life the way I wanted to without having to conform to anyone elses expectations..the person who got ****ed off the most at my behaviour was myself.

The downside are the temptations of other things to do.....so many different ideas and interests pulling at your easily tempted brain. Also I selfmedicated with alcohol...big style and chased girls with conspicuously little result.

Remember too that lectures are just the skeleton of the knowledge, the real meat is elsewhere....so follow the lecturers signposting and you'll be OK...you don't need to get all the lecture, just enough to understand the concept and go from there. My lecturers were always happy to explain a point if you had made an obvious attempt to uncover the solution yourself.

Don't get into the mindset that you want to fail...that's a pretty negative place to start a life full of opportunities.

Incidentally on the sound thing..OK it is a pain in some situations, but its a real boon in others.... several times my hightened awareness of background noise has alerted me to dangerous situations and malfunctioning equipment in the work environment.

kilt

background noises , when i am stressed or trying to listen and absorb details drive me crazy. someone taping or clicking a pen.... gets me irritated real quick. Yes i at that point can't concentrate on anytign except the desire to tae th pen away from that person or nail the tapping foot to the ground. or maybe duct tape wouldn't be as painful on the foot.;)

aint life fun :D

Prior to my diagnosis, if I had moments of being able to really focus, I could manage to mentally block out the background noise around me. But those moments came very infreqently. Normally, unless everything was dead silent around me, I could barely get any work done.

Sometimes it's hard to see things like lack of focus or chronic procrastination as symptoms of a problem that is not your fault. I know I always thought that if I just tried harder, I would have done better. Even now, I don't always ask for the academic accomodations I really do need, because I figure with my medication I'm just as good as everyone else. I don't want to admit I need those accomodations because there's a part of me that thinks it's the "easy" way out.

The struggle continues for you as I'm sure it does for alot of us. The point at which you should become concerned is if you stop struggling. Know what I mean? Keep trying to find what works for you, and make sure you get the help and support you need.

You will eventually find a way to manage your ADD so you can really get going!!