I am currently seeing a psychologist for my Social Anxiety, and I told him that I I think I might have ADHD as well, and he completely denied it and say this it is extremely unlikely otherwise I wouldn't be able to talk to him like I was, I would be constantly switching my attention elsewhere.

:mad:

Are you happy with him otherwise? You could ask him to at least do a general ADD symptom checklist with you. See where it goes from there.

Sounds extremely short-sighted on his/her part. Doctors, therapists, coaches, etc., sometimes have their own agendas and preconceived notions. It's not right but unfortunately it's part of the "business". If your psychologist continues to dismiss you, you probabaly need to think of moving on. Since psychologists don't prescribe medication, which is generally a first line treatment for ADD/ADHD, they're often not motivated to entertain that diagnosis.

Just my opinions and observations.

Good luck.

One of the things that I have had to look out for in the past couple of months is detecting the symptoms of ADHD in all the people around me, including historical personages and people from myth and legend.

When I was first investigating the possibility that I had the condition, I was watching especially closely for indications which would rule me out or indicate a different problem.

It's what I call the "green Volkswagen effect" -- before you buy a green Volkswagen you never see one anywhere, but after you buy one you find that they are all around you like so many mosquitoes.

Good luck and be well,

Ducky

I have the same problem with my psychiatrist. b*tch slap him and tell him to listen.
(do actually do that....not a good idea) but you should tell him its something you're concerned about and want to have it ruled out, ask him to do a checklist (as Swede mentioned)

most people see ADD/ADHD as a person who cant sit still and cant formulate a whole scentence. its stupid but its the way people see it.

most people see ADD/ADHD as a person who cant sit still and cant formulate a whole scentence. its stupid but its the way people see it.
I have that too.

Find a new doc as I did and move on with your life...

I will play devil's advocate here. Don't take me wrong.

A good psychologist watches and learns from observing his patient. Perhaps he did file your concerns in the back of his brain. Perhaps he is in the process of observing you now to see if you do have any typical behavior. I do believe that a good psychologist would put more stock into behavior observation. I know before my kids and me were diagnosed, there were hours of observations in the class room with my son and a couple of sessions (with and without my son) that he was able to observe me. I put very little stock into the checklists cause if someone thinks they have the symptoms, he can bluff his way through a checklist with very little thought. Your psychologist may be smarter than you think. He is there to do a job and not to just entertain whims. He may have to tell you some bad news or news that you son't want to hear.

Sorry, not to belittle you or your concerns. I guess I just felt that the other side of the coin needed some representing. Balance is the key.

Thing is it is impossible to see my ADHD symptoms when I'm socially anxious, because I internalize it all. He won't ever see me randomly blurt out stupid things, act crazy, and such -- no matter how much he observes me.

He won't ever see me randomly blurt out stupid things, act crazy, and such -- no matter how much he observes me.


Being unable to consciously control our direction of focus and length of attention span is what makes us ADD. If you can consciously control your focus and length of attention span then you do not have ADD. What is internal may show externally more than is realized because ADDers are also notoriously poor self observers.

Go see a Testing Psychologist instead?

P.S.

What that Psychologist says is a MYTH.

In 1:1 situations, almost all ADD/ADHDers can focus on the person they're talking to and carry on a 1:1 conversation....

You can't ignore someone who engages your attention (and enters your physical space) so intensely.

1:1 conversation is pretty hard to ignore.

Not all ADDers are fast talkers or 'topic switchers' that way. Some are not going to be obviously spacey.

ADD isn't even always about being 'obviously inattentive'.

We can look like we are paying attention, but have impaired working memory.

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You will not know if you have working memory impairment and executive dysfunction by 'talking to a psychologist'.


You have to have testing for that to be measured and assessed.

It is about $100/hr and takes about 8-10 hours.

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(Maybe your Counselling Psychologist doesn't know much about Testing Psychologists and what they do? e.g. Neuropsych assessments)

re: Believing myths about ADD people ignoring the speaker or showing hyperactivity/inattention, in an app't

The belief in this Myth is why taking an inattentive child to the Doctor's Office so often fails to pick up the problem.

Put them in a classroom, however, and they are lost among the sea of kids.

Hello there lostwitness,

Have you asked for any testing by your psychologist? If your psychologist does not do testing, then perhaps you can talk to your local mental health clinic to find out how one gets tested for adult ADHD. I don't know what your insurance pays, but often you have to pay up front, what your insurance doesn't. Of course this is all something you can talk with the clinic about. They often have doctors who test for ADHD (both adult and childhood).

If you have read up about ADHD and you feel that you have it, tell your psychologist why you believe you do, not just that you think you might have it. By doing that, you take the ball out of his court, and put it into yours, steering the conversation to what is important to you. If you can't do this verbally, type it up or write it up and give it to your doctor so that he can start the appropriate testing for you.

Best wishes,

At Heart

Not all doctors have a sound understanding of ADHD. What your doctor stated may be true of some if not many ADDers, it is not necessarily true of all, placed within each situation. It's hard to judge ADHD by behavior in these situations, as these situations may be stimulating, and the expression of symptoms may be dampened.

The introverted ADDers tend to internalize things. This means that certain symptoms may be less noticeable (instead of blurting things out, one may appear to be not listening).

I do think ADD is often externally visible, no matter the type, but it is often less visible in certain situations, and it's presentation varies from person to person (depending on type and other factors). Sometimes it may be very subtle. Often times, unless one is afflicted by the disorder, it may be difficult to understand the presentation (even though it seems obvious to those who have it).

I wouldn't be able to talk to him like I was, I would be constantly switching my attention elsewhere. :mad:

GET A NEW ONE. That is plain BS He doen't know a thing about ADHD or doesn't want to deal with it. POOR, POOR. I have trouble speaking sometimes w/ my Dr, but I am not switching my attention else where, why? because I am INATTENTIVE, not hyperactive.