Help me to make sense of things

[delaney_kid]

I've felt for a long time that I am unable to function and perform at the level of other "normal" people. Things like focus, motivation and extreme impulsiveness have always been issues for me but I have always just considered them my personal weaknesses. Recently, I stumbled across a bunch of information about ADD/ADHD and the comparisons to my life and experiences are uncanny. I tried to explain how I felt to some of my friends but I couldn't seem to remember all of those ah-ha! moments i had had when reading about it (my memory being very poor is one of those things :P) and a few acted like I was just making excuses for my poor behaviour in the past. I decided to create this list and was hoping some informed people could help me make sense of it and tell me if this are things you relate to.

Reading and writing:
Cant read with noise and/or music
Eyes involuntarily skim over whole sentences and words when disinterested or after a lengthy period.
Head feels cloudy and unfocused
Feel helpless when trying to concentrate but can't
Obsessively reread sentences in my head I've written when trying to write something otherwise forget what I'm writing and can't concentrate
Very difficult to focus on and read things that don't interest me
Can obsessively focus on things of great interest for extended periods of time (hours reading Wikipedia articles or videogame)

Social:
Feel uncomfortable sitting for too long in groups
Inadvertently fidget and tear things up in front of me and have to sit on hands
Finish people's sentences
Impulsively say and do things
Feel guilt and shame about my impulsive actions
Semi-frequent anxiety
Find building and mainting relationships overwhelming and tedious

Life:
Head feels less cloudy and focused after smoking marijuana
Poor with money (impulsive spending)
Find it difficult to maintain home and surroundings
Difficulty with punctuality and keeping appointments
Rarely make appointments and impulsively decide to do things (haircut etc)
Constantly changing, multiple interests and hobbies that I rarely persue long term
Very poor memory
Put off and avoid responsibilities eg paying bills or book keeping for work
Semi-severe and continuous childhood behavioral problems dating back to very young age
History of employment issues and reprimands for focus and punctuality

[Driver]

Don't tell us, tell your GP and then get a referral to a psychiatrist.