This is why my parents dismissed my childhood diagnosis of ADHD. My older brother has the hyperactive type, but I am more of the inattentive type.
The outside is calm, but the inside is a tornado of thoughts that doesn’t cease.
That definition always bothered me a lot… The hyperactivity is always there, but it’s either internalised, externalised and sometimes it’s both. It’s the intensity of it that can vary a lot from person to person.
That’s why they don’t use “types” anymore, they call them presentations. Any person with ADHD may present as more inattentive or more hyperactive depending on circumstances, and, like you said, some elements of both are always there.
“I have all this energy inside and I can’t use it how I want!!”
“I have all this energy outside and it’s using me how it wants!!”
Pretty much!
I’m the inattentive type. My youngest kid is the hyper type.
We clash soooo much. His body does what my mind does.
/raises hand
hmm.
oh no the final straw has broken or however that saying goes
Frick. I should really get a proper diagnosis. Anyone here found out they had ADHD well into adulthood? What changed?
Yeah almost 40, was diagnosed not even two years ago.
I had been taking Ritalin to start with, which is great for bringing me out, makes me more talkative actually able to pay attention to your usual boring chit-chat with people.
I’ve since migrated to dexamfetamine & vyvanse (pro drug / long acting dexamf’) which for me is less of the talkative / social and more of being able to focus, time manage & notice when I’m spending too much time on one task.
For me, the biggest changes have been being able to start & finish anything. I’ve really delved into Linux / home labbing’ and have a modest setup, and a decent understanding of Linux / NixOS.
My relationship has improved, I’m now much more attentive around the house, and even proactive with chores / tasks.
Biggest downside has been issues with sleep being on Vyvanse, I’m trialing Guanfacine or Intuniv (brand name) for those issues. Off label it helps with impulsiveness however adjusting to the groggy mornings hasn’t been fun.
I’m very happy my wife pushed me to see a Dr about a diagnosis, I’d just thought that I was lazy or a bit of a dropkick when it came to life admin / general chores.
Thank you! What doctor makes that diagnostic? GP? Neurologist? Psychiatrist?
I saw firstly a remote psych then I found a local one, the initial stages of being diagnosed took over 2 years for me sadly.
Got diagnosed near the end of last year, well into adulthood. I have inattentive type (what was once called ADD). I’m on non-stimulany meds for it, which helps. But the thing about ADHD is that it’s mainly genetic and has to do with the structure of your brain. Its a holdover from when we were living on plains and spent most of our days eating berries and avoiding predators. There’s no real symptom relief, only management.
That said, the tools you learn for management while in therapy for it are amazing. And once you understand how your brain works, you gain a deeper and better understanding of how and why you do things. I know that seems like a “duh”, but in practice its a lot more profound and empowering than you think its going to be.
But ADHD has a lot of overlap with other things, so don’t be too sure until you see a professional. I wasn’t looking for an ADHD diagnosis when I got one - I thought I had depression. And I was miserable. Like, considering some unthinkable stuff. My diagnosis and treatment basically 180’d me completely. Find a good doctor, then listen to them
Oh I don’t think I have it. Maybe. But I’ve related to so much on this community that I think I should be sure. Thank you for your testimonial! And what sort of doctor does that diagnosis? Neurologist?
A psychiatrist, actually. There’s about an afternoon’s worth of testing, and that generates a report on a few different vectors, saying if you have it and what kind
Thank you!
I was in my late thirties when I finally had my diagnosis. It gave me a surprising amount of peace knowing that all of those things I’ve struggled with all my life was in fact a condition/a disability and not just me not trying hard enough. Having a professional say it was not all my own fault did mean a lot.
Getting diagnosed also meant I could get drugs. Those helped a lot too. They’re not miracle cures that makes it all go away but they have really made a difference.
Thanks!
Just got diagnosed last week, and I am well into adulthood.
It’s a bit early yet. I am on starter meds and have a follow up appointment in a few weeks. Already though I have noticed impulse control is much better. It’s like I have a time machine that’s given me a few extra moments to respond to stimuli. Anxiety levels are also way down, and I don’t feel the frazzled need to jump to the next thing, trying to get a dopamine fix.
Trying now to pursue a 3 prong style of treatment: medication, forming new habits, and mindfulness/observation. I am doing mood journaling to try to capture my experience.
Sounds like I should really look into it. Thanks and good luck!
How often do you have a feeling that there’s too much information to convey right now, and speech/mouth feels like a bottleneck not capable of delivering all that needs to be said in their really specific details?
All the time. My thoughts also run way faster than I can speak, so I very often speak too fast and mumble, which makes it hard for people to understand me.
I usually shake head and make the best impression of Duffy Duck fucking a deflating balloon in order to restart speech function.
Now combine that with impatient people who don’t give other people enough time to process information or enough time to properly explain something.
That’s my whole family dynamic right there. Pure anxiety fuel :D
ADHD Cross Type Communication
So much yes
yes.
I have 2 settings. Highly engaging radio talk show host who
won’tcan’t shut up, or “wallflower mode, pls don’t notice me or I may burst into tears /flames.”Yes, me too. “Did you know?” and “Don’t even look at me!” And nothing in between, lol
I’ve only ever seen 1 person with something like the “energetic” ADHD…
I’ve heard the inattentive type is more common among women. My wife definitely fits the description. People usually mistake the blank stare for intimidation, but I know better. (っ˘з(•_• )
The blank stare isn’t really indicative of daydreaming or thinking about a problem.
Nope - just nothing at all going on in there for a blissfully quiet few minutes.
It definitely looks like RBF though. People always used to think I was mad!
Still waters run deep - or sometimes that’s just frozen water.
I’ve got angry thinking face. That’s the best, every time you’re at the height of your mental powers some asshole who loves you says “Is everything ok?”
What’s probably even more confusing is when the quiet turns loud suddenly because the topic has shifted to something interesting.
I have a psychiatrist appointment coming up, and I am saving this to show him.
Yep “ADHD inattentive type” here. Chuck in Autism and dysgraphia and I was a quiet kid.
How does the dysgraphia affect you?
Makes writing annoying and much slower than my brain wants to go. Writing takes all my attention to get right. ADHD makes it hard to keep what I want to say in my head, while I wait for my hands to catch up.
yes that sounds like inattentive type adhd, its the spacey daydreamy type, and fun fact, as its less disruptive its less likely to be diagnosed and funner fact its much more common in girls which contributes to the
Gotta say I really appreciate you getting distracted by something more interesting halfway through
yeah I couldn’t figure out how to name the thing at the end of the sentence so i just gave up and trusted yall would get it
has “in this essay I will” energy, 11/10
Pretty sure I have undiagnosed ADHD. I tried to get an evaluation on the recommendation of my therapist once and all they did was offer me meds directly.
I can totally relate to the quiet variant, I’m very nonverbal and always lost in thought. But when it comes time to speak I usually only have a couple words to say. I’m only ever talkative through text when I have time to organize thoughts.
Are you in the US? And if so did your therapist offer to give you a screener? It’s a self-evaluation that you can do, then you try meds and if the meds are effective you probably have ADHD. I wasn’t given any kind of initial evaluation beyond that. And also there are three main presentations of ADHD - inattentive (lost in thought), hyperactive-impulsive (what the media focused on), and combined. Each individual’s presentation will be unique though.
I am in the US and my therapist didn’t offer any screening but gave a referral, which basically amounted to a doctor coming in and asking why I thought I had ADHD (to which I answered several reasons including scattered thoughts) to which the response was: “you think you have ADHD because you’re forgetful?” And that tbh made me feel pretty defeated. They offered a prescription and I said no and that was that :/
I have actually had medication once without any medical guidance when I was a kid in middle school (maybe 7 or 8 years prior to therapy when I found a loose concerta pill) and I did all my homework that day. I remember being blown away by how I was able to focus, and the problems seemed so much more satisfying to do. Medication probably would help me a lot but I was raised by psychiatrist parents who distrust psychiatric medication and kind of brainwashed us to not get any diagnoses or medication so it’s kind of hard to get over the fear that they’ve instilled in us even though I’ve already tried it and nothing bad happened. I definitely resent them for that
https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnaire-ASRS111.pdf ask if a LCSW (most licensed therapists) or really any mental health provider will proctor this for you. Don’t read it before they give it to you or it will skew your answers. This is what I was given before being offered medicine. Then when I responded well to the medication my psychiatrist was like “yeah you probably have ADHD. lets see how you do on the meds”. Good luck.
Your parents sound like shitty psychiatrists.
Yeah they are. My dad is more of a “everyone else can use the medicine I prescribe but our kids have to stay pure because we don’t have those kinds of problems and if we did taking medicine is a cop out” kinda person and my mom is only a neurologist but would talk to patients about herbal medicine, acupuncture, and how they shouldn’t get vaccines. Thank god they’re both retired and I don’t have to hear their whining about hospital policy and the continuing education requirements they should have taken more seriously.
Something to understand about ADHD is that it’s very much a “physical” issue. It’s a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts the signal pathways between your pre-frontal cortex (the brain’s filter) and the amygdala (fight, flight, freeze). Some people’s brains can sort of re-wire over time and you’ll develop coping mechanisms, but I’m 39 and mine sure didn’t. The stimulant medications stimulate various neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine which helps those malformed neural pathways function more effectively. It also tends to help with anxiety which often goes hand in hand with ADHD. Do yourself a little favor and read this article from Cleveland Clinic, they’ve been recommended to me by several health providers as a reputable source. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4784-attention-deficithyperactivity-disorder-adhd
I spent 2k on a test for my daughter and they just simply said “nope, she’s fine. But she might need some counseling on how to get work done more efficiently.” I’m old school ADD diagnosed and I can absolutely tell she has it.
Damn, that sucks. Yeah it was called ADD when I was diagnosed as well. It’s all just ADHD now, but there are different presentations as I mentioned above. Also you can have ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder together now, which wasn’t in the DSM prior to like 2014.
The way my therapist explained it to me, is some have the “Outwardly Hyperactive” symptoms, and others like myself have “Inwardly Hyperactive” symptoms which is like you show here.
Is it weird that I kinda have both?
I got diagnosed with ADHD at 25 , and I’ve been like 90% quiet most of my adult life. However I recall every now and then when a memory hits, I used to be suuuper energetic, talkative and all over the place overall as a kid.
Since my family thought that getting me mental help = being put into an asylum for life, I never got assessed and was instead chastised/shamed into not talking (and in parallel the regular kids would mock and tease in the school system) so I’ve sorta just got quiet which just got me more inwardly chaotic
They changed the definition from types to presentations recently, because no person with ADHD is exclusively one or the other. Our presentations depend on the day and circumstances.
That’s good to hear, it definitely feels like my presentation does differ exactly like that- depends on the mood/day/circumstance.
Not at all weird.
ADHD is an executive dysfunction. It manifests differently at different times or in different moods or situations.
Sometimes I can’t stop talking. Other times I can’t start talking.
That’s fair- I am slowly building a healthier way to be more aware of when I’m in either side of talking, but it is reassuring to see other peoples experiences as well
