You know you have ADD ADHD

[Bryan Hutchinson]

-If you can't find what you had five minutes ago -if you need a list for two items you need from the store, five minutes away
-if your always in trouble and you knew you would be in trouble, but you got in trouble anyway becuase you forgot you were going to be in trouble
-People are ticked at you and you don't know why - what did I do this time?
-locked your keys in your car (again)

and (feel free to continue)...

[Cookie]

Every once and awhile I forget to pay attention to the amount of gas in my car and run out. I usually end up getting around to refilling my tank when the empty light comes on. I too know where there is a gas station on every corner of my route. I thought everybody thought like that?? =O)

I thought I was the only one that had 'lazy' nights when I didn't want to cook, ate leftovers, or slapped together frozen meals. When I live by myself I seem to have a lot of those nights. Its nice to know I'm not alone in my wacky thoughts .......

[Ellen J]

I always keep the makings for PB & J sandwiches in the house, myself!!

[Lisa U]

You know you're ADHD when you look like you're on drugs, but you're not... but you should be, & if you were, you wouldn't look like you were.

[Michelle MacGregor]

I had yet another ADD moment this morning! You know you have ADD when:

You leave for your 9:00 am class at 8:15 and your spouse is going to take your son to daycare and you receive a call saying "do you have my keys possibly?" You look at the keys in the ignition, and then in your purse and say of course, it is now 8:50, but you will turn around and drive home to get the child...oh and the second car seat is in your car because you used it the other day to cart a friend around! Your arrive home, send the only working person in the family off to work, take the kid to day care and miss your class....hmmm...thanks ADD!

[Unintentional stoner]

You know you're ADD when you push the juicer stopper into the lid at the wrong angle and get it stuck because you were chatting aimlessly on the phone to your dad who has the same problem. So much for that nice day of juicing pineapples, etc. And you're going to have to justify it to your non-ADD husband later. Thank God for this board - at least I have company in my ditziness. :-(

[Cookie]

I once didn't take in the "entire picture" and didn't see the plastic handle part of the lid for the blender that was packed in the bottom of the jar (it was brand new), put in my smoothie items, fired up the blender and proceeded to chop up that plastic piece. What a bonehead!!! What do you do with a blender top that's missing the round plastic handle part?? I guess I could haunt the thrift stores see if I can find the same type of blender........

[Michelle MacGregor]

It is entirely possible that you have ADD or ADHD. Many of the people here were only diagnosed as adults, I myself was only diagnosed last year at 38. I just went undiagnosed because my coping strategies kept the symptoms hidden from view. Because the definition of the disorder includes dysfunction, if you do not show low grades or you are not constantly in trouble, then you may not be diagnosed. But if you have had trouble changing focus, sometime focusing intensely and others very distractible, if you have very poor impulse control, make impulsive decisions or have some sort of addiction, you might want to look into finding a mental health professional. It can cause problems when your own life is very busy or stressed - like now - and lack of sleep and poor eating are often the constant companions of stress and business and that will cause even more disorder.

The other thing is that ADD/ADHD has a genetic component, so a piece of it came from somewhere. I read somewhere that there has been some speculation that the children or grandchildren of alcoholics have been shown to have a higher incidence of ADD. Also, people with ADD/ADHD tend to be drawn to each other.

Good luck! Keep us all posted. Having this undiagnosed condition can often be very difficult and you may not even know the problems that they cause. We are all here if you need anything!

[Cookie]

Sounds like how I can't focus when there's too much chaos going on around me!

[JP (Judy)]

You KNOW you have ADD/ADHD when you stand in front of 35-40 professional peers as the featured speaker, presenting on the topic "Successful Women Often Struggle With Undiagnosed ADHD," having brought the wrong stack of notes. That isn't all! You're CERTAIN you are a living, breathing example of your topic when you discover you have brought your computer power cord, your prepared A/V materials and your newly purchased presentation mouse and laser pointer, but have failed to put your computer in the rolling bag. Besides having to wing it for 1 hour with no notes and unable to use your audio/visuals, you also had invited your ADHD physician to attend and to speak briefly as a medical expert. In preparing to introduce him, you discover his bio is in the stack of notes you left at home!

This actually happened to me recently! Luckily I had hyper-focused on preparing for months and knew the material intimately, as you can imagine! Also thank goodness, I have that ADHD gift of gab which many of my friends have another name for - "BS," and the valuable ability to laugh at my mistakes (am used to making a fool of myself), so it turned out pretty well, had good group participation, and sparked a lot of interest. I didn't need a joke to open with - I was the joke - as well as the case study! I thanked everyone for attending my "Coming Out Party!."

[BP]

OMG, reading everyone's experiences with ADD leaves me crying and laughing, I'm not sure which. I figured out last March at age 53 that I have ADD. It's been like putting brand new glasses on and seeing my life from a completely different angle. At times, I appreciate the new point of view, and at others, I'm just left standing dazed, wondering how to move forward, what to do next, feeling pulled in so many directions at once.

[Sharon Tep123]

OMG... I SO IDENTIFY!

[Ellen J]

JP,
What a story!! Major LOL! I'm glad it was successful. You know, I'm sure that your audience learned A LOT more about ADD from your foibles than they would have if everything went smoothly. Excellent teaching!!