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pj4990
Raven
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Joined: 9 Dec 2014
Age: 38
Gender: Female
Posts: 106

16 Dec 2014, 3:06 pm

I've suspected for a while that I have problems with anxiety and may have AD(H)D as well. The anxiety is over the worst of it as it was aggrevated by caffeine which I have to avoid for other medical reasons (I think it screws up my entire nervous system), things used to happen like I got panic attacks if I thought I was going to miss a bus even if there's another one in 15 minutes. I still get into a massive panic if it actually has consequences like potentially missing a train I have a non-flexible ticket for or if I feel lost or trapped. I was looking for a colleague in a building which is hard for me to navigate the other week (big open plan office which all looks the same), I would have found him eventually but getting lost/trapped is a big enough problem for me that a stranger ended up walking up to me and helping me because I was showing obvious signs (that I was trying to hide) of being in distress. Amusingly I eventually found him because I recognised a pot plant rather than anything a normal person would probably navigate by!

Looking at symptoms of ADD online I'm an absolutely perfect match. I mentioned briefly in another thread I think that screwed up my degree. Lectures were really a waste of time - being talked at is something I cannot concentrate on. If it's really interesting I can stay focussed most of the time but will zone out a fair bit. This can also happen in two way conversations. I can't learn from books or research papers - I can read for leisure if I want to because I am much more able to concentrate on things I enjoy than things I don't, but I do sometimes have to re-read pages because I realise I've somehow read the entire page without actually registering a word of it.

I did manage to read a chapter of a work related book and actually learn from it a few months ago because I felt really motivated to learn about it. It took me an hour per page. It was not unusually small print.

I have weird approach to detail - on some days I'm awful and miss loads of stuff, on other days I'm really good. Generally I notice details other people don't and miss the ones they do. Not sure if that's an Aspie or ADD thing.

I have huge difficulty with memory. I have to carry a notebook or phone with notepad function around continuously as important things go in and out of my brain quite fast. I will make shopping lists all through the day at work because I miss things off lists written in one go, and when I get to the supermarket I still won't remember what I've run out of. This could also be anxiety related, stress has always made my memory worse.

I also get the hyperfocus once I find the right type of task. I'm generally still fairly aware if my surroundings but have little idea of passage of time.

Now I'm outside school and university the inability to concentrate on passive learning methods isn't so bad as long as I have understanding bosses who realise no training method other than learning on the job (which I'm quite good at) is worth it on me.

Part of me thinks I've got this far, do I need help? Another part of me is rather worried about what happens if I don't make work more aware of my various issues and they become disciplinary or poor performance things. Some people really don't get it that there is no point at all in giving me books or scientific papers to read.

I'm also wondering a bit about OCD. I don't think I have any compulsive rituals, there are some things like morning routines I really don't like changed but that sounds normal Aspie. What's more sinister is getting negative thoughts trapped, which I recently read obsessing over a negative thought can be an OCD thing.



DevilKisses
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Joined: 3 Jul 2010
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,067
Location: Canada

21 Dec 2014, 5:37 am

I think you should. ASD doesn't explain everything.


_________________
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 82 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 124 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical