ADD/ADHD coping mechanisms? (and your stories)

I'm on my way to a diagnosis of ADD inattentive type, (wish me luck!) and I'm hoping to be medicated for it, but I know that's only half the battle. In the meantime, I'm wondering if anyone on here has ADD in either form and how you cope with it day to day?

I lack motivation to do almost anything, I constantly have to have something occupying my brain or I go a little loopy, and oh my god the forgetfulness!

I have a few horror stories, coming from someone who works in customer service... My favourite (/least favourite!) has to be the one involving my coworkers learning the hard way not to talk to me whilst I'm serving a customer, because there's a chance I'll straight up forget what I'm doing and walk away.

So, how did you first find out you had it? What are your daily coping mechanisms? Stories are welcome! I'd really appreciate not being the only person to admit to screwing up as badly as I have at work. x)

 

I was diagnosed with ADD, although I now believe that was a misdiagnosis. However, I do have a lot of symptoms that you could relate to.
I've also screwed up pretty bad at work, when there would be multiple customers trying to talk to me, Id get distracted and make all kinds of mistakes..
What problems in particular do you need suggestions for coping with?
ADD/ADHD has a decently wide variety of symptoms that not everyone has, so Im not sure which symptoms affect you daily.
Let me know and I'll gladly give my input on coping with AD(H)D

 

I still have the same issues at work haha, but people don't talk to me when I'm busy anymore which helps.

I can't be sure if there even are coping mechanisms for certain symptoms, but it's worth asking.

Obviously one for forgetfulness would be writing EVERYTHING down, which would be great if I didn't keep forgetting to do that, or losing the paper when I did! x)

The issue I'm having right this second is that my mind is constantly active, I need something to focus on or I get bored, but I'm so aware of the boredom that it makes me anxious. As a kid, I never really slept, I would read until I passed out. Now that I'm all grown up I can't afford to do that. I'm online right now because the second I lay down to sleep tonight my brain jumped from topic to topic until it got stuck on something so interesting that it's preventing sleep. Two hours later I just couldn't lie there anymore.

I have to choose between listening to someone talk for a while, and formulating a response based on something they said. I struggle doing both, which is why I'm either constantly interrupting people or dead boring.

I've struggled with schoolwork my whole life, and dropped out of TAFE twice now because I wound up somehow convincing myself that I was no longer interested in the course. Looking back, I'm pretty sure I just couldn't keep up.

I don't remember much of my childhood, I'm not even sure if this is a symptom, but the only memories I have from more than five years ago were either really BIG memories or things that I or my parents have photos/videos of. For instance, I remember a five second flash of getting my first cat when I was four, and the next memory of him is the day he was put down three years later. I'm not sure if this is normal for most people, but I'm 22. Not being able to remember most of the events in my life feels wrong. Maybe I just wasn't focused enough on anything to form memories hah. =/

Sorry for the long post! You did ask, and honestly typing all that has made me a little sleepier, yay. =)

 

In short, I'd long given up on being a successful person. I've always been intelligent, but for some reason I could never show it in school or conversation unless I was given heaps of time and an interesting enough topic. Until my sister was diagnosed with ADD, I just assumed that I was simply an idiot. She was the first person in my family diagnosed because she was the only one who refused to just give into the belief that she just wasn't smart enough to do anything with her life. I'm lucky she didn't or I might not be on the track of getting a diagnosis myself.

 

I have ADD, I find the best thing is to be able to laugh at yourself and the ridiculous situations you get yourself in. Also, monotony is a killer! Keep changing things up

 

You sounds extremely similar to me. I related to that whole damn wall of text, except your memories go a little further back than mine..I don't remember anything AT ALL before being age 6, and very few things before age 12.
The forgetfulness I still struggle with..even if I write it down and don't lose the paper, I'll look at the paper, and within a few seconds I'll have forgotten all about it. It'd be great if anyone has advice for this..
Being bored all the time is hard. My suggestion for that is to pick up a hobby or a few hobbies. Things you could do at any time if you get bored. Learning an instrument is great and sometimes i'll spend a few hours playing my uke or guitar, when nothing else can keep my attention for longer than 15 minutes or so. Obviously, an instrument might not be right for you(it might be though) but you could definitely find something to fill up your time!

Schoolwork is the worst. I'm a HS dropout because of these symptoms, although I now have my GED.
Honestly, the best thing I can say for that, is to sit down, in a chair, at a table(nowhere else.) with no distractions, and force your way through it. It can feel incredibly boring, and can really annoy you, but when I was about 17, that's the only way my stepdad could get me to do any of my homework. It sucks, a lot, but you can force your way through it.
I'm at a loss for your issue with choosing between formulating a response or listening..I'm different here. When I listen to people talk, my brains just firing off responses..I have the opposite problem, I'd say.

No worries about the long post! I hope I could help at least a little bit!
Trying to function in a society where your brain functions differently than the majority of people's can be hard, I hope you learn to cope! I'm still working on it myself, but i've found a few things to help me.

Oh! And don't give up on being a successful person! A lot of people with AD/H/D were very successful people! Just don't give up. And don't go for the cliche idea of success being lots of money, a nice house, nice car,etc unless that's what YOU want. Success is subjective. Go after what you want, and you'll be successful.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions or anything in the future!

 

it took a while but i finally figured out that if i tackle multiple tasks at the same time and keep switching between them they eventually get done ....if i try and tackle one job at a time it always fails

i wish id figured that out a long time ago...school would have been a lot easier to deal with

 

...sounds familiar!

 

I wish that worked for me but I end up forgetting the other tasks i'm doing then get distracted completely..haha

 

I'm just learning about ADD.I certainly think I have some.Maybe a lot.Christ,this could explain so much.

 

I know this thread is old, but I came by it when I searched for ADHD. I think I have ADD and will be seeking an official diagnosis. Abssynian, what you wrote about having no memories of your childhood really rang true for me - I felt like your post came from my brain, it sounded like me so much! I'm 49, so that's incredibly interesting that even at 22 you have trouble remembering your early childhood which was not all that long ago, relatively speaking! I totally have the same issue, and I have trouble remembering times in my life like when I was in college - feel like that was an entirely different person! Was I really there?


I managed to get through school and college somehow, I guess because it was expected by my parents and we kids were pleaser types, didn't want to disappoint. But I took the minimum load in college, and even then I dropped courses because I fell behind and would fail otherwise. I took the maximum amount of time to graduate with the maximum number of units because in community college I took "transferable" courses that sounded interesting, but they ended up being empty units.

And when I was done with my degree, I felt like such a fraud because I was never a master of the material - everything I learned seemed to go up into thin air. I have such regrets about lack of accomplishment in my life.

So, I am happy for you that you are getting your diagnosis earlier in life rather than later; just knowing that we have a condition that isn't made by choice, is because our brains work differently, helps.

I struggle with the forgetting, losing stuff, lack of motivation to do anything that requires decision-making....I can research which dishwasher is the best one to buy up the ying yang and then never come to a decision of which one to buy because I get hamstrung with indecision. I can't get with cooking meals for my husband because I hate to cook, can't stand trying to figure out what to make. I'm a perfectionist so that adds into the problem, that it will be too hard to do things perfectly so why start?

I haven't figured out what I want to do with my life and I'm more than halfway through it! All the depression and anxiety I've suffered in my life, feeling like a failure, a child who could never grow up, incapable of taking care of myself, and I never ever thought I might have ADD!

I hope you get your diagnosis, figure out the right meds, and get on with having a good life! I'm rooting for you!

Abssynian wrote:

I don't remember much of my childhood, I'm not even sure if this is a symptom, but the only memories I have from more than five years ago were either really BIG memories or things that I or my parents have photos/videos of. For instance, I remember a five second flash of getting my first cat when I was four, and the next memory of him is the day he was put down three years later. I'm not sure if this is normal for most people, but I'm 22. Not being able to remember most of the events in my life feels wrong. Maybe I just wasn't focused enough on anything to form memories hah. =/

Sorry for the long post! You did ask, and honestly typing all that has made me a little sleepier, yay. =)

 

I have ADD i was diagnosed as a kid i am on no meds i get very temperamental when i was on them i was born into a horrible family i can only seem to remember all the bad crap from my childhood . i have been med free for 20yrs but i have to have something to occupy my time like the internet my plastic art i have a hard time dealing with drama i am a bit OCD , i am also agoraphobic, my major downfall is is i love the look on others face when you tell them nothing but the truth it's priceless i have a great bullshit,lie detector ability.it takes a lot to piss me off but i am pissed omg no one is safe lol i am not perfect in any way i am just me all you rilly can to is keep your head up and try to be positive i know its hard to do at times we all are wired diffrent no one is the same . i have to do multiple tasks i can't do just one thing how ever my art work keeps me busy sometimes i don't play well with others in my life sometimes because i can't handle stupid is as stupid does
just remember it will work out for you keep your head up and try to stay positive it will work out in time nothing happens overnight just know you are not alone

 

I was labeled with AD(H)D most of my life. And after being told by countless grown-ups as a youngster that I had a disability that caused me to not be able to pay attention to boring lectures, stay organized, stay motivated, get excellent grades, and procrastinate on boring chores that needed to be done. It became a self fulfilling prophecy.

Therefore one thing I strongly advise people like me who've been diagnosed with AD(H)D to do would be to read up on the Labeling Theory, and how it might have applied to you.

 

I forgot i had ADD.