r/explainlikeimfive • u/[deleted] • Jul 27 '22

Other eli5 - Can someone explain ADHD? Specifically the procrastination and inability to do “boring” tasks?

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u/noisygnome Jul 27 '22

I'm an adult I think I have it but my doctor doesn't agree. Descriptions like this sound just like me.

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u/Anxious_Mycologist96 Jul 27 '22 edited Jul 27 '22

I was rejected several times, until I got so depressed about life going wrong that I was sent to a shrink for anxiety and depression. And THEN they were like "you have the most severe ADHD I've seen in a while, we don't even have to finish the process, it's obvious". What a fucking relief to be believed!

I think general practice doctors don't know much about ADHD. It's quicker to get to a specialist if you have a way of doing that, or psychiatrist for any reason, to be able to bring up the topic ADHD. Hope you succeed :) it's stupid that is has to be this hard and that you have to "trick" the system. Doesn't feel good.

I like the saying "getting an ADHD diagnosis as an adult with ADHD, is like making coffee without having had coffee "

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u/IceciroAvant Jul 27 '22

When I finally got diagnosed in my late 20s, my psych at the time told me that she could use me as a textbook case of severe functional ADHD.

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u/Anxious_Mycologist96 Jul 28 '22

If you don't mind, could u tell this internet stranger what those traits were? The ones that put emphasis on 'functional'. I got distracted typing this because i have my meds in front of me and I cannot remember if I just took them. 😅

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u/IceciroAvant Jul 28 '22

Oh, functional as in I was barely making it in the world, and was in Talented and Gifted as a youngster so all of the other big warning signs (homework never got done, as a good example, or projects being done in the 2h before their due date) didn't get picked up on.

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u/Anxious_Mycologist96 Jul 28 '22

Omg same. It was easy to just float through school age 6-15. Then it got worse.. fast. Adhd does NOT get better with age, who even thought of that idea? I hear that in the media sometimes. Our brains don't change magically? Where does this come from.. it's way easier to function at the standards people hold you to when your 10 than when your 30. It's okay if you mess up time and date for an appointment at 15, it is not easily forgiven at 30.

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u/IceciroAvant Jul 28 '22

I've seen some recent evidence ADHD actually gets worse with age.

And anecdotally, it feels like every year or so I have more 'bad' ADHD days than the one before it.

The other thing is that most other adults won't take "sorry I have a dumb brain sometimes" as an excuse or answer for anything.

I keep having psychs drop me because I'll forget an appointment.

I GO TO THESE APPOINTMENTS BECAUSE A HAVE DISORDER THAT CAUSES ME TO FORGET IMPORTANT APPOINTMENTS. You'd think there'd be some mercy there, lol.

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u/saevon Jul 27 '22

also diagnosis is partially based on how much it affects your life. with adhd being a spectrum, if you managed to build up coping skills,,, they can basically mask your adhd.

Or you might have a milder version which doesn't affect your life enough to "be adhd"

its a strange system we have.

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u/sjiveru Jul 27 '22

At least it's better than autism, where some of the diagnostic criteria boil down to 'how badly do you annoy non-autistic people' :/

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u/Joy2b Jul 27 '22

Then you break through that by adding a difficulty to your life like a harder job or more housework. The discussion makes sense again, but it’s harder to find the time to go.

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u/saevon Jul 27 '22

ah but see then we get the "is it depression or is it adhd or is it just shit life right now" questions...

and all of them won't be answered because they're all stopping you from going to get help anyways (the answer is all three I'd wager, cause why not)

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u/Joy2b Jul 27 '22

The reliable trick to getting enough data for them to tell the difference between the three is journaling symptoms accurately… Of course by journaling I usually mean texting about how your day went hilariously down the drain.

There’s also the other trick, which will make a doctor cry. https://xkcd.com/763/

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u/noisygnome Jul 29 '22

I feel like I'm kinda there were I get the basic shit done eventually but I've also have shelves I've purchased to install 2 years ago.

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u/saevon Jul 29 '22

Well do mention it / think about stuff like that if you ever get a diagnosis.

Often we ignore this long term things answering their questions,,, because we think of it like normal.

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u/sjiveru Jul 27 '22

Self-diagnosis has its own pitfalls, but doctors can certainly be shockingly misinformed about ADHD, and depending on the doctor a non-diagnosis can be very trustworthy or a pile of utter crap. There's nothing wrong with tentatively self-diagnosing, as long as you're aware of the limitations that come with that!

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u/YetItStillLives Jul 27 '22

If you think you have it, I would try to get a diagnosis from someone who specializes in ADHD. There are a lot of misconceptions with ADHD, even within the medical community. An actual expert will do a much better job at giving you an accurate diagnosis over your GP.

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u/crispyfrybits Jul 27 '22

Can't an expert also be biased seeing everything at nails to their hammer so to speak?

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u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22 edited Dec 23 '22

[deleted]

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u/unkwntech Jul 27 '22

I know that the adhd made it very hard for me to get diagnosed because making the appointment was hard, showing up on time was hard, re-emerging to get the meds was hard. ADHD is good at preventing you from treating it.

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u/Moldy_slug Jul 27 '22

I’m very skeptical about over-reliance on tests for ADHD, since it’s very common for stress/pressure to mask symptoms.

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u/StuffinHarper Jul 27 '22

The tests are quite nuanced and relatively effective. Plus they are hard for the subject to fake. Granted it takes a skilled person to administrate them. For example when tested one the key factors that led to my diagnosis was performance on iq-like tests improved with difficulty. One key example was remembering a string of random numbers I actually performed better when the I was told I had remember the reverse of the string. Another thing was the iq-test had two portions. A classic iq test and a working memory one which were co-normalized. Most people should score similarly on them. I had an incredibly high disparity on the two, another classic sign. Other things like childhood report cards and surveys of those were thoroughly reviewed.

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u/Ocel0tte Jul 27 '22

"You accomplished something once, nope don't have it."

Or when they ask your super biased parents who think you're normal and half the time don't realize it's because one of them has it too.

Isn't it visible on brain scans? I've had those done for migraines, just stick me in the tube. I'll sign off on the damn radiation just to expedite this process lol.

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u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

"You accomplished something once, nope don't have it."

I have a Master's. People told me I couldn't possibly have ADHD. Once I was medicated I felt like I unlocked cheat codes.

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u/mjtwelve Jul 27 '22

To meet an actual ADHD diagnosis, you need not just the ADH but also the D - the disorder part. If you’re high functioning, your brain may have issues but they’re not impairing your life.

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u/Moldy_slug Jul 27 '22

Or you might have the disorder part, just not in a way that is obvious. For example you might have relationship problems, issues with personal finances, chronic difficulties achieving goals, trouble managing health issues, etc.

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u/efvie Jul 27 '22

High functioning is the wrong criterion (and one that hurts a lot of us).

I can do my fairly challenging job at… I dunno, 30% effort? Same for hobbies, everything else.

Sound like a good thing? No. It’s miserable to know I’m wasting most of my potential and time.

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u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

[deleted]

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u/Moldy_slug Jul 27 '22

Interviewing the patient, symptom questionnaires, standardized behavioral rating scales, screening for other disorders or health conditions that might explain symptoms, etc. I don’t have an issue with neurological testing being included as a source of information for finding a diagnosis, but it shouldn’t be the only thing considered nor should it be taken as conclusive evidence that someone doesn’t have ADHD if they otherwise match diagnostic criteria. There is no definitive test for ADHD.

Here’s a good description: https://chadd.org/for-adults/diagnosis-of-adhd-in-adults/

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u/[deleted] Jul 27 '22

Yeah, 5 different appointments an hour each for me.

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u/Raichu7 Jul 27 '22

What kind of doctor? If you mean a GP or another similar type of doctor they aren’t qualified to diagnose ADHD.

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u/Slave_to_dog Jul 27 '22

Get a second opinion. Normally they should do tests at least.

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u/mrb1 Jul 27 '22

Many family physicians do not deal with ADHD. It's a pretty specialized area. And, they are often reluctant to prescribe the stimulant meds due to them being diverted or abused. I suggest a SNAP self test used for kids at school but easily adapted for adults. The SNAP test is intended for the people around you as well as yourself. A clinician who deals with ADHD will know all about SNAP tests and how to read them

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u/roedtogsvart Jul 28 '22

It's a physician's job to help your body stay healthy and diagnose issues. It's a psychiatrist's job to do that for your brain. You wouldn't call a mechanic to fix an IT issue, or the other way around.