For those of you not diagnosed with your ADHD until you were an adult, did you have comorbid depression and/or anxiety (depressed, psychiatric)
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by that time? Just curious how one can make it through until adulthood with undiagnosed ADHD and not have developed depression and/or an anxiety disorder.
Yes, I had a lot of it. It was the worst when I was a teen and I actually ended up dropping out of high school due to the problems with ADHD and depression. Later I went to college but it took 12 years to finish. After my teen years it was more sporadic and situational--the old, "dam, I screwed up again!" Worrying about what people thought of me, that sort of thing. Adderall helped a lot but I still screw up a lot too--it's just that I tend to be easier on myself these days. Also, the adderall helps my social skills quite a bit so that I don't screw up there as much as I used to.
The truth that I've come to with this and I always tell my sped kids' parents this too, is that we have a whole layer of stress on top of our lives that just won't go away. I think it's b/c we're trying so hard to appear normal and usually we make it and then we do something that lets people know that we're not and it shocks everyone b/c we kind of had them fooled for awhile. This also explains why we can't handle stress as well as other people--b/c we started with more to begin with. That's what my p-doc told me anyway. I don't know if I'm depressed right now or not, but I get so tired with the struggle sometimes. Just so tired.
stepka sounds a bit like me. So yes, I had undiagnosed ADHD or more likely just ADD. Utopian Slums could be describing me too. I had comorbid depression. My depression was diagnosed when I was a teen but there was no treatment for it back then. Nor for the anxiety I suffered from. Ironically, I seem to have found the 'cure' in just the last year.
I undoubtedly have Asperger's which may be the underlying cause or may be a symptom of it. Or neither. I wonder about that. Then again, my mother was most likely high functioning autistic. Yet she had no depression or anxiety but she was OCD and lived in a world of her own. She was happy and mostly oblivious. Just to give a little insight into my background.
stepka sounds a bit like me. So yes, I had undiagnosed ADHD or more likely just ADD. Utopian Slums could be describing me too. I had comorbid depression. My depression was diagnosed when I was a teen but there was no treatment for it back then. Nor for the anxiety I suffered from. Ironically, I seem to have found the 'cure' in just the last year.
I undoubtedly have Asperger's which may be the underlying cause or may be a symptom of it. Or neither. I wonder about that. Then again, my mother was most likely high functioning autistic. Yet she had no depression or anxiety but she was OCD and lived in a world of her own. She was happy and mostly oblivious. Just to give a little insight into my background.
Stepka, utopian Slums and 303guy....
You have all described me. To the extent that I wonder if all go hand in hand. Sometimes I think it's depression, sometimes it's anxiety, aspergers diagnosis I score 9/10 and I do not have any span to speak of.
The depression and attention surfaced in the last few years that I can vouch for. I used to finish movies back to back in say 2006 or 08, 09. Not anymore. It usually takes many seatings to finish even one I am enjoying.
It is genetic I am sure because my mother always had severe anxiety and it's so bad today she can't leave the room.
I am paying heed to 303guy's opinion on nutrition. Never payed any attention to it in my life.
Maybe some of us are just that sensitive.
Utopian Slums....one comment of yours stuck me hard: day dreaming.
I have always lived in my head. I zonk out to the extent that my father and my friends don't even bother.
I have lived my life within my head, not in reality but I thought this is because I was a wuss and plain lazy.
Perhaps there's a connection here also. My day dreaming has helped me create scenes for movies someday I will hopefully make and I believe they will be well recieved.
In my case I never thought I was lazy (i mean of course everyone is to some degree.) It was exactly the opposite of keeping my mind occupied/stimulated almost 24/7. Even if it was playing a song in my mind over and over again. So most of my anxiety was really a secondary diagnosis.
Since my major problem these days is being tired all the time and my circadian disorder, i now wonder if I had these racing thoughts as a coping mechanism to keep myself awake and alert.
You hear about those w ADHD procrastinating because this gets the neurotransmitters flowing and it is like "self medicating"- bringing upon the same results that a stimulant drug would. I think similar copying strategies of "self medicating via mental processes" happen a lot in other psychiatric disorders but have yet to be dissected and explored.
by that time? Just curious how one can make it through until adulthood with undiagnosed ADHD and not have developed depression and/or an anxiety disorder.
I was diagnosed with ADHD in my younger years of grade school, but it was never successfully treated, and it was only attempted to be treated during that time. I'm 28 now and think my life would be a lot different had I been successfully treated. For the longest time, I didn't think ADHD was real or that anything was "wrong" with me. Later on, in the past several years, I've realized that the anxiety, including social anxiety, and the OCD I've long suffered, is probably rooted in ADHD. I can look back and see that I've had it all of my life, now that I'm able to grasp the concept of ADHD. I definitely think it affects development in a child who is growing up. I've toyed with the idea that I might have high-functioning autism (or Asperger's, if you will), but I really just don't see it. I'm thinking my issue, which I still struggle with, is a combination of ADHD and anxiety, with ADHD ultimately largely being what the anxiety stems from. I'm a guy and it's typical that as a male gets older, that the excessive outward energy aspect of ADHD, the hyperactive part, turns inward and the mind becomes hyperactive with racing thoughts, daydreaming, more distraction, etc. I believe that transition is typically around puberty. We learn to behave as we get older, that hyperactivity isn't acceptable, so we force the hyperactivity inward. That's what happened to me and that's when the anxiety began.
My thinking that anxiety is merely a symptom of ADHD explains why anxiety meds, while they helped, ultimately haven't worked for me. In fact, the reduced anxiety unleashed the impulsive aspect of ADHD and got me into quite a bit of trouble. I've also had an alcohol problem, which I think was a form of self medication. I was on an ADHD medication once, for about a month, back in 2008. It made a huge difference. I was able to do things I hadn't been before like they were nothing, including meeting one of my then girlfriend's family members she was close to, something I had been avoiding for a couple years. Interestingly, I was actually on the stimulant medication or depression, not ADHD. That was around the time my alcohol issue had gotten more serious and the doctor thought I was depressed that the stimulant medication would correct that. Ultimately that medication made me feel "normal". I've experienced similar when using stimulant drugs illicitly/recreationally too, and I think alcohol's stimulant effect is the reason I enjoyed abusing it too. To this day I haven't gone to a doctor to get medication for ADHD. I'm procrastinating. But I think I want to try Wellbutrin first, which is a non-stimulant drug that has a lower potential for abuse.
To directly address your question, I would guess there are some people who don't develop other issues with untreated ADHD. They were lucky. Maybe they had great family support and found a job where their ADHD wasn't an issue or even where it was a plus.
i basically covered it up with an eating disorder from about the time i was 8 years old....so that was always a priority as far as my mental health went
plus i did well enough in school that no one would bother testing me for learning issues.
ive always been ok with school and work stuff but failed miserably at basic life tasks like doing laundry properly or driving. now that i'm treating the ADHD symptoms along with the eating disorder symptoms my life is running much more smoothly.
Folks, I'm going to suggest you try something. L-Theanine. It's not expensive and is not a drug but a nutrient. The nutrient your brain uses to produce gamma-aminobutyric-acid (GABA). A deficiency is said to cause anxiety, depression, insomnia, ADHD, OCD and several more. It made quite a difference for me then adding 5-HTP made an even bigger difference.
My partner has started on it and reports a significant difference on just the first day! For me it took two or three weeks.
Just try it and see if it helps. Try 5-HTP at the same time maybe.
I can't stop my meds yet but skipping them once in a while doesn't bring me crashing down the next day like I used to.
All the best to you all and take care
303Guy
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