Some of the sensory stuff here smells a bit like the autism spectrum. Executive function issues also tend to fit under the ADHD/autistic umbrella. May be worth brushing up & seeing if any of that applies.

Classic ADHD. Your brain doesn't handle dopamine correctly. It's not a lack of personal discipline. You don't ask a person with a broken leg to suck it up and walk it off. You shouldn't ask a person with a broken brain to think their way past these issues.

Get diagnosed and get help - meds and coping strategies. There is a lot of good advice on YouTube and the like to help with "hacks" to pair dopamine-releasing activities with chores you can't seem to make yourself do. The right meds can have a near miraculous effect.

Good luck!

Here is some information on diagnosing ADHD: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html

Please note that nobody here can diagnose you. Please see a medical professional, they'll be able to get you started down the right path.

I've found that leveraging my ADHD helps a lot. Typically I can't get going writing code is an exercise in frustration I'm so easily distracted. But the times I really shine are in the midst of crisis. When others are getting inundated in inputs and struggling to know what direction to go, I'm happily sucking down all that input and directing traffic to make sure we successfully navigate whatever the current crisis is.

Find the places where you are strong and leverage those.

Never posted here and only lurking because I've never been diagnosed and I just feel close to people suffering from ADHD as I can relate with a lot of symptoms.

I relate with 95% of the points you enumerate. If you get diagnosed, please, follow up.

The "bad habits" are caused by ADHD which gives low motivation

Also some of the stuff here looks like ASD (such as not liking going with too many people, overstimulation, wanting to live in the country)

Based on your description the ADHD part is basically without a doubt, you can look up autism resources on YouTube, there are quite a few interesting channels

Yeah dude, I agree with the rest of the posts. Your Psych is more than likely dead-on Especially if drinks like Monster make you feel like you're 'honing in'; That was my self-medication until I got my Diagnosis, and thankfully one I was able to stop after getting help + meds. My heart thanks me at least lol

Getting onto ADHD meds (Vyvanse [so frakkin expensive, my god] for me, but different meds work for different people, and you may have to try a few before you find one that works.) was a complete game changer. I can't overstate how much better I could focus or just... Live. Heck it even helped some of my lifelong anxiety, and I'm even able to help with picking up around the house (i.e.walking by a pile of stuff and not thinking it's a million impossible tasks), which is something I've always struggled with too.

Unfortunately I'm too old to go get an official ASD diagnosis, however both therapists I've seen and my psych agree I likely have both. It's helped me fix a lot of issues in my life and given a lot of background that lets me notice better when I'm about to meltdown. It lets me sometimes at least try to defuse it before it goes off, y'know?

This list is reallllllly similar to a lot of things I deal with. The meltdowns, the anxiety about people or busy places, and noticing absolutely everything around you.

About the music stuff- did you ever play Guitar Hero / Rock Band back in the day? If it was enjoyable, consider trying out an instrument. Guitars / Basses can be bought for fairly cheap, and there are games like Rocksmith (get the 2014 one, the new one's subscription BS), and it can help gamify learning music. I've been playing stringed instruments since I was 11, and I found that over time I began to more ignore the vocals and focus on the technical complexities of the music themselves. Being able to take that, and eventually nail a song in Rocksmith, gave me a much deeper appreciation for music. Also Rocksmith lets you control volume for the vocal tracks too, so every song becomes an instrumental! A secondhand guitar of decent build is probably 300$ or so (I bought a Gibson Melody Maker in 2007 brand new in box for $500, so there's 'cheaper' options available, especially used. Ibanez is pretty decent for starter gear too)

Even if meds aren't a silver bullet that fixes everything (I still struggle with executive function), getting any of the benefits will make one hell of a difference. I can at the very least get some enjoyment out of doing tasks like chores now. Still working on starting and actually finishing all my projects tho XD

You'll be alright, my dude. Promise! We've all been there. Getting the right meds and good tools will make the sun come out, at least a little bit.

First step is asking for help, you did good there :) You're seeing a shrink, good! Have a chat about trying something for it; It could help immensely and make life less like running a marathon in a minefield.

There's a great community here for ya. Heck even I'm usually a lurker (that Anxiety thing, y'know) but I just wanted to chip in.

You got this. <3 Remember to be excellent to yourself, too. 🎸

Here's a meme i saw yesterday about ADHD (all my ADHD friends have said it's pretty accurate 😆):

The difference between ADD and ADHD is the presence of the word "Hyperactive" (Wich most people with ADD/ADHD do in fact have).

Aside from your condition we need a bit more info so we can help you.

Are you at school/university?

Or do you already got yourself a degree and have entered the "adult world" and thus facing new challenges?

Sounds like ADHD except 12, 13, 14. Those sound like something else.

Not an expert or anything but as a person diagnosed with ADHD I have most of those symptoms

So does a friend of mine who takes Adderall (ADHD too)

Mostly excluding the music & sensory stuff tbh

You need to see qualified professionals. Some people who have symptoms of ADD might have those because of trauma, autism, anxiety, depression, "bad habits" and any mix of all of them.

No one here can diagnose you.

Adhd combined at least with being hypersensory, which is probably why it seems to you like it is presenting different than you might expect. There are many aspects of this that are not only due to adhd. Every individual brings all the rest of them to their presentation too. Even stuff that is learned after birth or cultural can have a dramatic affect on how easy it is to diagnose, since most diagnostic criteria is still not well developed.

Other possible things to look into after the adhd diagnosis would be if autism or borderline personality disorder are also present. If so they don't appear to be your main focus.

And keep in mind, while humans have made all kinds of seemingly separate categories for these things, at their root many of them are largely part the same thing. The categories are mostly about what strengths and weaknesses you ended up with. But you will usually have some overlap with other categories. Start with what is impacting your life the most. And after that is settled, see if anything else is still worth it at that point.

Thank you every one for your extremely kind and well thought out posts. I apologise for replying so late, but the responses were so many and so well written, I (ironically?) got overwhelmed and froze up.

I’m sorry if i didn’t reply to everyone’s posts, but your kindness and willingness to support, explain and uphold as a community is truly heart warming.

So this post will be saved for all the golden nuggets that need to be looked into and read up on further.

Thanks again, so much, to all of you. I have the details of some psychiatrists, and will establish contact to take this further.

Quick update since I’ve posted this here: I saw someone and I’ve been given concerta on a medium dose, as to see whether it helps. I know some friends and family that say only vivance helped them, but it’s way out of my price range. Even this concerta generic is already 2/3 of the vivance price.

On day 2 of concerta, and I don’t feel much, despite it being one of the “instant kick-in slower release” meds out there.

Yesterday, the first day, did feel like my thoughts weren’t so rapid, perhaps slower. But the biggest thing was that I felt like my thoughts weren’t shooting out in 360 degrees all the time, like chaotic. It felt more like they were more together, or focused, like a drain pipe going forwards from my head, not frazzled and static like before.

Today doesn’t feel like anything. :-/

That’s adhd. Bad habits don’t impact your mental speed or ability to drive with music on

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all the comments and feedback. I will try my best to answer all your questions:

1. I’m late 30’s male and been finding these “traits” becoming more prominent in my life as i get older.

2. Not sure if I could be on some autistic spectrum, as I’ve been told to be an “empath / hyper sensitive personality.” (Once again, I am not a psychiatrist, so I'm making massive assumptions about emotional IQ and autism.)

3. The audio / texture / visual over-stimulation might also link to the HSP element in no.2.

4. I have been to a psychiatrist and taken a generic of ritallin for a few months, but to me it didnt help, as it was like taking 12 espressos or strapping a jet engine to a bicycle and trying to steer that. :-(

5. Was put on Attencit for about 2 weeks and nothing happened there either. (I assume it takes weeks before you have any evidence of it working?)

6. Not on any meds apart from the meds for anxiety / depression.

I'm going to comment so I can come see answers later, because this is all very familiar...

Haha what a nice and wholesome reply. Thanks so much! Funnily enough I used to play acoustic / electric / bass guitar for about 10 years or more, and then just lost it completely…