ADHD Diagnosis: Avoidance or Just a Bad Personality?

[hbolle00]

@drcharlesparker

so if im having trouble focussing at school, looking out of the window or at something moveing and such? - but i can still sit down and play video games..

having trouble making homework, without having a stressed feeling in my body -

and i hate surprices, since i dont know what is supposed to happen ..

does that mean i have ADHD perhaps?

[DrCharlesParker]

@hbolle00 This question is quite typical of the reactions we often see, and the short answer is yes, but. 1. ADHD is contextual 2. Video games have a stimulating focus, yes, but for some stimulation may come from collecting butterflies. 3. Surprises provide rapid increase in variables and are often unstructured without focus and can cause panic. Some of have ADHD love surprises, and accidents because they can focus in that context.

[CheddarBob39]

Well, I definitely have this. ( : I know what I have so now I can work on fixing it.

[DrCharlesParker]

@CheddarBob39 The good thing, Bob, is that now you don't have to stay there! Best wishes on your next steps!

[Diane9773]

Are you looking at the brain itself? Neurofeedback helps to unlock the brain

[DrCharlesParker]

@Diane9773 Absolutely, not only at superficial, more surface expressions of neurophysiology, but with more specific cellular and molecular brain function challenges... science makes a big difference!

[sillyCarLilly]

For years I've thought I was a "bad person" and after seeing this it gives me hope that there's a reason I act the way I do! I won't contact my closest friends even though I care about them more than myself. I've never been in a relationship because I ignore boys if they want something more than sex. I won't do anything but lay around for days at a time. I've recently quit college and I've never had a job. I don't do well in school because I don't do the work. But maybe I do just suck at life..

[DrCharlesParker]

@sillyCarLilly So many feel the way you do, but simply can''t get the relationship thing down because they simply think too much, and often have self esteem problems with the secret ADHD - they "can't think right" and are ashamed, so hide the problem and hide also from the resolution. Intimacy is often a challenge unless it's uncomplicated by making sure there's no relationship. The loner thing is resolvable, but only if you can find a doc who sees this issue as it really is.

[jcmangan]

@DrCharlesParker If ADHD is the underlying problem. The symptom Sillycarlilly is describing ("I ignore boys if they want something more than sex." is typical for autism.

[DrCharlesParker]

@jcmangan Hey jc, Thanks for the excellent laugh early in the AM... another good tongue in cheek example of the limitations of simply looking at the outside, the appearance of matters - thanks! cp

[jcmangan]

@DrCharlesParker No problem. I know to many of your kind simply looking at the outside.

[juuliuuz]

Since I was in my secondary school I started to be very anxious and social phobic, but now I think that this is due to my ADHD. I like to have friends! But if I don't know them well I would be so scared to talk with them especially girls. I have a breakdown at the moment, hopefully I will recover soon :(

[DrCharlesParker]

@juuliuuz The rules for this recovery game are simple: First learn the Rules of the ADHD Medication recovery game, then play it with serious intent! If the corrective lenses fit and work well, wear them.

[juuliuuz]

Thank you Doctor!

[juliette6478]

..this is so me but no-one will listen to me ..they just say im transfixed on a diagnosis of adhd ..its so frustrating ..even though i describe my ,simply becuse i have children with adhd ..and they say its not genetic ..im so sick of it it makes me so made ..i was diagnosed with bipolar ..then emotionaly unstable personality disorder ..i have always felt from a child into adult hood very misunderstood

[mojitobanana]

Dear Doctor, one thing that remains unclear after watching your video is why an individual with ADD/ADHD would want to avoid situations with too many variables?

I understand that there might be an overload of information and it's going to be too much for the brains of an individual with ADD/ADHD.

But then again, completing a simple task with little variation is also perceived as drudgery, and boring to my taste ( I have ADD). What we are known as, is as people who like excitement, stimulation.

[docparker1]

@mojitobanana You raise a key point: ADHD flourishes in the context of increased variables with decreased structure *absent a stimulating focus.* Some folks aren't as avoidant as others - you don't have to have every subtype to suffer from significant pre-frontal cortical arrest - the specifics of each reality context can set those with ADHD off in different ways. My new book *ADHD Medication Rules* spells out the details of diagnosis and treatment -

[DrCharlesParker]

@dihle12 Yes, and Yes, how we are raised and what we eat are so significantly important and often overlooked, didn't get the money making scheme, and child abuse, yes. All of those are relevant, but ADHD my friend is not a load a crap - brain science is there, all we have to do is follow it. cp

[turnyourbackandrun]

Your videos are great. All of the examples you have given I have symptoms of. I have anxiety and have just been prescribed Xanax (o.25 mg daily), however it does not remove my anxiety and within about 5 hours of taking it I become extremely tense and restless. Is there a reason for this. I have a referral for a psychiatrist to diagnose ADHD, however, the next available appointment is 7 weeks away.

[DrCharlesParker]

@turnyourbackandrun Complicated question - anxiety is clearly more than simply ADHD, and anxiety with ADHD can have several comorbid features from Depression to PTSD, to simple stress, to immune dysfunction. Good questions can significantly clarify the underlying conflicts and traumas. cp

[turnyourbackandrun]

@DrCharlesParker thanks for your help. i got an appointment and my psychiatrist established i most likely have ADHD, i am on lexapro however at the moment, i think mainly to treat anxiety before moving on to stimulants which can cause more anxiety. he however told me lexapro would help me focus. is this true? i'm a little sceptical as it is not a tricyclic antidepressant.

[juliette6478]

@DrCharlesParker ..this is so me but no-one will listen to me ..they just say im transfixed on a diagnosis of adhd ..its so frustrating ..even though i describe my ,simply becuse i have children with adhd ..and they say its not genetic ..im so sick of it it makes me so made ..i was diagnosed with bipolar ..then emotionaly unstable personality disorder ..i have always felt from a child into adult hood very misunderstood

[cdavis570]

Watched 2 of your videos and must say thank you! While we adult ADHD sufferers (I'm just not feeling grateful for ADHDs "gifts" right now) are getting attention and support, it seems that every resource I find leaves me still spinning my wheels. I AM the over-thinker who can't DO (unless I somehow start and then I often can't stop.) You describe my grown ADHD son's avoidance behaviors exactly. I'll be following your publications. Thanks.

[DrCharlesParker]

@cdavis570 Many thanks back at you -you will really appreciate the book on ADHD Medications soon out - appreciate the comments, cp

[uklondon10]

can you please sum up in a sentence what your main point is? i don't understand cheers

[DrCharlesParker]

@uklondon10

If your mind can't handle the reality you

avoid it. This can have long term implications

and is cognitively based, not psychologically based. cp

[kellieetterman]

Dr. Parker thank you so much for this video! You have just described me to a T! I am avoidant of everything unless it has a predictable outcome! I lose friends so easily. The minute the relationship becomes more complex or demands more, I avoid them and ultimately lose the friendship.

[ADHDRollerCoaster]

Thanks for being a voice of sanity on the Internet about ADHD, Dr. Parker. This is top-notch information, presented comprehensively. Great job!

[DrCharlesParker]

Thanks so much Gina, haven't been over here for awhile so am behind on my thank you notes! Your recent post regarding carrying your recent book in the libraries is very helpful, and I will send out a post this weekend supporting that important effort - let's get down to the basics!

[jimmyjames1978e]

thanks for fighting all the BS out there. keep up the good work!

[DrCharlesParker]

Jimmy - appreciate your comments, yep, I am so anti BS!

[ladyjane2001us]

You are wonderful, doctor. I like how you explain ADHD symptoms. Great work.

[DrCharlesParker]

Thanks Jane, stay tuned many more coming down the pike,