This sounds like me to a T. If there is something I TRULY want to work on, I will be laser focused, but otherwise my brain is all over the place. No wonder I always have 8 instances of chrome open at a time with 40 tabs each. When I go back through them I just think to myself, how the fuck did I get from landscaping to the best southern bbq rib rub.
Maybe I should go see a doctor and get something for this. I always just feel like I'll be dismissed rather than have the doctor actually consider I may actually have ADHD.
I couldn't focus worth a shit in university unless it was a subject I cared about. I leave work until the last minute even though I know better than that by now (I'm 35 now). And I can't sit down and read a book because 10 pages in I realize I haven't been paying attention to the book because my mind is elsewhere but my eyes just kept on going.
ADHD doesn't just mean you "can't pay attention." You could actually be more prone to hyperfocusing on the things you "like", becoming absorbed and then burned out by them in a short amount of time.
Oh I know exactly what you're saying. I definitely CAN focus on things. I actually find that when there is a project I'm working on or something I want to do, it basically takes over my life. Currently working on landscaping my yard and building a cafe racer motorcycle......ALL I can think about is this stuff even though there is other stuff that is more important to take care of, but somehow it doesn't seem to matter. I obsess over stuff that I care about, and everything else just falls through the cracks until the very last second or until after it's too late.
I am the exact same way, always have been. I'm 25 now so not quite as old as you but all throughout my school career and now into my professional career it is still the same. If something falls into that category of "I truly want to work on this", it gets my full undivided attention and I fucking explore everything even remotely close to it. I study all the material, I watch all the videos, and I follow thru and do the thing. But any other category it's just like mehhhhhh i'll slowly work on it, push it til the last possible minute and constantly multitask on other things.
I think that's me... I always want to learn something, then I spend a ton of time and effort learning it then I get burned out and bored and just move onto the next thing to focus all my energy onto. It's why I'm good at security, networking, and programming whereas most people will just be great at programming or networking etc. Although, in IT, jack of all trades is actually a benefit so I'm not too upset that I am like this.
Haha I ended up in IT as well and can attest, it actually is useful on occasion. Also I feel that because I have had many, many different dedicated hobbies I have learned how to learn faster. If that makes any sense lol. So now if it's a new technology or language or fucking anything in the IT world I can learn or "get caught up on" the technology faster than my peers. I could go on and on but I would just be rambling. Glad I'm not the only one.
I have a diploma in both programming, and in networking. I'm slightly better at networking but I enjoy programming more and I can do both quite well, and then security is kind of a hobby for me but also an important aspect of everything I do professionally.
That's absolutely one of the most defining characteristics of ADHD. It's also something that's oddly similar to OCD. I often wonder how the the disorders may be related and why I rarely see anyone talking about that.
This is my life, and at times it makes me hate myself for it. I really am starting to think I need to see a Dr. of sorts to see what/if there is anything I can take or do to try and fix or at the least lessen this burden, though Im not entire sure where to begin. I feel like its starting to affect my work life and personal life to an extent.
But that's such a generic feeling. Like it's so prevalent that it might as well just be a cognitive personality style for people. It's like a personality paradox.
I've always seen mental faculties like a river that's always going to take the path of least resistance while being consistent. It's in flux, and they aren't all quite the same.
Mental illness, comparatively, would be an interruption, stagnation, or pollution of the stream.
If the river flows east, and you want to sail north, the problem might not be the river.
But if the river is dead, runs dry, or teeming with filth then something's wrong.
ADHD has always struck me as an issue in the former scenario, largely, but not entirely.
This was me in college. Left with 100+ credit's for multiple majors. Would 4.0 a course then fail the following course.
Hoping that coming back 5 years later things will have changed.
This is me! I get super excited about things, spend days and weeks researching it then move on to something else after I get bored with it. I've never been diagnosed but I've always felt scatter brained. I was always the class clown and hyper. I was the "not working to potential" student only doing well in my drafting classes because that's was the only interesting class for me. I can read a book and one word will have me daydreaming about something else. Then I realize I've read 2 pages without actually reading and only thinking about whatever that word sparked in my mind. I don't think I have severe ADHD and I don't want to lessen what others are experiencing by saying I have it but I always wondered what I'd be like if I was treated for it.
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u/[deleted] May 30 '17 edited Sep 24 '19
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