The Student Room Group

I’m not sure if I have ADHD

I’d like to start of saying I’m not trying to belittle anyone who is suffering from ADHD and I apologise if my following words offend you but I have been experiencing stuff since October 2022 and it has lead me to believe maybe I have ADHD.
Reasons why:
I was a very good student when I was younger, but when I started A-levels in the UK, my grades slipped because I couldn’t focus on revising. It happened after October half term, I realised I could not stay focused for long periods of time, my mind would wander of when I was at home every day. It became a huge problem. So I started to revise at school until around 6pm and come home late. I did this for around a week and then became more confident that I could focus at home, but I could not. I tried the library but I could only revise around 2 hours there until it closed. 2 hours is not a lot because my memory is so bad, I couldn’t even finish 14 Flashcards in that time.
I tried and tried again, but nothing seemed to work. At some point I would try my best to focus on what the teacher said, what my parents would say, or even what my friends would say, and it feels like my mind fast forwarded past what they said. They would then be upset that I didn’t listen even though I tried my best to give them 110% of my attention, but I would ALWAYS miss important information.
Then small things started distracting me, if someone walked across me, if someone was writing a lot. Also my friend wore a jacket in class so when she would write on her iPad, it would create a sliding sound against the wooden table. That really startled me each time that happened so I couldn't focus on my work.
So honestly I gave up. I couldn’t focus and I started to give up. A Month ago, my sister had enough with me and decided she had to take my studies into her own hands. So she told me to sit down and study from 7pm to 9pm. I sat down during that time and when I tell you it felt the the world was against me. I couldn’t focus so after a minute, I took a piece of paper and started drawing random things. A ‘study teddy bear‘ saying “You can do this!” A mermaid. And at one point I got so frustrated that I scribbled on numerous papers. All I wanted to do was get out of the chair and go to the bedroom. And when I was ‘done’ it was a huge sigh of relief, but no work was completed. I just sat down and essentially did nothing. This has been a big problem for me. At one point I considered ending it because if A student couldn’t study then what was my role on this earth? And I went through it. I took a paracetamoL every 1-2 hours in a secluded place. Overall I took around 9? And I remember feeling super sleepy that day and I went straight to bed. No one found out. But I decided to go see a therapist because something was really wrong. I went there and explained all my problems but every single session they would simply remind me of what I went through rather than help me. I had enough and quit because I got tired of explaining myself to different people every time. I thought my life would get better but it hasn’t. My attention has been really bad. I’ve been sleeping late and waking up early. And I think I’m scared of both sleep and revision now. I have to sing lullabies to make myself go to sleep. My sister continues to remind me she feels like she’s walking eggshells around me and uses my grades as a come back whenever we’re in an arguement even though she knows this year has been the worst year of my life. My friends are moving on in their lives with their careers but they are also walking eggshells around me. My mum has no idea what was or is going on and just continues to remind me that this year has to be different from last year, you have to revise this year, you can’t let this year go to waste again. She doesn’t understand I didn’t want this year to go horribly. I wish I could be an A* student but every single time I became brave enough to sit down and study at home, I would be distracted by the thought of maybe tmr I’ll do it. In school, I would have motivation to do work but I would be distracted by loud noises in study or people next to me studying. I’d get stressed thinking how far ahead they are, which would cause me to lose even more focus and I couldn’t get that thought out of my head, so I sat farther away from my friends. BUT even then I would be day dream ! I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I started to skip school frequently when my grades started getting bad, when I was caught by my teachers and mum, I felt nothing. It was like ‘Oh well’, then when I went to school and the teacher started asking me what was wrong. I burst out in tears and started hyperventilating. All these conditions and the two tests my therapist gave me to do, caused me to believe I had depression and anxiety. But I dont get it, was the reason why I couldn’t get work done was because I had depression and anxiety? Surely not. So now idk what I should do. Do I actually have ADHD or am I just making an excuse for myself. I did some research and people say it develops mostly when your a child, but I didnt feel that way as a kid. I’m confused, what’s wrong with me? And I’m scared that if nothing is wrong with me, then what was this past 2 years for. My school is now letting me redo the year probably only because of my grades at GCSEs and the fact I hypervenit lates but I need to know what went wrong so that I can not repeat the same mistake. I’m sorry for the long paragraph but essentially the question is, do you think I have ADHD? Or do you think I’m just being lazy or something ? I’ll take all opinions. I just want to know if I’m just being an annoying prick or if there’s something wrong with me. Thankyou for reading this.
Hiya 🙂

First of all, I don't hear you are lazy. There may be few tweaks you can make to your lifestyle that will support your focus and concentration.

Study in the environment that works for you i.e school

Use the pomodoro technique to support your focus. We are not designed to focus for long periods of time.
Pomodoro is a great way of pacing

1.

Choose a single task to focus on.

2.

Set a timer for 25 minutes and work only on your selected task.

3.

After 25 minutes take a five-minute break.

4.

Repeat steps 1-3 four times.

5.

Take a longer break of about 15 to 30 minutes. (do not use digital devices at this time)

A regular sleeping pattern can support you. Lack of quality sleep will impact your ability to focus. A way of getting your sleep back on track is resetting your circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). Getting as much natural light in your eyes before 11am will serve you. Also limit digital devices before bedtime - get offline at least 90 minutes before bed. Sleep hygiene is so important.

Also, have you considered ear plugs - it sounds as though you might presently be sensitive to stimulus in the environment. I have friends who are sensitive to noise use loop earplugs in the supermarket and at work to support their focus.

You haven't mentioned diet but eating meals at consistent meal times can also be serving. Your focus will be affected by spikes/drops in blood sugar.

Also movement - walking in green spaces - this support your nervous system to regulate. Being regulated will also support your mindset and focus. Being dysregulated shuts down the pre-frontal cortex of the brain - you need this to be functioning to be able to focus and absorb/ file new information and learn.

Does this help? :heart:
Original post by Anonymous
I’d like to start of saying I’m not trying to belittle anyone who is suffering from ADHD and I apologise if my following words offend you but I have been experiencing stuff since October 2022 and it has lead me to believe maybe I have ADHD.
Reasons why:
I was a very good student when I was younger, but when I started A-levels in the UK, my grades slipped because I couldn’t focus on revising. It happened after October half term, I realised I could not stay focused for long periods of time, my mind would wander of when I was at home every day. It became a huge problem. So I started to revise at school until around 6pm and come home late. I did this for around a week and then became more confident that I could focus at home, but I could not. I tried the library but I could only revise around 2 hours there until it closed. 2 hours is not a lot because my memory is so bad, I couldn’t even finish 14 Flashcards in that time.
I tried and tried again, but nothing seemed to work. At some point I would try my best to focus on what the teacher said, what my parents would say, or even what my friends would say, and it feels like my mind fast forwarded past what they said. They would then be upset that I didn’t listen even though I tried my best to give them 110% of my attention, but I would ALWAYS miss important information.
Then small things started distracting me, if someone walked across me, if someone was writing a lot. Also my friend wore a jacket in class so when she would write on her iPad, it would create a sliding sound against the wooden table. That really startled me each time that happened so I couldn't focus on my work.
So honestly I gave up. I couldn’t focus and I started to give up. A Month ago, my sister had enough with me and decided she had to take my studies into her own hands. So she told me to sit down and study from 7pm to 9pm. I sat down during that time and when I tell you it felt the the world was against bme. I couldn’t focus so after a minute, I took a piece of paper and started drawing random things. A ‘study teddy bear‘ saying “You can do this!” A mermaid. And at one point I got so frustrated that I scribbled on numerous papers. All I wanted to do was get out of the chair and go to the bedroom. And when I was ‘done’ it was a huge sigh of relief, but no work was completed. I just sat down and essentially did nothing. This has been a big problem for me. At one point I considered ending it because if A student couldn’t study then what was my role on this earth? And I went through it. I took a paracetamoL every 1-2 hours in a secluded place. Overall I took around 9? And I remember feeling super sleepy that day and I went straight to bed. No one found out. But I decided to go see a therapist because something was really wrong. I went there and explained all my problems but every single session they would simply remind me of what I went through rather than help me. I had enough and quit because I got tired of explaining myself to different people every time. I thought my life would get better but it hasn’t. My attention has been really bad. I’ve been sleeping late and waking up early. And I think I’m scared of both sleep and revision now. I have to sing lullabies to make myself go to sleep. My sister continues to remind me she feels like she’s walking eggshells around me and uses my grades as a come back whenever we’re in an arguement even though she knows this year has been the worst year of my life. My friends are moving on in their lives with their careers but they are also walking eggshells around me. My mum has no idea what was or is going on and just continues to remind me that this year has to be different from last year, you have to revise this year, you can’t let this year go to waste again. She doesn’t understand I didn’t want this year to go horribly. I wish I could be an A* student but every single time I became brave enough to sit down and study at home, I would be distracted by the thought of maybe tmr I’ll do it. In school, I would have motivation to do work but I would be distracted by loud noises in study or people next to me studying. I’d get stressed thinking how far ahead they are, which would cause me to lose even more focus and I couldn’t get that thought out of my head, so I sat farther away from my friends. BUT even then I would be day dream ! I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I started to skip school frequently when my grades started getting bad, when I was caught by my teachers and mum, I felt nothing. It was like ‘Oh well’, then when I went to school and the teacher started asking me what was wrong. I burst out in tears and started hyperventilating. All these conditions and the two tests my therapist gave me to do, caused me to believe I had depression and anxiety. But I dont get it, was the reason why I couldn’t get work done was because I had depression and anxiety? Surely not. So now idk what I should do. Do I actually have ADHD or am I just making an excuse for myself. I did some research and people say it develops mostly when your a child, but I didnt feel that way as a kid. I’m confused, what’s wrong with me? And I’m scared that if nothing is wrong with me, then what was this past 2 years for. My school is now letting me redo the year probably only because of my grades at GCSEs and the fact I hypervenit lates but I need to know what went wrong so that I can not repeat the same mistake. I’m sorry for the long paragraph but essentially the question is, do you think I have ADHD? Or do you think I’m just being lazy or something ? I’ll take all opinions. I just want to know if I’m just being an annoying prick or if there’s something wrong with me. Thankyou for reading this.

Hiya sorry to hear you're struggling :console:
There's no harm in making a GP appointment and asking to be referred for an ADHD assessment if you think you need to know whether you have it or not (no one online can diagnose you). The only downside are the waiting lists (if you're in England ask about Right to Choose). It's possible to fall through cracks in the system and when expectation exceeds demand in normal everyday life and can expose flaws in coping mechanisms (A Levels are certainly demanding for example).
(edited 2 months ago)
Reply 3
Original post by She-Ra
Hiya 🙂
First of all, I don't hear you are lazy. There may be few tweaks you can make to your lifestyle that will support your focus and concentration.
Study in the environment that works for you i.e school
Use the pomodoro technique to support your focus. We are not designed to focus for long periods of time.
Pomodoro is a great way of pacing

1.

Choose a single task to focus on.

2.

Set a timer for 25 minutes and work only on your selected task.

3.

After 25 minutes take a five-minute break.

4.

Repeat steps 1-3 four times.

5.

Take a longer break of about 15 to 30 minutes. (do not use digital devices at this time)

A regular sleeping pattern can support you. Lack of quality sleep will impact your ability to focus. A way of getting your sleep back on track is resetting your circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). Getting as much natural light in your eyes before 11am will serve you. Also limit digital devices before bedtime - get offline at least 90 minutes before bed. Sleep hygiene is so important.
Also, have you considered ear plugs - it sounds as though you might presently be sensitive to stimulus in the environment. I have friends who are sensitive to noise use loop earplugs in the supermarket and at work to support their focus.
You haven't mentioned diet but eating meals at consistent meal times can also be serving. Your focus will be affected by spikes/drops in blood sugar.
Also movement - walking in green spaces - this support your nervous system to regulate. Being regulated will also support your mindset and focus. Being dysregulated shuts down the pre-frontal cortex of the brain - you need this to be functioning to be able to focus and absorb/ file new information and learn.
Does this help? :heart:

Yes it does tysm, I’ll look into loop earplugs and pomodoro. Never heard of those before :smile:)
Reply 4
Original post by Chronoscope
Hiya sorry to hear you're struggling :console:
There's no harm in making a GP appointment and asking to be referred for an ADHD assessment if you think you need to know whether you have it or not (no one online can diagnose you). The only downside are the waiting lists (if you're in England ask about Right to Choose). It's possible to fall through cracks in the system and when expectation exceeds demand in normal everyday life and can expose flaws in coping mechanisms (A Levels are certainly demanding for example).

Yes I’ve heard the waiting lists are very long but I didn’t know about the referral ty :smile:
Is ‘Right to Choose’ an organisation in the Uk?
It also may be with my flawed coping system but I’m not sure. A levels have definitely been demanding, I just didn’t see the result of what I put in
Thankyou for your input and kindness x
Original post by Anonymous
Yes it does tysm, I’ll look into loop earplugs and pomodoro. Never heard of those before :smile:)

You're welcome 🥰
Hiya..:I wish I had time to respond to you in full. A simple answer to help you is…yes I do think you have ADHD. You describe very similar symptoms to mine and my 2 sons who also have ADHD. Definitely go to your GP but do not rely on them to understand that your symptoms could relate to ADHD. Some GPs still think of ADHD as a young boy who is bouncing off the walls. You can get referred through right to choose for assessment. It will take time, but so worth doing. Best of luck to you and I can confirm that once you know what you’re dealing with it does get so much better.
Reply 7
Original post by Channychops
Hiya..:I wish I had time to respond to you in full. A simple answer to help you is…yes I do think you have ADHD. You describe very similar symptoms to mine and my 2 sons who also have ADHD. Definitely go to your GP but do not rely on them to understand that your symptoms could relate to ADHD. Some GPs still think of ADHD as a young boy who is bouncing off the walls. You can get referred through right to choose for assessment. It will take time, but so worth doing. Best of luck to you and I can confirm that once you know what you’re dealing with it does get so much better.

Words cannot describe how thankful I am for your insight. Thankyou so much, I did more research and most of the symptoms I’ve seen happen in my daily life, like being leaving late even if I wake up early and prepare. I’ve booked an appointment at the gp and will talk to them about the situation :smile:. Not sure what right to choose is but I’ll do more research on it, thankyou so much
Hi There

We hear that things have felt really quite overwhelming for you recently because of how this last year has impacted you. It sounds like you have bravely reached out for support before but the therapy sessions that you accessed weren’t helpful for how you have been feeling. When considering future support it is always good to reflect on what has and hasn’t been useful in the past. Different types of support are available for this very reason because it isn’t a one-size fits all approach 🫶

We understand that you are now looking for some support with accessing an ADHD Assessment. It is brilliant that you have been able to book an appointment with your GP. This is a really great first step. Ahead of this appointment it might be worthwhile making a log or jotting down some examples that you have noticed in yourself ✍️ We encourage you to share this with your Mum and a Teacher who you trust so that they can support you in the best possible way with your studies.

You have done really well to use this space to be honest about how you are feeling. If you are feeling like suicide is an option right now then you can call Hopeline247 on 0800 068 4141 or Text us on 88247 to speak with a trained Suicide Prevention Adviser who will be more than happy to help 💟
Reply 9
Original post by Papyrus Hopeline
Hi There
We hear that things have felt really quite overwhelming for you recently because of how this last year has impacted you. It sounds like you have bravely reached out for support before but the therapy sessions that you accessed weren’t helpful for how you have been feeling. When considering future support it is always good to reflect on what has and hasn’t been useful in the past. Different types of support are available for this very reason because it isn’t a one-size fits all approach 🫶
We understand that you are now looking for some support with accessing an ADHD Assessment. It is brilliant that you have been able to book an appointment with your GP. This is a really great first step. Ahead of this appointment it might be worthwhile making a log or jotting down some examples that you have noticed in yourself ✍️ We encourage you to share this with your Mum and a Teacher who you trust so that they can support you in the best possible way with your studies.
You have done really well to use this space to be honest about how you are feeling. If you are feeling like suicide is an option right now then you can call Hopeline247 on 0800 068 4141 or Text us on 88247 to speak with a trained Suicide Prevention Adviser who will be more than happy to help 💟

This means a lot, thankyou so much. I’ve written down everything on thinkADHD and will ask the gp to see it :smile:. I’m not sure if I should share it with my teachers because what if I don’t have adhd? plus the teachers at my school aren’t supportive. I’ve told my mum, only because I think she may also have adhd but only time will tell. Thankyou once again and have a blessed day 🤍

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