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Saturday, December 11, 2010 jos_iliescu asks

Q: Hi, I am a 27 year old male from Bucharest, Romania. Just call me "jos_iliescu."I have always had very serious concentration problems in kindergarten, school, high school, college, and during my gradu

Hi, I am a 27 year old male from Bucharest, Romania. Just call me "jos_iliescu."I have always had very serious concentration problems in kindergarten, school, high school, college, and during my graduate studies and work experiences. I find it impossible to concentrate on reading material that I don't find interesting or very easy, or I simply read it without concentrating on it at all. In groups, I oftentimes find it difficult to stay focused on what is being said. My mind usually just shuts down, and I start thinking obsessively about my own problems and/or ideas. I have also had a sense of under-achievement, on not meeting my goals. This feeling has become even more acute during the last years, and particularly this last year. I make quick decisions without thinking enough about (bad) consequences, I oftentimes talk first and think later, I sometimes have mood-swings, I oftentimes daydream - even in situations when I should concentrate on something else. Overall, I am totally unsatisfied with how my brain works. I can only concentrate intensively for short periods of time, at most 2-3 hours for tests such as the SAT, and with immense efforts - while mentally "collapsing" afterwards. I've always considered myself very absent-minded, and tried to concentrate more, but this doesn't work too well, in spite of my efforts. I suspect myself of having ADHD. Can you please help, as this is affecting me on so many levels? Many thanks in advance!
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Answers (2)
Eileen Bailey, Health Guide
12/14/10 9:05pm

 

Thank you for your question and welcome to ADHDCentral.com.

 

I am not a medical professional and would not be able to give you medical advice or provide you with a diagnosis.

 

However, from speaking to adults with ADHD and medical professionals, much of what you describe is similar to ADHD symptoms. You may want to take an online screening for ADHD. These assessments are not meant for diagnostic purposes but can be helpful in deciding if you should seek medical help.

 

Online Screening Tests for ADHD

 

You should be able to print out the results of your assessment and discuss them with a medical professional.

 

For more information:

 

 How ADHD Symptoms Manifest in Adults

10 Coping Mechanisms for Thriving With Adult ADHD

Diagnosing Adult ADHD

 

I hope this information helps.

 

Eileen

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12/15/10 10:19am

Hi Jos,

ADHD is a paradox of challenges related to inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity that impairs an individual's ability to progress in important areas of life. The paradox occurs in situations of interest and boredom. A person with ADHD who is interested in a particular topic, task or conversation can actually hyper focus with an abundance of attention making it difficult to transition out of what they are paying attention to in the moment. The same person can also fall asleep in a boring lecture even though they may want to stay engaged in the content.

 

This disparity in levels of focus may be perceived as someone being lazy when in fact it is a challenge of brain stimulation. This is only one area of challenge that people with ADHD experience. If you want to learn more about ADHD, I suggest you visit: www.add.org or www.chadd.org

If you think you have ADHD as an adult there is a simple six question survey developed by the World Health Organization and Harvard that can help you identify your need to get diagnosed: http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/asrs.php 

Lastly, if you want to learn more about ADHD and how your brand of ADHD shows up here's our site with a short video that I hope will help you in your journey. http://addca.com/simply-adhd.html

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By jos_iliescu— Last Modified: 05/27/11, First Published: 12/11/10