As a recently diagnosed ADD and a human resources consultant, I do understand your dilemma. I would urge you to use this time to understand yourself well so that you find a role that is both a great technical fit and a great persoal fit.

Rather than trying to tame my ADD tendencies, I have found it much less stressful to work at something where it is an asset. However, to do that, I had to understand what particular traits were my 'deal breakers'. Well before I knew I was ADD, I knew I didn't fit in corporate structures so I became self employed. I have since realised that it wouldn't really matter what I did a long as it was flexible and I could work by myself with minimal interruptions. One ADD trait that I have used to my advantage is that I have tremendous energy at the beginning of a project. I now mainly work on very short term project s with clients who need a radical intervention. I can then get them sorted and leave before I get bored. Works for me - works for them!

Don't get into the spiral of forcing yourself to do things that are against your type because the likelihood is that you will fail which makes you feel worse. Work with your strengths. BTW this is the same advice that I would give to NTPs - it's just that as ADDs we have some more obvious traits that we can't fake our way out of!

I like to think of ADD as a different way of handling life - it brings some wonderful gifts along with some "challenging" moments. Good luck and don't get downhearted.

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Hi Wishful Spirit:

Lizzie has some great advice, and it sounds like you are maintaining a pretty positive attitude in the midst of some tough circumstances. Here are a few articles I found that might offer some good advice/perspective:

The Right Work for Adults with ADHD: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1497.html

Secrets of Job Success for Adults with ADD: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1808.html

Find the Right Job in 6 Steps: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd-web/article/1815.html

Six Ways to Build Better Moods with Adult ADHD: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/678.html

Why So Sad?: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/748.html

Hope this helps!

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Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I've tried a few of the things listed in the article on building better moods, and I found that "Green Time" and daily exercise have been the most helpful. The other day I was feeling so down it was like a physical weight on my chest. After 30 minutes of outdoor exercise, even though I had to force myself to get started, I felt almost normal again. I've exercised everyday since, outdoors whenever possible, and the depression hasn't come back.

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