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I think so
Hi Sarah. I can certainly relate to your question. I didn't seek out a diagnosis until last year, when I was 39. Along the way I picked up five degrees and have lectured at law schools from Harvard to Beijing and many points in between. My name is very well known in my field, worldwide, extending far beyond those whom I have actually met. Still...
I've always had every symptom you have described. I've also been so hyperactive and impulsive that my spouse would no longer want to chance attending all but the most necessary of social events with me. I relied on the belief that people would like me better once they came to know me; i.e. that first impressions could be overcome. So why seek out a diagnosis?
I sought out the diagnosis because tragedies that befell me (a wife with undiagnosed bipolar disorder descending into suicide and a second wife falling into a year-long, post partum depression after a miscarriage two years later), combined with the stress from the ADHD-typical behaviour of taking too much on, overwhelmed my coping abilities and had me becoming far less productive, and far more distracted, than I previously had been.
The benefits of having sought the diagnosis have been manifest. There are so many aspects about my daily existence and apparent personality traits (as well as self-perceived weaknesses) that have been explained (at least in part) by my ever-deepening knowledge of ADHD, understood as an impairment of executive function. For example, while I have a tremendous vocabulary, I nonetheless find myself groping for words when speaking in public. I would never have connected that phenomenon with ADHD, which I only peripherally understood as a condition involving scattered focus, impulsiveness and hyperactivity. Digesting the import of the diagnosis also assisted my wife and I in better understanding why some of my behaviour, which would otherwise have been considered careless or thoughtless or disrespectful, could be better understood as having a chemical underpinning. It also helped explain my increasingly short temper with people in the service industry (which only became a problem once I had become too overloaded during the past few years).
I would grant you that because of your level of intelligence you may not have the same kind of pressing need that other ADHD sufferers have of seeking diagnosis and possible treatment. If you are like me you probably have already acquired a lot of the coping mechanisms intuitively for which others might require the guidance of a coach. The catch is that life is not nearly as predictable as one might hope or at least expect. I think it would have been a gift to have known about my ADHD at various points over the last 40 years; it may have helped me to proactively recognize problems as they arose, and to better maximize my strengths.
Of course, just as the other response stated, this doesn't mean that you need consider a drug trial. In fact, I have been unsuccessful in my three stimulant trials thus far. They have improved ADHD symptoms, but only with a concomitant increase in dysthymic side effects. I'm still looking for the best alternative, but while the medicine hasn't been a great experience for me there is no way I would have preferred not to have received the diagnosis (and the opportunity for enhanced self-awareness and improvement that it offered).
In short - seek out the diagnosis. If you have ADHD, you will be provided with a unique chance to better know yourself and the way your brain works than most 'normal' people could ever hope! Who studies 'normal' people, after all? The good thing about being on one end of a bell curve is that researchers find you more interesting and have spent a lot of time studying how you tick. If the opportunity presents itself, why not take advantage of their work?
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2 Jul 2008 @ 12:34 PM
2 Jul 2008 @ 2:01 PM