[Quiz] ADHD Myth or ADHD Reality? Check Your Knowledge

11 Comments: [Quiz] ADHD Myth or ADHD Reality? Check Your Knowledge

1. People don’t grow out of ADHD. They may develop coping mechanisms, social support, or lifestyle preferences that minimize the problems to below the level of requiring medication or therapy.

   In my case things seem to be the other way around. While I don’t remember being bothered by ADHD as a child or being hyperactive, it’s knocking me to the floor as an adult who is unable to deal with the overwhelm.
   (I found a bunch of old report cards that did list classic ADHD symptoms and with some introspection realize that a lot of childhood social issues were due to rejection-sensitive dysphoria and other maladaptive coping strategies. Don’t trust your memories.)

2. According to question 5 children will sometimes outgrow ADHD. I’m not an expert, just someone who was diagnosed as an adult and has a 15 year old son who has ADHD. Do people actually outgrow it or do they just develop coping mechanisms that help them control the symptoms. Looking back to my childhood I had the symptoms and dealt with all of the troubles that came along with them. Through adolescence and into adulthood I was able to develop strategies that helped me deal with and overcome some of the symptoms but they were still there. Of course I didn’t know I had ADHD at the time, I just thought I was stupid and a horrible person. There is no way as an adult I would have honestly answered a question about my struggles to regulate my attention or how unorganized I was. In my mind that would have just let someone else see behind the facade I had been living behind for so long. When my son was diagnosed everything sounded so familiar to what I had always struggled with. He was definitely not stupid or horrible, even though he felt that way. If I had the same problems maybe I wasn’t either. I opened up to my doctor, he referred me to a psychologist and I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 38. I never outgrew ADHD I just covered up the symptoms. Do others actually outgrow it or do the same thing I did?

3. I was diagnosed in my late 30,s and as a RN, with a boss from Hell and actively encouraged mobbing, as such employer saving ( getting the sack ) got bosses a bonus for a saving made for usually discipline and or assertions / allegations made out as the end result not following the rules and specifically following policies and processes they use adhoc to scare nurses into giving up after just redressing context by omitting content and context that was 8 years ago and they keep increasing the restrictions on my registration but I have no Idea what exactly my ADD SYMPTOMS beyond losing my house career and multiple jobs due to whole of govt reporting I was disciplined for misconduct and then face impairmed registrant panel after the complaint my old boss and also a expert witness and employed as an officer of the health care complaint commission basically having an impact on the final outcome by threatening to appeal with every resource available till all avenues of appeal to the highest court in the state until they firstly deregistered me ( 4 what without evidence or specific issues and the easily accessed pt files not even brought or shown to have management processes that had not even been needed due to the original complaint from a colleague that was deflecting attention from her often drunk or hung over and on smoke breaks leading to her pay being docked , other serious errors by other RN SIMPLY IGNORED morphine to pt allergic to it and not ordered x 3-4 , and those nurse used to write reports only after Their errors even shifting blame for their mistakes onto me and refusal by management to look at the pt notes or my phone bill or my personel file getting roster changes 4 days after I was paid to make it look like I was working by the JUM WHO WAS ON HOLIDAYS ACCESSING. THE STAFF RECORD FROM HOME , and retracting my sec clearance I have had since 2006 so I could not access pt record and be able to function as an uncharge , whilst those actively on shift deliberately undermining the effective running of the ward by creating barriers and refusal to work collaboratively or after my order , none of this was told to me at the time as the reports all went in years late even weeks after the event and timely feedback never face to face , as most not my problem so 3 years after resigning and the complaint containing lies that could be directly contradicted the knowledge of my ADD CAME IN HANDY AS THE EVIDENCE DID NOT MEET THE STANDARDS OF PROOF AND NOT EVEN A WROTTEN COMPLAINT HAD BEEN MADE , and no supporting documents supplied by the DON/ Complainant /EXPERT CONTRACTED TO THE Regulator , so arrogant simply said it is known she sees a psychiatrist and as it stood I had been under my specialist and stable so all I needed was my regular GP APPT FOR MEDS , not even qualifying that statement or relating it to pt outcomes near misses or some cogent documentary statement that even elaborated until the Board refused to go forward as she had not written or met the criteria to make a mandatory report about a practitioner as I simply did not meet or do any of the 4 statements that indicated reporting of a health care professional but was allow a weeks adjornmenr to gather evidence and actually write out a complaint – nothing related to systematic isssue action and managment action taken not done as it was so vexatious and without proof of outcome being related to not had any pt records seen or used just the statements from nurses involved in coronial inquests and all got a benefit from doing so and I was blind sided by documents which obviously I had not seen as they did not exist so had been created after the DIRECTOR ORDERED THEM TO AND being POOR QUALITY HYSTERICAL PERSONAL ATTACKS AND OPINIONS unrelated to specific issues not even documented or given to me almost 3 years after the 2011 original invitation to interview response and ignoring my statements and solicitors feed back and not asking critical and senior staff on the shifts in question even down to delivering a meal late which had been eaten and I do give dinner when pts are on the toilet nor where they are still walking to the toilet as dinner lady refused to give out only my meals and my offsides refusing to take it into the room at the families request just refusing them statements that I had refused to go directly to that task as I was actually checking the pts biohazard status as she was precautionary measure due to her being on an antibiotic that had given her diarrhoea the 3 previous admissions – and same art continued to prescribe it knowing her discomfort and slow mobility and was interrupted documenting the statements that the bloods wheee negative to contagious disease checked for so removal of precautions per negative 2nd test clearance result way I quite simply have had my life and and professional registration publication showing ridiculous no night shifts no delegation of tasks no decision making no in charges and for the first 2 weeks 3 nurse manager to work with me then 3 more managers then indefinitely and for a voluntary agreement turned into a condition after Whilst on holidays called to a review but not home and given7 days notice allowed them to change everything even when 3 mths plus or minus getting a job had finished and they continued to put conditions on increasing them yearly and not from work related incidents for last 5 years as have not been able to get a job to get them removed now I have to go to court to have them removed as they inhibit my ability to do basic nursinfg skills by not meeting the basic standard job descriptions and rotating rostering and no manager ever going to employ me given I have to gain 3 of them to agree to report and voluntarily and free and for an unspecified time period supervise me in a restrictive manor and for what I have ADD AMD AS THE PSYCHOATRIST DOES NOT GET THAT 8 years on and during my 2nd degree in Bach BUSINESS / IT / INFO SYSTEMS analytics A waste of time without an ability to get past a government service check for a sec clearance as they state misconduct and the registration board says impairment 1 job in that whole time in nursing and the end of that conincided with my wage subsidy ending and work at a service station as a console operator and cleaner and only as a casual as my previous employer is checked often and states I got into trouble at work no I resigned to the casua pool as I was bullied and received an apology from the CEO 4 days after I coped restrictions on my rego that he was sorry for not terminating my employment sooner that was their fault for not doing so but termination after 6 years of service across 3 hospital. And all within the same precinct basically refused employment due to the registration outcome and that xae only atttr the board gave me conditions . Not for being disciplined as I am on the health pathway to no where and research states 7 % of health related conditions only 0.2 % get re/ employed and as rejected applications do not fall under the maintain privacy of health related info they can share it Carey Blanche across what ever sector and public or private entity they think and believe needs to know in what ever way and am blacklisted 8 years later discrimination based on the bias I HAVE SOME MASSIVE EXECUTIVE FUNCTION DEFECT THAT IS NOT ABLE TO BE OVERCOME OR COMPATIBLE. WITH BEING A NURSE ATTER BEING AN entrepreneur since 1998 and baste amounts of experience and already completed a returning to work reconnect programme after having a child for my own confidence Same manager who hired me made the decision to make my profile inactive so I could not be available for casual shifts in the other hospitals instead set an alert to let him know when my personnel file was trying to be put onto a roster so he could intervien or thencomplainant could also making sure I was blacklisted but still able to apply as I had to include my conditions and details first before they employed me but rejected and allowed to be held for ever in a database As I was unsuccessful in even entry level no skills require parks and wildlife service FIRE AND RESCUE AND AMBULANCE ALL NURSINBRG POSITIONS FROM ED TO RN ROLE FOR MOVING TO OT SPECIALTY PROGRAM SO A ENTRY LEVEL PAIT GRAM APRCIALISATION AND HUNDREDS OF OTHERA ANY THOUGHTS ADVICE and how do you change this situation using my executive functions given the conditions get more exclusionary as the years go by and I am a single parent of a teenager and left unsupported and professional pariah- no one will give a good reference after so long – so a health pathway That actually has no supportive features for me as I don’t fit the junkie nurse or mentally fxxxx in the head and have a decent IQ AND AN EXCELLENT MEMORY A BIASED PSYCH REPORT FROM THEIR GUY ONLY ONW CONSIDERED AND NONE OF MINE AND I HAVE HAD EVWRY ONE FROM PSYCHIATRIST TO PSYCHOLOGIST TO SOCIAL WORKER GP AND UNEMPLOYMENT WORK SUPPORT PERSON ALL SUPPORTING ME YET AGTER YEAR. NO ONCE HAS A PR CHART BEEN LOOKED AT !
   Advice

4. Can I say this? Me too!!! I am 59, have ALL the symptoms (and a DOUBLE dose of some of them) past menopause now – only survived THAT through the constant love and attention of a fantastic hubby (xx Jim) i seem always on the point of self-destruction, fighting with everyone, crying non-stop, unable to complete even the simplest tasks, never EVER on time… And too afraid to go anywhere NEAR a psychiatrist after they reduced me to a virtual vegetables as a teenager with high-dose ect + max levels antidepressants and anti-psycchotics. None of which i responded to. Sometimes I feel i’m just existing, waiting to die. An embarrassment to my children, they only tolerate me cos they love their dad so much..

   1. Oh Mary, I feel your pain. My eyes are prickling with tears already. I’m so glad you have a wonderful hubby (thanks Jim) lol, (I think you said Jim, but may have read that wrong…oops and sorry if I did. Anyway…
      So you survived menopause? I think I’m starting to go through that now and was wondering if it makes the horrible ADHD symptoms worse?
      And yes I hear you about the kids. My youngest is 15 and I actually rely on him sometimes to point me in the right direction. I too was prescribed antidepressants, but I didn’t take them for long because they made my whole body sort of buzz or something!
      However I have just (yesterday) been to the doctors (different doctor than the first time) and had a referral written for me to see a psychiatrist.
      It took several encouraging texts, followed by threats, lol, for me to actually call the psychiatrist to make an appointment… and now have to wait for them to call me with a time! Great, but what if I miss the call and forget to call back???
      Oh Mary it’s hell isnt it? Do any of your kids have it, or a ‘strain’ of it showing up in other ways?
      My eldest son most definitely has the SAM problems as me, but where I burst into tears, he says he feels like there’s a volcano erupting inside of him.
      We often call each other when we have our ‘grand ideas’ or if we’ve had a rough day because we talk the same language; a language no one else seems to understand.
      I also have a nephew who has been medically diagnosed and my brother has asked if this nephew can come and live with me because all they do is clash. I said yes of course, but you KNOW what I’m like, and if you’re expecting me to set rules and regulations then think twice about what your asking!
      Anyway I want to hear about you Mary, and your life if that’s ok? I had no idea you’d actually commented, I accidentally scrolled to the bottom of the page and was surprised (nicely) to see your post!
      If you’d like my email is [email protected] or if I remember 😁 I’ll check back here to see if you’ve posted again.
      Thank you so very much for sharing with me,
      Cheers Sally.

      1. Sweet girl!! I feel your pain – and send you a great big hug. Firstly – You are NOT stupid and lazy!! Never, EVER call yourself bad names like that – your sub-conscious will always believe you, and that has a negative effect on your well-being. You are the victim of a horrible condition which most people have never heard of and can never understand. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. You just drew a short straw with your genetics. Go for your counselling sessions and try to learn to love yourself – just the way you are. We are all unique – not one of us is the same in any way. You sound like a very caring, loving, empathetic, wonderful, strong person – you just need some help and support at the moment to come to terms with a stressful situation. Keep telling yourself you are wonderful and you love yourself. Post a post-it note on the mirror, if necessry, and tell yourself “I love you” every time you look in the mirror – it really, really works. Our brains are plastic and thoughts can change how we feel. You are very lucky in that you have a partner and what sounds like a strong, loving family network. Build on that strength by getting as much informatin and support as you can, and work on it together as a united force. “Together you stand”. You are not alone, and having others around who understand what is going on is invaluable. You also have this forum, which I am finding really helpful. Already, your comments and those of others have helped me understand so much more about my situation. As for the menopause – do not expect that it will be bad for you – again your inner psyche will pick up on that. Many women do not get bad symptoms. I had terrible hot flushes and night sweats, but refused to take HRT – as I am convinced it just delays things, and you have to come off it eventually. (I’m now 69 – my periods stopped at 50, when I had an ovary removed). I took herbal remedies – Dong Quai and GLA in the form of Evening Primrose Oil or Starflower. I actually took Blackcurrent Seed Oil, as it is stronger, but my health food shop stopped selling it here in England, due to low sales. Some women also use soya products, which you could try. (They say Japanese women do not get menopause symptoms due to their high consumption of soy in their diet) Look it up. Above all – try to keep strong and positive. It is not ALL bad. You have the knowledge and understanding to help your son and nephew get through this. Make that your goal, and I am sure it will help YOU by giving you a strong purpose in life. And maybe you can find a way of helping others, too, with your knowledge. As you say, you managed to come through a bad patch before. Keep strong, focus on moving forward, and you will succeed – I’m sure. As for anti-depressants. I am told by my chemist that there are many, many different ones now, and that if the first one does not suit you – you just go back to the doctor and try a different one. My doc wants me to go on them at the moment, as I’ve hit a bad patch due to various reasons connected to health and family, however, I am not convinced about anti-depressants. I think it is the doctor’s “cure all” as it is cheap and gets people off their backs and off their books!! I take herbal St. John’s Wort and 5HTP, to boost serotonin levels, as well as B6, zinc and magnesium – which seem to help. Also, do you have hobbies and interests outside the home? I am certain that getting out and having something interesting to focus on is a huge benefit. Have you tried singing or painting? I love it!! I will send this through to you on your email, as well. Best wishes. Keep strong and keep positive. Remember – “Keep Calm and Carry On”. Luv, Lorna x

      2. PS – Have you heard of “Mindfulness”. It is a form of brain-training where you FORCE your brain to take notice of things and concentrate on them. Gradually, it becomes easier. Ask your counsellor about it, and look it up. I keep losing my keys and glasses, but if I concentrate hard on where I am putting them before I put them down – it really helps. Try it. Lorna

      3. Mindfulness is a very interesting topic for me. As someone to be constantly distracted and almost always told to feel differently than how I actually felt, mindfulness is something that is a revelation. That, and another lil’ something something that I was never taught, Emotional Intelligence. I think the two are closely related but I also think mindfulness is not just awareness of oneself but also the ability to be completely aware of the external environment without a single distraction from internal thoughts. Could you imagine that? Being somewhere doing something or looking at something without any chatter in the background? Mindfulness, in my understanding, is something like a brain muscle (neural network) that flexes when told to and creates a strong and concentrated neural network through the appropriate parts of the brain. The less the muscles are flexed, the weaker they are, the smaller the neural network is, the more noise surrounding the neural network, the weaker ability to be mindful. But like muscles, the more often you use neural networks, the stronger, larger, more dominant they get until they are able to consume all other neural networks around them and combine all the brains energy into one strong clear purpose. So flex those muscles and do it often.

5. My Aha moment was as I was doing a quiz to see if my eldest son has ADHD. I was sitting with my partner, reading the questions out loud so he could give his opinion too, but halfway through the quiz he burst out laughing and said ‘Umm are you sure this quiz is about Connor, because every question you ask is 100% you!
   All my life I’ve been disorganized, impulsive, flighty, emotional, predictably unpredictable, messy and ALWAYS late. Yes, I have merely scraped the surface in my description….lol. I have always felt a little odd like an outcast, and sooooo misunderstood, yet I’ve always been relatively popular and well loved. Those who I am close to or have known for a long time just say “We all love you very much, but you’re so bloody frustrating you drive us nuts!” Little did I know that it’s actually me whose not the full quid! I didn’t think girls got ADHD, though I new without a shadow of doubt that something inside of me just wasn’t quite right, I just believed that I was lazy, selfish, stupid (I am NOT stupid!) and I had to try harder!
   I’m 48 years old, I’ve been ‘trying harder’ to get things right my whole life, and guess what? I can’t! I just can’t do things like everyone else can.
   I had a breakdown last year and I became a hermit. I’ve only recently started speaking to my family but I still haven’t reached out to my friends. I started having panic attacks and I spent all the money I’d got from the sale of my house on crap and survival, until one day it ran out.
   I spent nearly 4 months in virtual solitary confinement and within that time I learnt a lot about myself. The scariest and most heartbreaking thing I learnt was that if I’m not in a position where I HAVE to look after my children, or anyone else, and only have myself to tend to…I cannot function! I gradually surrounded myself in chaotic mess, I’d forget to eat or I’d eat the wrong stuff, I rarely answered my phone unless it was one of my kids and I just let go of all hope.
   That’s when I knew, without a shadow of doubt, I had ADHD or something within the autism spectrum. I went to the local doctor, asked him about ADHD and for a referral to a psychiatrist, but he requested a once off visit to the psychiatrist and said I should just keep coming back to see him!!!! But he had already told me he knew very little about ADHD because he didn’t fully believe it was an actual thing. I was mortified and gobsmacked, so I picked up the referral letter and walked out.
   That was 6 months ago. I live in the bush almost and there’s no one here who treats ADHD, do I still haven’t actually been diagnosed with anything beyond depression and anxiety and menopause.
   Guess I’m just lazy and stupid 🤔

   1. No. You aren’t lazy. You aren’t stupid. You don’t have enough dopamine in your frontal cortex. Think of all the successes you’ve had in your life and how they happened. I bet most of them involved something you loved or something that made your body release the chemicals you lack. I’ve done extreme sports, acting, public speaking, all things that caused my body to release the chemicals that allow me to function.

      It’s sad so many places have no support whatsoever. Don’t give up! Don’t dwell on the past. The past is prologue. Your future awaits, and you can be a functional human being. Stim meds help 80% of people with ADHD. Only a small fraction of people are helped by anti-depression meds.

      Don’t give up. You are part of a tribe that can achieve greatness!

      1. Thank you. This was just what I needed.