Making the very long story of my life short; I was a bright kid as a child, but when I hit my teen years it was like I went dumb, couldn't study for school, couldn't hold a job, never finished anything, could never sleep (or slept sometimes for even up to 26 hours straight!). I know for a fact I have 'ADHD' and probably a bunch of other things that are so popular to have now days -- depression, anxiety, etc, etc. But the thing is I've tried avoiding acknowledging that I have these things for years, I've never been to a doctor about it. I just hate how everyone seems to have this mindset in their head that they have depression and the world doesn't know what they're going thru.. and ADHD is to blame for everything; like dropping out of high school (which I did). But there's no way to ignore the fact that life isn't enjoyable at all anymore, and that I can't do anything for more than a few minutes before going on to something else... which gets me so frustrated now, I hate myself for always doing that.I would hate to take any kind of 'meds' but I wanna know, do they really help, do you have to take them your whole life, and do they make you a different person? I really like how unique I am, I don't want to become a robot or something; I just want to be able to committ myself to things, it's really costing me in relationships too. My life has really passed me by, by not doing anything about it. Thanks for the help.
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Anyone first hand advice on ADHD or depression etc
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Hi Bri, and welcome to A2A. I think it's difficult to diagnose yourself. ADHD is a real condition, but it is also one that is talked about a lot, and it's easy to diagnose yourself with it when the problem might be something that isn't so well-known. You really need to get a professional to check you out.It can be difficult to have a "label". However a label can also be very useful. People are much more sympathetic and supportive of people with a diagnosed condition than they are of someone who has the same symptoms but doesn't have the label.Medications, if they work well, are meant to enhance your personality rather than suppress it, by making you more able to do what you want to do. Mental disorders are disabling - ADHD stops you from concentrating on something you want to concentrate on; depression stops you from doing things and enjoying things; anxiety disorders keep you indoors or otherwise inhibited. Medication is meant to lift the disablement from you and empower you, not turn you into a robot. Medications don't always work ideally, of course, and side effects are sometimes significant, but they are nearly always better than no treatment.