I'm new here! And would like some advice!

[JustLostFocus]

Hi! I'm new here! I am 20 yrs old and I'm in art college. I've been struggling with ADHD my entire life and always felt kind of out of step. Since I'm in college I have found myself and started growing confidence. Only at school it's a little hard sometimes. Speciffically when I have to study really challenging classes or write papers or essays. I just block and am simply not able to perform. Many people don't understand wich makes it hard to talk about or ask for help. Do you recognize this problem? And how do you deal with it?

[Shamany66]

Please make sure you notify disability service about your condition. There is nothing to be ashamed about and you are indeed covered by disability law. That doesn't mean you use it as an excuse, it just means at times you need some support and a bit of flexibility from the teacher. I think it will take alot of pressure off of you and it is a real condition. It isn't a mental illness per say because that is just a label. Good luck, and make sure you have a good Dr. who 'gets it.'

[Rodster]

Colleges usually offer free tutoring; I used to get that all the time for the challenging classes. There are also websites that offer tutoring and you pay by the hour. It used to help me when I sat down with someone one on one because I usually missed parts of the teachers lecture due to my mind wandering. As far as writing goes, you can usually look up the subject of what you’re supposed to write about online. Other people post their essays about that subject on the internet. Sometimes it’s helpful to read what other people have written to help give you an idea of what to write and how to structure it. Also it’s helpful to break down your writing assignments into small parts because it’s easier to finish small parts of it then try to finish the whole think at once.

[merriemountain]

Hi! I graduated college a couple of years ago and didn't know I had ADHD until recently but looking back I can definitely see the things that tend to help adhders that I would do to get things done. I think the biggest thing for me was just the power of having deadlines. It really made me kick it into gear with assignments, even if it was at the last second (the majority of the time). It didn't necessarily help with larger papers and projects with a lot of steps so I'd be curious as to what your school could do to help with those kinds of assignments. But now being out of school and self-employed, I completely struggle with making my own deadlines because I know that I can avoid them..

Otherwise, I would say try your best to work on assignments/ study in public places like the library or coffee shops where there are likely others around you doing the same thing. That tends to help me at least start to look like I am working on things which usually gets me to actually work on things. Another thing that could be good is just grabbing a friend to go to the library or somewhere to work. While that is not always the most focused time to study, it still would promote the need to do it and I guess maybe depending on the friend, might really help you.

If there is a teacher you particularly relate to or getting along with, I would say that might be the best place to start. Based on my college experience, a few of the teachers in my program were easy to talk to and absolutely would find ways to help me if it meant I was taking the steps to learn and get the most from their class. And they should know where to direct you to get help throughout your other classes. I never particularly felt cared for by the guidance counselors or anything but I would say that would be a good next resort! Wishing you the best!!

[LifeIsLearning]

I remember doing something similar. My main thing was that I couldn't start something (a design project I found less than interesting, or a lame "respond to this article" for my ed classes) until I had the pressure (adrenaline rush to kick my brain into gear) of it being due the next morning, or in half an hour or something. But then sometimes it was too much pressure and I froze.

In that freeze moment I encourage you to take a step back. Maybe take a short walk around your building, grab a drink of water, or just go throw some laundry in the washing machine. Then ask yourself if you are afraid you can't do it, afraid you can't do it well enough, are not prepared to do it, are you focused on something else and are having difficulty switching gears. . . .? If you can physically move to break yourself out of the (fight, flight) freeze response, then identify what's blocking you, it's easier to think rationally about how to move forward. - These are things I wish I knew to try in college. I would just push harder, berate myself terribly, become an emotional mess, then get it done just well enough to turn in but well below my standards, blame "being out of time" for the poor grade I'd probably get, and barely get it turned in on time (or 15 minutes late).

I actually had a professor call me out on my procrastinating my freshman year. He told me I waited till the last minute to start because I was afraid I wouldn't do it well. Logically, that makes no sense. If I wanted to do something well I'd put in the time to do it carefully. So I brushed him off. Years later I realized he was totally right. What I was doing was not logical, but it was exactly what I was doing. When I didn't think my idea was good enough, I'd wait for a better idea. . and wait . . . an get distracted and go do something else. . . then the adrenaline of almost missing the deadline helped me actually start.

Instead I recommend breaking tasks down and giving yourself deadlines and mini rewards (even if just mental ones). The campus' disability services might be able to help you with this step.

Best wishes!