I'm really curious if anyone has experienced this for it's been racking my brain for awhile.
Has anyone whether recently or in the past experienced traits of any disorder to form into ADHD later on?
I've experienced strong traits of OCD in my teenage years and was completely convinced I fit the criteria such as: washing hands, checking if the doors were locked multiple times per night and constant intrusive thoughts. That's the only trait that stayed.
As I've grown older my OCD traits slowly faded away and since discussing through therapy along with advise from a doctor ( I was diagnosed as Autistic early this year) I'm now in process of receiving a diagnoses for ADHD.
This isn't a issue I need fixed or anything urgent, I'm just extremely curious for anyone who has a similar story. 🤔
Thanks for reading.
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Oats_are_S_tier
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hi! I’m not sure of any overlap with ocd and adhd but when I was younger I had ocd traits which I was told was linked to anxiety. I grew out of the ocd tendencies, but was dx with adhd at 47. My daughter has an ocd dx and is 20yo and doesn’t look like it’s something she will outgrow. We both have level 3 autism as well.
I don’t think adhd develops later, I think it’s something you are born with. Perhaps as we get older we find it harder to hide, or mask, or cope, and that’s when we notice our symptoms more.
My personal opinion is that untreated ADHD often causes or contributes to other things like anxiety, depression, and OCD. Someone constantly told they are doing things wrong can easily become anxious, depressed, etc.
According to what ADHD experts like Dr. Edward 'Ned' Hallowell and Dr. Russell Barkley have said, there is a high incidence of comorbidities with ADHD. (Comorbidities are other diagnosable conditions, like Anxiety, Depression, Autism Spectrum Disorder/ASD, and even OCD.)They say that around 80% of people who have ADHD also have at least one comorbidity, and at least 50% have two or more comorbidities.
The most common comorbidities with ADHD are anxiety and depression.
After that, I think that the next most common comorbidity is ASD, and then OCD. (I'm not certain of this, but believe this is what I've heard from ADHD experts.)
• OCD has also been said to be more frequently comorbid with anxiety or ASD.
It is possible that some behaviors which are due to ADHD (such as checking a door lock repeatedly) could seem to be like OCD.
Before my ADHD diagnosis, I was wondering if I have OCD. One of my compulsive behaviors was checking 2 or 3 times (sometimes more) each night before I went to bed to make sure that the doors were locked. However, after starting on ADHD medication, my working memory improved dramatically, and I can now often remember if I've locked the doors or not. So, what seemed like an OCD compulsion turned out to be an ADHD working memory issue (and also a cause of anxiety).
• Even after starting on ADHD stimulants, I did have other compulsive thoughts and behaviors which might have been due to a specific type of OCD called "scrupulosity" (aka "religious OCD"). An example compulsion was that I was completely incapable of saying any swear words. [It was either a change of medication or a psychological shock that I got around the same time, or the combination of the two, that caused the lifelong OCD symptoms to cease.]
So, I think that I had some OCD symptoms which were actually due to a form of OCD, but others which were apparently due to ADHD.
My diagnosed comorbidities with ADHD are anxiety (which is chronic, but thankfully only occasionally severe) and depression (also only occasionally, but I now realize that I probably have SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, because I'm most likely to get depressed in the late Fall and Winter).
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Oats_are_S_tier , if you don't mind sharing, what are some of the other OCD-like symptoms (obsessions and compulsions, which can be either thoughts or behaviors) that you experience?
So, yes... ADHD can be mistaken for other disorders. Or, more often than not, as YouTuber Jessica McCabe* has said, "ADHD comes with 'friends'."
*[Jessica is an ADHD advocate, as well as co-founder and host of the YouTube channel "How to ADHD", and is also known for her TEDx Talk which is titled "Failing at Normal: An ADHD Success Story". I highly recommend both her channel and TEDx Talk.]
STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
The term is used in education and to refer to STEM jobs and careers.
.....
My original profile name was STEAM_Dad (for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics).
But after a few days, I thought that it sounded like a lame dating profile name (like I was saying "yeah, I'm a dad, but I'm a HOT dad"... which I definitely am NOT! 😂)
I remember a few years ago my anxiety had reached a whole new level and the symptoms of OCD were stronger than ever; that's when I tried therapy.
The kind of therapy was CBT and I believe helped at the time, though funny enough whenever my therapist suggested ideas or challenges, a lot of the time I'd forget all about it. I'm assuming this was a trait of ADHD?
Many people with ADHD experience difficulties with memory. Having limited working memory is very common, but also having difficulty with short term memory or long term memory recall can be a regular issue.
So, it's not surprising that you had difficulty remembering to do what the therapist said.
The therapist who taught me some CBT techniques emphasized that I should practice them regularly. He pointed out the they are skills to be developed, so that you can use them when you need them and don't have to try to remember how.
It can also help to practice them as part of a routine, as a mindfulness practice. Then, you can get the regular benefits of mindfulness (to help keep daily anxiety levels down), and also have well-developed coping skills when feeling heightened levels of anxiety.
Yeah I do confess I did give up with practicing my self-care daily, whether it was simply forgetting or refusing to. 🙈
I excused myself when I felt the anxiety fading away, however it then morphed into feelings of hopelessness. Though still it's great to hear other perspectives.❤
I'm fairly certain that's a trait belonging to ADHD; the other day I was asking my brother about mushrooms we had in our fridge which I wanted to use so I asked if needed them, and he told me I asked him already the day or days before.
It completely left my memory. XD
Daily chores around the house escape from my memory time to time; it's a classic case of " Alright I've done A now I can crack on with C- wait forget about B."
Before ADHD meds, I would rate my memory at a 2 out of 10.
With ADHD meds, I would rate my memory at a 6 out of 10. (I think that my memory is now almost as good as the average neurotypical person.)
(I'm basing 10 out of 10 as one of those super rare people who can remember details from any day of their life since they began forming memories.)
Before my ADHD diagnosis:
I could only hold 1 or 2 things in my mind for about 2 to 3 minutes (without constantly repeating those 1-2 items to myself).*
• It didn't matter if it was items in a shopping list, things on a to-do list, driving instructions, names of people in the room with me (with the exception of my family...I didn't usually have problems with my kids' names).
• Anything beyond 2 items, and something on the list would be lost to the void, never to return.
• For most of the time that I was married, my wife would get irritated with the fact that if she was telling me things to do or you get at the store, is she mentioned a third thing, I would say, "I need to write this down." It was only a few years before our divorce that she would stop herself before giving me the list and say (often with a smirk), "You'd better write this down."
*Note: I could remember an ordered list with practice (which is probably how I passed spelling tests as a kid), or step by step procedures (if they were very logical, of if I practiced them a lot).
After my diagnosis and starting on ADHD medication:
• I can remember a list of 5 things with very little effort, and up to 8 or 9 things with effort. I can usually keep that list in my mind for up to 20 minutes, and even might be able to recall it later in the day or possibly the next day.
• I can remember conversations (not perfectly, but most of the details.
• I can sometimes remember work assignments that I need to take care of days or weeks later.
Oats, and Stem Dad, I worry how we are supposed to survive when we are older. Are we prone to dementia or something similar? Menopause turned my memory problem into high gear. I forget soooo many things almost immediately. I can have a full on conversation and forget what we spoke about, I can forget what drink I just ordered. I never remember my favourite wine, I rely on others to order for me. I really hate this. For years I was told it was because I wasn’t paying attention, or that it wasn’t a memory issue as much as it was due to my anxiety. I knew these things didn’t help matters, but I knew there was something more.
When I was in grade school and even university, I would like to say I perfected memorization. Truth is I would take notes, word for word in class, go home and rewrite it. Test time, rewrite again, read, read, read, right up to sitting down to do the test. I learned memory skills like rhymes and such, but it was the rewriting that helped the most and gave me carpal tunnel lol. I would get pretty high grades doing this, but would forget absolutely everything once I walked out that door, more than normal (everyone would tell me it was normal), and may even forget what class I just walked out of. I don’t think I have this ability anymore. I’m pretty burnt out with life.
Sometimes I ask my family if they wonder how I actually get by in my life, day to day lol. I don’t walk around in a daze all day, most people wouldn’t know how bad it is because I’ve learned to hide it pretty well.
I was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive in 2021. I take a stimulant, but I’m not sure that it helps with my memory much. I never really noticed, so that there may be an indication that it doesn’t help with memory much. It helps me in other ways though, a great deal.
"Sometimes I ask my family if they wonder how I actually get by in my life."
I feel the same, living with Neurodivergent challenges is so damn exhausting, like your masking for example ( not criticising ) and I'm struggling to accept that there're some things I can't do own my own so help's needed.
Though the medication hasn't specifically improved memory function, it's great to hear it's improved other aspects.
Thanks Oats. Yeah, I am opening my eyes more and more and seeing the things I do that others may used ti call “blonde moments”, when in fact it’s just the processing of information, and the struggle to hold onto information. I realize I used to anticipate many many little things and be prepared for them so I wouldn’t do things “stupid” or out of the ordinary so much. Now, I just don’t have the energy, or ability to keep up mentally. 🩷
Amiwrong, Like you, I found that the only sure way for me to put in memory details from a college class was to rewrite my class notes. I had an in class notebook and then a separate notebook for rewriting the notes. In addition to rewriting I would also try to fill in details for past lectures or texts when ever there was a transition of topics during class. I often needed to rewrite information from textbooks in order to try and put it into memory. Thanks for reminding me that I once did this.
Oh wow, just like me! I would go into a test holding onto as much information as possible and just dump everything onto paper. My answers were always way longer than the space provided. I would never be able to recall anything from the test or the class. People would tell me that it was normal and most people don’t remember everything. I felt though, that what I was experiencing wasn’t normal.
It is getting worse, my memory, recall, age I guess, mental exhaustion I suppose. I was reading that depression/stress (which I have had all my life) changes brain structure and can be permanent (something to do with the hippocampus and grey matter). It did say that antidepressants improves this, but I never liked how antidepressants made me feel emotionally dumb.
Hi Greenbeeps. Yes, I am taking estrogen and progesterone. I’m not sure if the levels are accurate. The doctor relies on hot flashes as the marker. No hot flashes means I’m taking enough they say. Why do you ask? I don’t mind the question. I’m an open book
Hi, I asked because I was late diagnosed..at 45 and initially found Elvanse effective…within 6 months it no longer seemed affective and I was experiencing horrible side effects that seemed to vary across the month…..I plodded on for several years trying other adhd meds….i was so fed up that I’d asked to be supported by the consultant at the adhd clinic, hoping he’d be more dynamic in his prescribing…he was…he prescribed Clonadine also to help with sleep and ptsd….whenever we met I would say ‘I’m sure perimenopause is stopping the tablets from being so effective….3 months ago I started hrt and the difference is huge! I can feel the tablets working again….im now on dexamphetamine (and the Clonadine at night)
I still have to pay attention to how much stress I’m under (I’m a mental health nurse) and try hard to do meditation, tapping and stream of consciousness writing which helps
Overall though my memory is a bit better, I have that ‘pause’ back. I’m less sensitive to criticism.
My main concern in regard to peri-menopause symptoms is my cognition, anxiety and mood….tell your GP what your main concern is….if they don’t listen ask to be referred to a gynaecologist.
Hmmm I never considered looking at my adhd medication (Vyvanse). I haven’t seen hrt helping with my cognitive issues. Gosh if they are helping I’d hate to see what I’d be like if I wasn’t on it lol
Some contributing factors for my memory issues are that 1) I very often miss the first part of conversations cause my awareness is so much in my head and I have to wrench awareness to what is being said, and 2) in the middle of a conversation, something that is said makes me jump to some other train of thought and I miss something important. Do you experience similar behaviors.
I have come to think of some of my compulsive traits in terms of self-stimulation. I do a lot of finger tapping and also humming. Drives my wife crazy cause she has super sensitive hearing. Often when I start humming, I realize that I'm late taking my afternoon meds. Might this be somehow related to what you experience? problem for you?
Your description of your thought pattern when it's trying to concentrate or listen to anyone is amazingly accurate, seriously. 👏🏽
I notice often I find myself not listening to my therapist whether on-the-phone or in-person and quickly reset my focus.
When it comes to stimming I never stop haha, I'm always quoting anything I find funny or singing randomly. Whenever I'm sat down I often bob my knee up and down hastily or rub my knuckles together.
Hi Oats.., Hope you don't mind too much if I abbreviate your name.
About stimming, once I had a student in class whose right leg was bouncing up and down over 100 times a minute all the time, but the rest of his body, his eyes his voice were perfectly still. It was amazing. He sat at the back of the lecture hall so that he would bother a few people as possible. He was in process of getting medication but I never got a chance to see him without his leg bounce. Hope he got his meds going OK. His parents were very, very much against any meds or doctors or anything. Hope they came around as well.
Having ADHD is much more accepted in the US than a lot of other countries. This student was from Scandinavia where (he said) acknowledging you have ADHD could be the end of your hopes for a successful professional life. So his parents had some cause to be concerned. I was talking to an acquaintance from Canada who was worried about his son who had gotten some ADHD accommodations in high school. Even though there was no official record of these accommodations on his son's academic transcript, his son only got accepted to one of the 12 colleges he applied to. Turns out that students who get ADHD accommodations don't take certain courses but take others instead that become red flags to college admissions people. Life is tough enough with ADHD as it is, without all this other BS.
The leg bouncing student reminded me of a family story. I got to know my great-grandma well. Her father was a country doctor known as Doc Johnson.
He was almost always on the move, walking a lot to visit patients. Whenever he sat down, he couldn't keep his leg still; he would bounce it incessantly.
So, anytime my great-grandma noticed someone in the family bouncing they leg, as her father had done, she'd say, "There goes that 'Johnson leg', again!"
Incidentally, he was fully Norwegian-American. (Both of his parents had immigrated from Norway, which of course is part of the Scandinavian Peninsula.)
Wonderful story, thanks so much for sharing. I think that in honor of your great-great granddad, Doc Johnson, we could refer to such ADHD leg movement as the “Johnson Leg”.
I think that your story is also a great counter example to anyone saying that people with ADHD shouldn’t get accommodations in schools or that ADHD people can’t have successful professional careers. Your g-g-granddad’s career may have benefited from some ADHD traits. Our son has adhd and is also a physician. He often sees over 20 patients a day so he is constantly being required to focus on new things and often respond quickly such as in response to code situations in the hospital.
Thanks for your post. I just joined because a friend mentioned her granddaughter (4) was diagnosed with Autism. While talking about it, she also mentioned her granddaughter may also have ADHD. That got me looking into the connection between ADHD and other diagnosis. My son (30) was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. Despite medication and therapy, it always seemed as if something was being missed. After more research, I believe my son may be on the Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as having ADHD. I'm glad to hear from others that ADHD may not be just a single issue.
Recently I've been diagnosed as Autistic and the doctor noted that I could have ADHD , which gave me confidence and relief that my suspicions seemed possible.
I've noticed many traits of Autism and ADHD in my family ( though my second oldest sib shows strong traits of Hyperactive ADHD ) so it's very possible for some of them to have comorbidities. 🤔
Thanks for sharing, great to hear other's experiences.
hello! First hand experience in this. My brother was diagnosed in kindergarten, and I wasn’t until 38yo. I was diagnosed with anxiety at 22. So 16 year misdiagnosed because my main symptom is rsd. My daughter is showing signs of ocd sometimes. I think these behaviors could be adhd hyper fixation, but there are many conditions that are comorbid with adhd.
16 misdiagnosed is better than the 22 years undiagnosed imho. It makes me sad that my family didn’t even look into it. They even do t believe the diagnosis is real. It sucks that they are old school thinkers in that mental health is not real. Glad I disowned them over a year ago. My kids will not go through the same I did.
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