Anxiety, depression and adult adhd diagnosis

[BK13]

Hey friends,

well my last posts on here were in 2015, it was actually quite insightful reading back on my posts and comments. Dunno if you can read them, but feel free if you want some background.

So what’s happened in the past 7 years?

I left my toxic relationship in 2016

i moved house 4 more times, finally buying a house last year

i have been with my ‘new’ partner for 5 years, and he’s wonderful

my darling dog passed away

i changed jobs a couple of times

plus the whole pandemic thing haha.

I also changed AD medication 2 more times.

I didn’t get any other support for 6 years, just the medication, no psychologist or therapist (not a smart move on my part I think)

and this year, I was finally diagnosed with ADHD. I’m a woman in my late 30s. I see a great psychiatrist, and he’s put me on medication. The first lot was slow release, however for some reason, I metabolize it quite quickly, like 4 hours quickly. So today he has switched me to quick release, but I’ll have to remember to take it 3 times a day. Good luck to me!

anyways that’s brain dump, but what I want to know is, besides medication, how have you managed your ADHD/depression/anxiety symptoms? Motivation, focus, concentration, prioritization, organization all seem to be worse when I’m working from home. I can be reasonably productive when I’m in the office, but it’s like when I’m at home all the wheels fall off. My brain just won’t process information quickly enough, I get mind blanks, forget things, it takes me a long time to grasp concepts and tbh often have no idea what’s going on. I constantly feel confused and am reactive rather than proactive in just about everything I do.

Im a highly empathetic person, however in situations requiring empathy, I say the words but I don’t actually feel the emotion, if that makes sense. I’ve been dissociating quite a bit and just feel like a pretty crap version of myself. I have so much potential but I JUST can’t seem to do literally anything. The ADHD paralysis is real. If I have 10 things on my to do list, I won’t be able to start any of them, as I won’t know which one to do first or how to get started. So I just do none of them 🤦🏼‍♀️ Procrastination is my middle name.

anyway if you have any particular types of therapy or strategies you can suggest to help me, I am all ears! What or who has helped you with these things?

i am based in Brisbane if that helps.

Thanks!

[Maddeline]

Hi BK13,

Thanks for the updated post! I loved reading the flow of your past seven years (positives and negatives). It seems that you have overcome and gained so much in the past several years. I myself do not have ADHD or depression - so I hope that another person can come on the chat and speak of their experience - but I do have experience with anxiety. When having anxiety attacks I get a lot of mind blanks and my brain completely shuts off, making it hard to concentrate and focus. I have recently really gotten into meditation. At first I was skeptical, as I thought I would not get too much out of it, but after doing short meditations, it brings my focus back straight away!

There is a headspace guide to meditation (its available on Netflix and should be on youtube as well) and you can select how long you want your meditation. I normally pick the three or five minute one as I use it as a short study break, and it has really helped me focus. Sometimes going back to the basics is what can really help!

- Looking forward to hearing from you x

[Emmen]

Hi BK13,

Wonderful seeing how your life has progressed these years. I'm sorry about your dog.

I have a huge problem with procrastination and lack of motivation and was recently told to break down my tasks into bite sized chunks. I wonder if this might help you get started on your to do list as well? The idea is essentially to make your task less daunting and neverending. E.g. say your task was to shop for groceries. Breaking it down would essentially mean the task would be split to "make a list, go to the store, unpack groceries". You've made three tasks of it, but they are smaller tasks that might seem less daunting. You can even take breaks between the tasks. It can also help prevent you from biting off more than you can chew since it gives a sense of how much a task involves.

- M