Adult Attention Deficit: Symptoms, Challenges, and Solutions - Psychiatry

Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

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As I grow older, I find myself forgetting more and more things.
I can completely forget what I just heard a second ago, and I often forget to execute the goals I set for myself or become restless during the process.
In class, I constantly look around, feeling strange about it, and try to focus on the teacher, but I still struggle to fully understand what the teacher is saying, even though I am trying hard to listen.
At home, I initially try to relax, but I end up not memorizing much of the content I need to study.
As exams approach, my anxiety increases.
I am easily distracted by external noises; no matter what I do, I get interrupted by sounds, which makes me anxious and unsure of what to do next.
When I try to relax and rest, I am still affected by noises like the wind or birds chirping.
As soon as I hear them, I can’t sleep anymore.
I often lie in bed, almost falling asleep, but if I get interrupted, I can’t fall asleep again and end up lying awake until the next morning.
When I see strangers outside, I inexplicably start to wonder if they are students or office workers, and I have strange thoughts that are hard to interrupt.
I give myself plenty of time to get somewhere, but I can’t relax and walk slowly; I always arrive quickly, panting.
When walking or riding a bike, I am always tense and accidentally bump into people or walls, resulting in many injuries that I can’t remember when they occurred.
My pain perception is also delayed; sometimes I don’t feel pain from an injury until later in the evening.
I feel very upset when I don’t do my assignments well, and even though I try to work on them little by little each day, I still find myself rushing to finish the night before they are due.
Even if the next day is a holiday and I could relax all day, I still lie in bed at night unable to sleep.
I don’t dare to leave my room for fear of disturbing other family members, but when it gets severe, I find myself aimlessly walking up and down the stairs without a purpose, unable to calm down.
I often experience unexplained chest tightness or shortness of breath.
I once visited a neurologist and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and I took sleeping pills and sedatives for a month.
I felt a bit better and could gradually calm down to do my own things, but I still often feel anxious while doing them.
As a child, I was often easily nervous, to the point where my back or whole body would feel tense.
I was often scolded for playing on my phone, but I didn’t have a phone until after fifth grade; I was tense even during class and while doing homework at home.
I really enjoy secretly observing others or eavesdropping on conversations, but I can’t focus on myself.
When I am doing my own tasks, I often get distracted and forget what I was supposed to do.
Even when I am alone at home, I can’t calm down; I keep rushing out of my room and aimlessly wandering around or getting distracted by furniture, touching things without any thoughts in my mind.
I often forget to do small daily tasks or zone out.
When I sleep, I unconsciously tense up my whole body; sometimes I experience chest tightness or muscle soreness that prevents me from sleeping.
I visited an orthopedic doctor but was told there was nothing wrong.
I went for physical therapy and felt very relaxed and comfortable that day, making it easy to sleep, but the next day I returned to being tense.
I used to love playing on my phone, but I realized it caused me insomnia and lack of concentration, so I started to reduce my usage.
I often find it hard to feel happy while using my phone, and I get distracted and start browsing aimlessly.
My verbal communication skills have worsened; I can hardly talk to strangers, and when I try to share something exciting or frustrating with my family, I stutter and can’t express complete or interesting thoughts.
I feel like I haven’t grown at all, and I can’t do things now that I could do as a child, which makes me very anxious.
When I seek help from my family, they only tell me to relax and not think too much, but I just can’t calm down.
In class and during exams, even when it’s very quiet, my whole body tenses up, and I start to feel like I want to escape.
I find myself secretly moving my hands and feet and changing positions frequently, unable to stay in one position for long.
Last year, when I had this issue, I took medication to improve it, but after the winter break, I stopped taking it.
My sleep schedule is very irregular; I often go several days without sleeping or go to bed very early, only to wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to fall back asleep.
I fear not being able to sleep and also fear not being able to wake up.
I waste a lot of time outside, feeling extremely tense, and when I get home, I relax for a short while before becoming tense again.
Even after a whole day of not attending class and resting at home, my situation doesn’t improve.
I have a poor sense of time and often find myself doing things smoothly but then realize it’s too late, or I zone out completely; if no one reminds me or nudges me, I just stay that way.
In practical classes where the teacher writes an "A" and I follow along, I often can’t keep up with the teacher.
I frequently don’t know what I should be doing at the moment and get lost in thought or zone out, not realizing how quickly time passes.
I struggle to think through simple tasks and can’t express what I like or why I like it, and I don’t want to share it with others anymore.
I really want to participate in conversations but find that I can’t say anything.
I often think about past events and fantasize about future ones, losing track of time in the moment.
Every day, I want to go home, but when I do, I just zone out and waste time.
I keep wondering if my nerves are causing muscle tension or if my racing thoughts are affecting my body’s secretions.
Is the muscle tension and soreness preventing me from sleeping? Why can’t I calm my mind? I often ask others questions but don’t follow their advice.
My own judgments often lead to problems, which makes me extremely anxious about where to start improving.
In summary, I frequently struggle with concentration, forget small things, and my emotions are either silently withdrawn or suddenly overwhelming, leading to frequent breakdowns.
I care a lot about how others perceive me and remind myself not to cry in public.
As a child, I thought it was okay to be unable to control my emotions, but now that I’m grown up, I still can’t control them, which is really frightening.
My emotions are easily influenced by external factors; when I see someone crying, I start to wonder why they are crying but can’t come to a conclusion, or if they look very sad, I find it hard to comfort them, and I might feel like crying or getting irritated myself.
Should I go for a follow-up appointment with a neurologist? Am I really just anxious? Am I using my tense body to suppress my urge to move around?

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Chang, 20~29 year old female. Ask Date: 2023/10/22