Tell HN: Check for ADHD

I'm 19. Just a week ago I was diagnosed with ADHD. Up until two weeks ago I didn't believe ADHD is a real disease, I thought it's a made up thing to sell drugs or whatever. Obviously I never googled it, never checked out what the symptoms are. Once I did, my 19 years on this world suddenly made sense. All the way from kindergarten to college, it couldn't be any more obvious. Yet nobody noticed because 1) little people around me know anything about ADHD 2) ADHD runs in the family so it's "normal" even though mine is more severe than my parents and 3) I was academically successful because thank God I have a high IQ. I relied on that my entire academic life. Come last years of high school and college, smarts wasn't working anymore, like many others like me. At that point I had since long accepted I was 'lazy' and 'can't study'.

All my life I didn't achieve anything of value unless I was extremely pressured or very hyped/interested in very short timescales. I suffered from impulsivity, short temper and a bunch of addictions, some of which don't even make sense. I was socially isolated because of my 'weird' behavior, which is, looking back, is just various manifestations of seeking stimulation 24/7. I was late most mornings to school bus, most appointments, most classes and exams in college. I used various off-the-brain ways and productivity software to manage my life because I couldn't do it otherwise. All metrics of my life are on a downward slope since forever.

Since starting medications I'm doing a world better. It's absolutely amazing to be able to start a task and finish it. To just sit and be, without a thousand thoughts in my head. I'm working as a freelancer and I'm hopeful this time I can finish the project on time without staying awake for 36 hours before the deadline.

I don't know whether ADHD was an advantage in hunter gatherer societies, but it sure is a disability in modern times.

Consider the possibility if you have the symptoms. Take care.