[chrisoconnell]

I was diagnosed with ADHD last year, at 31 years old. It made so much sense.

The idea of your "future self" is actually what helped me improve my ability to form habits.

"If I do X, Y, Z, today, then tomorrow I only have to do A and I have all this free time. Let me be miserable today so I don't have to be stressed tomorrow and I can do anything I want."

It allowed me to unleash my ADHD and kind of embrace it almost on alternating days.

One of Hal Hershfield's talk's had mentioned that we always imagine our "Future Self" will be less busy than we are today, so we won't over extend ourselves today, because tomorrow you'll be less stressed. But this isn't usually the case.

For example: You won't have any more ability to make it to the bank tomorrow, than you do today. So if you do it today, tomorrow you won't even have to think about it. Your ADHD is less likely to fire off with all the other things you "have to do". If you only have one task, you can kind of just do it.

This has been a game changer mentality for my executive function disorder.

[stephenitis]

I'm curious, How did you get diagnosed at 31?

[chrisoconnell]

I went to the doctor because I was having difficulty doing the things I really loved. Mountain Biking, Hiking, etc. The motivation wasn't there, but it's all I wanted to do, but couldn't mentally get the drive to do it.

I assumed this was depression, and after some questions, the doctor insisted that it wasn't depression and asked if I had been diagnosed with ADHD in the past.

Then, he asked me to try Wellbutrin as an off-label use for ADHD, which dramatically changed my ability to function. I have since stopped taking it as I have a lot of systems in place that help with my executive function, but I still feel that taking it would make my EFD better.

The feeling of "depression" has since subsided, but I do still suffer from brain fog frequently when I get overwhelmed with scheduling or tasks I deem "insignificant" that I need to do, such as:

Send a short email. Deposit a check. Put gas in the car. Send that Mutual NDA.

But large tasks like:

Run a 5k every day. Study a language for an hour. Design that app flow. Help a friend develop a business plan Organize and event for 50 people that serves dinner

are typically easy.

It's really the small tasks that break my brain. Big easy are fun and enjoyable because there's a tangible outcome, but small tasks that should be easy but have some sort of barrier just break me.

[digging]

Find a psychiatrist in your area who specializes in ADHD (psychologytoday.com is actually a great resource) and ask about ADHD diagnosis. You may want to get more than one opinion though; not all diagnoses are equal.

[stephenitis]

Thank you, I forgot about this resource!