I’m not asking for a professional opinion (unless someone here is qualified to give it), just your thoughts.

I’m asking this question at five in the morning. I’m up right now because I’ve been working on a paper for the last three hours. I didn’t start it until late (but that’s different – a procrastination issue), and I haven’t got much done. Whenever I sit down to work, I find myself constantly distracted by things. It’s very hard to focus on any one thing for more than half an hour if I’m interested in it, and equally hard to focus for over five or ten minutes if I’m not. Trying to slog through a dense, boring textbook chapter takes several hours, and a few pages of writing (when I don’t much want to do it) while not difficult per se, often takes upwards of four hours to complete.

I can sit through a good movie or book, but I tend to get fidgety even then. When I watch a movie on the computer, I’ll constantly skip back and forth between it and several other things. In fact, the reason I watch the show Friends so often is precisely for that reason – it’s something to have on in the background while I do three or four other things.

I’ll lose the thread of a conversation because something the person says will make a connection with something else in my head and I’ll start thinking about it, only to realize that I haven’t heard a word that’s been said for the last few minutes. It’s not to the point where I can’t talk with someone, but it’s a noticeable problem.

A couple other things: unless I’m actively focusing on keeping still, I’ll constantly fidget and develop little physical tics: cracking knuckles and toes, shredding a napkin, running my hands through my hair, clicking, etc. I also have a terrible memory for some things (names especially) and a great memory for others (I’m very good at memorizing lines for plays or remembering song lyrics), though that is probably entirely unrelated.

So: what do you think? Am I just scatterbrained? Am I making too big a deal out of this? Or do I have a legitimate case of ADD?

Topics: education, psychology, ADD, learning, mental health, adhd, mind, Attention Deficit Disorder, focusing