adhd? or my ocd?

Perfectionism and anxiety mask ADHD symptoms most times in women until we burnout. Once we burnout it’s practically impossible for us to keep up. This can lead to more anxiety and even depression. I got diagnosed at 44 only after researching for my daughter and realizing I had all the symptoms and everything in my life made so much sense. I always seemed to struggle to get my life together while it was so easy for others. But my school and job performance is always excellent, but I’m super overwhelmed and struggling to maintain. There is something called 2e or twice exceptional. This is usually attributed to people that are gifted that also have either ASD, ADHD, or some other learning difference. I was gifted in school, and this is also why my ADHD went undiagnosed for 40+ years. So being a high achiever doesn’t mean you can’t be ADHD. It’s actually more likely that it’s masking the real symptoms. The only way to know for sure is to get an assessment. There are online options that can get you a diagnosis and treatment pretty quickly. They’re good places!! I suggest doing that. The assessments are done by licensed clinical psychologists, so even if it’s not ADHD, they can usually tell you what it is. I do know they take anxiety and trauma into consideration too. Hope this helps and hope you get answers soon! 💕

Hi there! This describes me to a T and I am a 20 year old woman who was diagnosed with combination ADHD about a year ago. Especially the part about not handing things in when they’re late no matter how important they may be because of fear, as I’ve never really heard of anyone else experiencing that. That is a huge thing for me, along with constantly being forgetful and neglecting to complete basic tasks. I also struggle with OCD but once noticed that I was showing these symptoms I went to my psychiatrist and brought up the concern. I made sure to include specific instances in which these symptoms were shown, with things as little as constantly misplacing my keys or phone. I was given a diagnosis very quickly, which says a lot as ADHD diagnoses are hard to come by these days. I’m now medicated and it’s done wonders for me, so if you are able, I would highly suggest bringing it up to a healthcare provider or through an online provider, as the other commenter mentioned. My ADHD went undiagnosed for years due to the fact that I was still a high achiever and achieved fairly good grades for most of my life, up until I started college and began to spiral with my mental health in general. The diagnosis was a long time coming, and I unfortunately didn’t receive it until I was in crisis. So if you have the opportunity to get it checked out, I highly encourage you to do so as I wish I would’ve as soon as I started displaying any kind of symptoms and not before I absolutely HAD to. I wish you all the best, good luck! :)