- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
Hi, first of all, it's not a bad thing to self diagnose! There are so many reasons people struggle to get formally diagnosed (the cost being one of the biggest reasons!). If you've done some research and feel like the signs of adhd match your experiences then there's no reason to feel bad for self-diagnosing. I was self-diagnosed for a while before finally getting a diagnosis last month! I totally understand the experience of having the ocd part of your brain constantly questioning whether or not you have adhd! It drives me mad. I went to a counsellor initially to ask a professional opinion but she wasn't qualified to properly diagnose me. I'm based in the uk where our only options are seeking a diagnosis from the nhs (which can have a waiting list of years depending on where you live) or getting a private diagnosis. I bit the bullet eventually and got privately diagnosed despite financial concerns and it has been one of the best decisions of my life. Many private adhd clinics are conducting the whole diagnostic process online so it is possible to start this process during lockdown. If you aren't able to go down this route yet, I would recommend joining some adhd Facebook groups - specifically ones that are for women with adhd. You will find lots of other members who are also self diagnosed and their experiences can be very affirming. Lastly, ocd and adhd are often comorbid so it's very possible that this is the case for you. And even if you do more research and decide for whatever reason that you don't think it's adhd after all , this does not mean that you are just "lazy" or "disorganized" or any of the other stereotypes. Even if adhd is not the cause, there are so many reasons why you might be struggling so be kind to yourself x
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you so much for being so sweet! It’s really irritating to have to go through different places to get diagnosed with different mental illnesses. Thank you for the kind words and I hope you are faring well! Xxx
- Date posted
- 4y
You can get counseling through NOCD without going out and many other counselors are remote right now anyways
- Date posted
- 4y
As a woman with both OCD and ADD (I am boycotting the removal of it from DSMV 😉), I can tell you with classic “girl” symptoms, it can be harder to get diagnosed if you haven’t already done your own research, etc.. Even if you’re not yet able to get an official diagnosis, there are things you can do yourself. There are resources for strategies to help. In fact, if you have already tried some of them before you find someone, you can discuss with them what you’ve tried and how you thought it helped or how it may have fallen flat for you. As far as I remember, a lot of these strategies are pretty safe to try even before finding help. Most of them are strategies that are also taught as general study habits or to improve focus for people regardless of diagnosis. You are so not alone in this! Best wishes!
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you so much! That’s so sweet! I really appreciate it and I hope you are faring wel during this time!!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
How to know if you actually have it or if I’m just making up the symptoms? I have a lot of intrusive thoughts constantly and even have a “theme” but it really surged after I search up what I was experiencing, but then again I search up a lot of what I experience and constantly have to recheck things. My parents say I’m normal but I know I’m not, (both of my siblings have adhd) I find it immensely hard to focus from turning 17-18. Please let me know what you think l! Thanks!
- Date posted
- 13w
i’ve thought that i have OCD for about 2 years now, but i’ve had a lot of the symptoms for as long as i can remember (but i don’t really remember a lot of my childhood- i need to check w family to confirm). i’ve talked to my gf about it, and she thinks i just have GAD and am a hypochondriac. i definitely do have GAD, but the things i have obsessions and compulsions ab aren’t just health related (even tho a lot are), ill imagine that people are injured or dead if i don’t hear from them, i ruminate on childhood events and think about if i could have changed things, i blame myself for things that aren’t my fault, i check all of the locks in my house every night to make sure nobody can break in (even tho ik they’re locked), etc. my GAD more shows up in worrying about like worrying about an upcoming exam or about going into work, or that my friends/family/gf are/is mad at me. i know you guys can’t diagnose me, but the i can’t see a therapist on here until i am able to tell my current therapist that i need to see someone else. i just wanted to talk about it i guess, ive taken so many online quizzes and psych classes that i feel like i somewhat know what im talking about.
- Date posted
- 12w
Ok, so first of all, I’m undiagnosed. However, I’ve been pretty certain for a while now that what I’ve been struggling with is OCD. My problem though is that it’s not easy to get diagnosed, and in some cases, it would require me to pay money. It frustrates me that I have to pay to deal with my mental health. Is it worth it for me to get diagnosed? I know I don’t need a diagnosis to start healing and working on these things, but I also don’t want to be “self diagnosing” the problem, because that makes me feel like a liar and an imposter. My other problem is that I fear my family doctor won’t properly diagnose me. I came to him about mental health related issues once before, and he read off a very generic list of mental health symptoms. when he got to what sounded like the ‘OCD’ section, we asked one or two very generic questions that had nothing to do with my themes, and since I couldn’t relate, I just answered no to them. He then told me I was fine, that I was just a “type A personality”, and that I was just being too hard on myself. I fear that my doctor might not be very knowledgeable or up to date on current information regarding OCD, and this might make it increasingly difficult for me to get diagnosed. Another problem is my symptoms seem to come and go. I often have an obsessive cycle that can last months at a time, and then it just goes away. Sometimes I won’t experience any symptoms for years. This makes me feel like I don’t actually have OCD or that it’s not ‘bad’ enough to be diagnosable.
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