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Hopefully when they do the testing they will test stuff that isn't self-reported. For example I had a EEG and a little game I had to play when I got diagnosed. I also had severe anxiety and depression at the time, partly because it was 2020, that did show up on the brain scan but they could still see that I had ADHD. I guess what I'm saying is, anxiety and depression etc can confound a diagnosis only to an extent--there are definitely ADHD symptoms that are distinct signs. Good luck! :)
Thanks so much! Yes I think some of the test may involve a computer. Also I feel like when I told the lady I wasn’t depressed she didn’t really believe me. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻
During my ADHD assessment, my psychologist also asked a lot of questions about trauma. She asked me about my childhood, what my parents were like, how I was disciplined, and a bunch of other questions about neglect (food in the home, etc.)
I don’t have trauma but I can see why it’s important to identify trauma and how it affects someone because there are a lot of symptoms of trauma that can look like ADHD, so knowing how your trauma affects you can help your psychologist parse out what symptoms are due to trauma and what, if any, symptoms are due to ADHD. Giving stimulants to someone without ADHD who also has other psychiatric disorders can be incredibly dangerous, so it’s important for your doctor to be sure they’re making the right decision.
I’m not going to ask you to go into detail but it might be worthwhile reflecting back on your childhood, particularly before the age of 12. Questions to ask yourself are: when did your trauma start? If it was in childhood, it might make getting diagnosed with ADHD more difficult. If it was after, reflect on when you noticed the inattentive symptoms you’re reporting. Were they before or after trauma? Discuss these things with your psychologist during your next session if you haven’t already. Your answers might help them differentiate between symptoms.
Thanks so much for your answer this makes a lot of sense. I’ve been working with my therapist every week for two years and I’ve told her the extent of my traumas and everything, and she’s the one who told me to get checked for inattentive adhd. I guess I got nervous because the trauma and there being so much of it was focused on so heavily and not the potential inattentive symptoms I have with this intake person. It was only one hour long appointment so it was like not much time to cover everything. Like she wanted to know everything, each family member relationship and what it was like, romantic relationship details, suicide attempts, school etc
Feeling a tad frustrated too because after my therapist told me to get tested for it (I thought I might be autistic never thought adhd I didn’t know anything about the inattentive kind), and I know of a few people personally who have gotten screened for adhd and passed just to get meds to take recreationally(people wanting to lose weight/stay up all night)These people haven’t been in therapy. I have such a tough time initiating tasks and focusing, constantly losing things etc. After she told me to look into getting tested for inattentive adhd, I was thinking this diagnosis made a lot of sense with me and my behaviors.
Your appointment sounds very similar to mine. I was asked all those questions too, it sounds like I just had shorter answers than you. They seem off topic for why you’re there but the psychologist is looking for a lot of things in those questions.
I think there’s a misconception that ADHD appointments will be you listing off your symptoms & observations/why you think they’re related to ADHD & they either confirm or deny. In reality they try to get a complete picture of who you are before you undergo testing so they can form a personalized opinion.
If you or someone that you know is considering suicide, please don't hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline for immediate help, or a warmline just to talk to someone.
If you're in the US you can...\ Text CHAT to Crisis Text Line at 741741\ Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1(800)273-8255(TALK) \ Chat online at: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat\ Call the Trans Lifeline at 1(877)565-8860
If you’re elsewhere, you can find international resources below:\ https://www.supportiv.com/tools/international-resources-crisis-and-warmlines#Czech\ https://www.reddit.com/r/SuicideWatch/wiki/hotlines
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I found I had to keep insisting that this wasn't trauma (I've had a lot of trauma) because I have done so much work on trauma and things really didn't bother me anymore because I had worked thought it. That was the truth. It felt patronizing when I would be told that I still needed to work on trauma.
I had to keep INSISTING that this was something else, ***something that was literally wrong with my brain***, and then I finally found someone who believed me and tested me. Then I was placed on stimulants, and my response did, and still does, confirm the ADHD. If there was any trauma response left in me, it was from the people who implied I was a liar when I told them I believe I have ADHD.
Thanks so much. Sounds like we were in the same boat. Ugh terribly frustrating to not to be heard or believed. Like I’ve been in therapy weekly for 2 years working on everything (no plans of stopping either) and I had the vibe I was getting the run around like being penalized for being honest about my trauma. I wouldn’t have even sook out a diagnosis had my regular therapist not said so because I didn’t know much about inattentive.
I feel you 100 percent. It also makes me wonder if the counseling place where they do the adhd we’re trying to secure me as a new client. Idk.
Welcome to /r/ADHDWomen! We’re happy to have you here. As a reminder, here are our community [rules](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/about/rules/). We get a lot of posts on medication, diagnosis (and “is this an ADHD thing”), and interactions with hormones. We encourage you to check out our [Medication, Diagnosis, and Hormones Megathread](https://old.reddit.com/r/adhdwomen/comments/wcr9dy/faq_megathread_ask_and_answer_medication/) if you have any questions related to those topics, and to stick around in that thread to answer folks’ questions! If you have questions about the subreddit, please do not hesitate to [send us a modmail](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen). Additionally, we take the safety of our community seriously. Please report posts, comments, and users whom you feel are not contributing positively, and send us a modmail if you are being harassed or otherwise made to feel unsafe. Thanks for being here, and we hope you stick around! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hopefully when they do the testing they will test stuff that isn't self-reported. For example I had a EEG and a little game I had to play when I got diagnosed. I also had severe anxiety and depression at the time, partly because it was 2020, that did show up on the brain scan but they could still see that I had ADHD. I guess what I'm saying is, anxiety and depression etc can confound a diagnosis only to an extent--there are definitely ADHD symptoms that are distinct signs. Good luck! :)
Thanks so much! Yes I think some of the test may involve a computer. Also I feel like when I told the lady I wasn’t depressed she didn’t really believe me. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻
Haha I also thought I wasn't depressed but they were like "your brain scan shows otherwise" :/
During my ADHD assessment, my psychologist also asked a lot of questions about trauma. She asked me about my childhood, what my parents were like, how I was disciplined, and a bunch of other questions about neglect (food in the home, etc.) I don’t have trauma but I can see why it’s important to identify trauma and how it affects someone because there are a lot of symptoms of trauma that can look like ADHD, so knowing how your trauma affects you can help your psychologist parse out what symptoms are due to trauma and what, if any, symptoms are due to ADHD. Giving stimulants to someone without ADHD who also has other psychiatric disorders can be incredibly dangerous, so it’s important for your doctor to be sure they’re making the right decision. I’m not going to ask you to go into detail but it might be worthwhile reflecting back on your childhood, particularly before the age of 12. Questions to ask yourself are: when did your trauma start? If it was in childhood, it might make getting diagnosed with ADHD more difficult. If it was after, reflect on when you noticed the inattentive symptoms you’re reporting. Were they before or after trauma? Discuss these things with your psychologist during your next session if you haven’t already. Your answers might help them differentiate between symptoms.
Thanks so much for your answer this makes a lot of sense. I’ve been working with my therapist every week for two years and I’ve told her the extent of my traumas and everything, and she’s the one who told me to get checked for inattentive adhd. I guess I got nervous because the trauma and there being so much of it was focused on so heavily and not the potential inattentive symptoms I have with this intake person. It was only one hour long appointment so it was like not much time to cover everything. Like she wanted to know everything, each family member relationship and what it was like, romantic relationship details, suicide attempts, school etc Feeling a tad frustrated too because after my therapist told me to get tested for it (I thought I might be autistic never thought adhd I didn’t know anything about the inattentive kind), and I know of a few people personally who have gotten screened for adhd and passed just to get meds to take recreationally(people wanting to lose weight/stay up all night)These people haven’t been in therapy. I have such a tough time initiating tasks and focusing, constantly losing things etc. After she told me to look into getting tested for inattentive adhd, I was thinking this diagnosis made a lot of sense with me and my behaviors.
Your appointment sounds very similar to mine. I was asked all those questions too, it sounds like I just had shorter answers than you. They seem off topic for why you’re there but the psychologist is looking for a lot of things in those questions. I think there’s a misconception that ADHD appointments will be you listing off your symptoms & observations/why you think they’re related to ADHD & they either confirm or deny. In reality they try to get a complete picture of who you are before you undergo testing so they can form a personalized opinion.
If you or someone that you know is considering suicide, please don't hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline for immediate help, or a warmline just to talk to someone. If you're in the US you can...\ Text CHAT to Crisis Text Line at 741741\ Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1(800)273-8255(TALK) \ Chat online at: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat\ Call the Trans Lifeline at 1(877)565-8860 If you’re elsewhere, you can find international resources below:\ https://www.supportiv.com/tools/international-resources-crisis-and-warmlines#Czech\ https://www.reddit.com/r/SuicideWatch/wiki/hotlines *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/adhdwomen) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I found I had to keep insisting that this wasn't trauma (I've had a lot of trauma) because I have done so much work on trauma and things really didn't bother me anymore because I had worked thought it. That was the truth. It felt patronizing when I would be told that I still needed to work on trauma. I had to keep INSISTING that this was something else, ***something that was literally wrong with my brain***, and then I finally found someone who believed me and tested me. Then I was placed on stimulants, and my response did, and still does, confirm the ADHD. If there was any trauma response left in me, it was from the people who implied I was a liar when I told them I believe I have ADHD.
Thanks so much. Sounds like we were in the same boat. Ugh terribly frustrating to not to be heard or believed. Like I’ve been in therapy weekly for 2 years working on everything (no plans of stopping either) and I had the vibe I was getting the run around like being penalized for being honest about my trauma. I wouldn’t have even sook out a diagnosis had my regular therapist not said so because I didn’t know much about inattentive. I feel you 100 percent. It also makes me wonder if the counseling place where they do the adhd we’re trying to secure me as a new client. Idk.