ADHD self assessment

Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Screener from the World Health Organization. You can use a self-screening questionnaire created by the World Health Organization to see if you have adult ADHD. The Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Screener will assist you in recognizing adult ADHD signs and symptoms.

Chemically and physiologically, the ADHD brain varies from the non-ADHD brain. Here are a few examples of how people with ADHD describe their condition:

"It's like having the Library of Congress in my skull, except without the card catalog."

"It's like driving in the rain with malfunctioning wipers." There are moments of clarity mixed in with a lot of fog."

"It's like having 59 televisions on at the same time in my head." 58 of them are turned off by medications."

"It's like having a racing car brain on a bicycle."

The Real World Experience

The intensity, lack of hierarchy, and overpowering nature of dealing with ADHD are captured in these statements. But what's it like to have that brain 24 hours a day, seven days a week? 'Richard' describes his experience as follows:

"When people meet me, they describe me as clever, nice, humorous, attractive, kind, and normal. I say this because it is because of these characteristics that diagnosing ADHD has been so challenging. I can perform a lot of things and have certain skills in areas like creativity and others. I fall apart at the seams when I'm required to execute specific, tedious, repetitive tasks.

Loud noises, clutter, paying bills, and home duties can also drive me insane. I want to flee and hide from the onslaught of sensory overload. Because everyone's experience with ADHD is different, what may be true for one person may not be true for another. I'd want to share some of my own experiences with you.

Imagine being in a room full of people and being informed that these people need to provide you certain information in order for you to do something significant. You're also warned that some of the information is crucial, and that you must remember it, as well as each person's name. You're also instructed that you need to keep track of each person's movements as they move about the room. You try to remember each person's information as they deliver it and track their movement as they walk away. More people approach you with their information as you strive to memorize the information and monitor the person's movements.

The new information begins to generate a faint buzz in your head as you try to focus on the first people. The hum becomes increasingly louder until it is impossible to hear what others are saying. You suddenly realize that you are likely missing some crucial information, and you strive to break through the buzz to gather it. You've now lost track of the first person and are beginning to feel panicked.

You begin seeking for the first persons to recollect their knowledge, but you are unable to do so because you are still collecting information from the others. Every sliver of information that pierces the hum now has the same weight. It's impossible to tell what's most significant. You try to start afresh, but you've already forgotten a lot of what you've learned thus far. It's a losing battle, and you eventually give up and blame yourself for your failure.