1. If your ADHD hasn't made your life (at least at moments) a living hell, it's probably not something that needs to be addressed very urgently.
2. If you don't think your ADHD is a problem but a therapist thinks it might be, well... That's an ADHD thing, and it might help to entertain the idea and openly explore it with therapy and loved ones.
ADHD, whatever it really is, has made my life very difficult at times. I won't describe why because I don't think our situations and symptoms would align well enough for it to be relevant. I will say though that I managed to make it to 30 as a reasonably introspective, thoughtful, and open person without really cluing in to the fact that I had some severe problems stemming from ADHD. I know that seems contradictory, but the trouble with ADHD is that it's something of a self defeating condition. Some of your internal senses are finely tuned while others are extremely dull, and they often work against each other to suppress and hide each other. It's dangerously compounding. The people around you may never notice this, too - this only works to exacerbate your blind spots in terms of self awareness. It's often true that only the people closest to us, like a spouse or other immediate family, will ever become attuned to our issues. I can say confidently even now that my closest friends had no idea I had ADHD, and some even insisted my diagnosis was an error. I had a good job, I was disciplined, I was a good parent. I used to believe those things too, haha.
All that is to say that if you do have ADHD and think it's fine, well... It might actually be awful for those around you, and that's worth inspecting. However, if it is benign, just let it be.
Others quickly jumped to saying meds changed their life. They changed my perspective of what my life could be, which was useful. I didn't find them useful beyond that. I disliked the side effects, and I found the soft, fleeting rewiring to feel like a mental flip-flopping that made it difficult to pin down which thoughts and actions where "real" or "generated" by drugs. Just as taking LSD in the pursuit of opening your mind leads to unearned wisdom, I felt as though amphetamines lead to an unearned, poorly understood, unsustainable source of focus and executive function.
At any rate, if you're here asking us, there must be some salience in your mind that's pushing you to explore the possibility. I say yes, explore it. But do it openly with a critical mind. Don't assume this ends in a prescription. Consider it self work which could benefit you and your loved ones. Most importantly, don't assume this is a bad thing. ADHD is another permutation of human genetics and environment. It's not an innate disability or disease. You're the same person with or without the diagnosis, and the ultimate goal is to be the best you can be regardless of which mind or body you inherited.
1. If your ADHD hasn't made your life (at least at moments) a living hell, it's probably not something that needs to be addressed very urgently.
2. If you don't think your ADHD is a problem but a therapist thinks it might be, well... That's an ADHD thing, and it might help to entertain the idea and openly explore it with therapy and loved ones.
ADHD, whatever it really is, has made my life very difficult at times. I won't describe why because I don't think our situations and symptoms would align well enough for it to be relevant. I will say though that I managed to make it to 30 as a reasonably introspective, thoughtful, and open person without really cluing in to the fact that I had some severe problems stemming from ADHD. I know that seems contradictory, but the trouble with ADHD is that it's something of a self defeating condition. Some of your internal senses are finely tuned while others are extremely dull, and they often work against each other to suppress and hide each other. It's dangerously compounding. The people around you may never notice this, too - this only works to exacerbate your blind spots in terms of self awareness. It's often true that only the people closest to us, like a spouse or other immediate family, will ever become attuned to our issues. I can say confidently even now that my closest friends had no idea I had ADHD, and some even insisted my diagnosis was an error. I had a good job, I was disciplined, I was a good parent. I used to believe those things too, haha.
All that is to say that if you do have ADHD and think it's fine, well... It might actually be awful for those around you, and that's worth inspecting. However, if it is benign, just let it be.
Others quickly jumped to saying meds changed their life. They changed my perspective of what my life could be, which was useful. I didn't find them useful beyond that. I disliked the side effects, and I found the soft, fleeting rewiring to feel like a mental flip-flopping that made it difficult to pin down which thoughts and actions where "real" or "generated" by drugs. Just as taking LSD in the pursuit of opening your mind leads to unearned wisdom, I felt as though amphetamines lead to an unearned, poorly understood, unsustainable source of focus and executive function.
At any rate, if you're here asking us, there must be some salience in your mind that's pushing you to explore the possibility. I say yes, explore it. But do it openly with a critical mind. Don't assume this ends in a prescription. Consider it self work which could benefit you and your loved ones. Most importantly, don't assume this is a bad thing. ADHD is another permutation of human genetics and environment. It's not an innate disability or disease. You're the same person with or without the diagnosis, and the ultimate goal is to be the best you can be regardless of which mind or body you inherited.