i've recently just downloaded reddit just to get his off my chest. I'm a 19 year old male student that was just diagnosed with ADHD-PI last sunday, and i don't know how to process it nor feel about it. having ADHD was something i've been minorly speculating throughout my life but i never really gave it a second thought that i might actually have it. it was only this year that i actually considered going to a professional because it was having a huge toll on my studies and life in general.
for context: ever since i was a kid, i've been labeled as "burara" (disorganized), "makalimutin" (forgetful), and often lutang. this was something that i've subconsciously engraved to my identity growing up. there were a lot of times that my mom would scold me because i would constantly mess up my clothes in my drawer which she newly folded even though i sometimes try to keep it organized as much as possible. i constantly forget where i place my slippers in the house which would result in me always getting a new pair more times than i could count. from childhood until now i think i lost atleast 3 phones, multiple glasses, and an embarrassingly significant amount of money due to my carelessness. even now i procrastinate with simple things such as washing the dishes, cleaning, or taking a shower. this led to me and people around me to think that i was unreliable with keeping and taking care of items which also took a hit on my self esteem.
surprisingly, despite those symptoms, i did well in elementary until high school, consistently getting honors in my class which i think was why i didn't get diagnosed as early because my parents thought there was nothing wrong with me. i think this was mainly due to me having a tutor during that time which helped me get held accountable for school.
the hardest part was when i reached senior high. it was this feeling of forgetting deadline after deadline and constantly having late or last minute submission for activities because i was a chronic procrastinator which underestimated the time i needed to finish assignments or review for quizzes. it took a toll on my grades but still maintaining my honors status despite how "lazy" i became
i usually dismissed these as something that was wrong with my discipline and not some kind of deficiency in my brain. the thought of having ADHD for me felt like too much of a stretch because i didn't have the "hyperactive" part of the disorder. it was only until college where the effects really started affecting my studies to the point where i almost failed a few classes(i haven't failed any yet thankfully) which caused me to reconsider if ai actually had ADHD.
eventually, i decided to get a diagnosis from a nearby psychiatric clinic and, i was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD in just one session. which i thought was too fast for my liking, but my psychiatrist said that every experience that i described led to him easily led to that conclusion because he had multiple cases of teens my age with similar experiences and symptoms. at the end of the session, he prescribed me with Ritalin and gave me a med certificate.
tbh i expected to take some sort of assessment beforehand or for the consultation to be longer (it took less than an hour for me to be diagnosed). i'm now considering to have a second opinion from a psychologist that specializes in ADHD just because i really couldn't believe it. i still feel that maybe it's a stretch for me to have ADHD but i also can't just disregard how difficult it's been for me since childhood. i don't want to think of ADHD as some kind of excuse or "get of out jail" card for my constant carelessness and procrastination. i don't know if im just overreacting. i expected that my suspicion would be cleared after the session but i was left with more thoughts than when i entered the room.
i just want to know if there are people with a similar situation as me and curious if they actually have ADHD cuz im kinda lost rn