Posted by Noa on May 21, 2001, at 11:14:52
In reply to Re: Depression/Ritalin question? and advice, posted by Mr.Scott on May 20, 2001, at 23:08:28
> Are you taking the stimulants for depression or ADHD?
>
For depression, but it helps with symptoms that could be construed as ADD (my pdoc has wondered...). I have some history of organizational problems and distractibility, not finishing things, having difficulty knowing when to focus on the big picture and when on the details and switching back and forth as needed, etc. but whether these are from the depression/anxiety or do I really have ADD is pretty much going to remain an unanswered question for the forseeable future, because it would be so hard at this point to tease out what is what (maybe sometime in the future, the advances in imaging technology will allow for diagnostic distinctions).I am also learning to adapt around my distractibility. For example, I tend to have sensitive hearing and am easily distracted by noises and voices talking when I am trying to work. I am learning to explain to people how I process information best and to make accommodations for myself, like closing my door when I am writing--although then I have to also let people know why I have the door closed so much, etc. I also tend to tell people to email me detailed information instead of trying to tell it to me on the fly, because a) I might not remember it well enough, or b) if I try to take notes as they speak, I might not really process it well. The Adderall helps me feel calmer and more focused, but doesn't really change the distractibility at all. Perhaps you could say it helps me deal with it more calmly. But I think it does help me approach tasks better without getting overwhelmed. I still have a hard time organizing how I am going to tackle complex tasks--what do I do first, what is most important, etc.--but I think the Adderall helps me not feel overwhelmed so I am a little better at it. I still need to do a lot of learning about how to deal with this organizational problem, tho. Now that I have figured out that I have a cognitive problem with not being able to move flexibly from big picture to details and vice versa, I still have to figure out what can help that. I am working with a coworker on time management issues. We both have similar problems with time management, so we are getting together weekly to support each other in learning to do time management better. Can't say that I see much progress yet, but we just started last month.
poster:Noa
thread:63483
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010515/msgs/63812.html