Hi Deb,

I just read your reaction to Diamond’s article. A few days ago I came across this article and found myself nodding in agreement to most of the points being said.

In College I was insanely disorganized. My room constantly looked like “a bomb hit it” an expression my Mom always uses haha. To the point where on numerous occasions when we had room inspections they told me it was an actual fire hazard. But I couldn’t keep it clean. And I was on the go. Many times I would wake up at 4am/5am and go workout or do laundry or Accounting homework. But I’ve never really had problems staying on top of my school work. I never considered myself a procrastinator but considering all of the creative projects that I constantly am incubating it makes sense.

(73 medium articles that I am working on), and numerous song and book ideas that I am still trying to figure out how to organize. It’s a constant work in progress

The work environment I was in was particularly stressful. Not only was the work complex but I found it difficult to focus in rooms full of people talking back and forth and the environment definitely was not conducive to my work. I got into the office every day at 815 and there were days where I couldn’t focus on doing a simple task and many other days where I could work from 8am to 4pm and forget to eat lunch. I’ve always been a pretty good student but I have a really tough time shutting my brain off. I am constantly reading, or doing research (on anything and everything, from quantum physics to human anatomy) and would take out books (unrelated to my course of study) in the middle of finals week. When I studied for the CPA exam my mind was constantly racing and it was really stressful to the point if I didn’t meditate for an hour everyday my brain felt like it was going to explode.

Recently I visited my elementary and middle school and saw a bunch of my old teachers — I got a sense that something was going on with me and hoped that old teachers could give me more insight. I thought going back there would help me get a sense of who I am. This being at a time where I was at a crossroads in my career and trying to figure out what worked for me. I’ve never been evaluated for ADHD, but your words are really hitting home. And the more research I am doing the more I’m able to connect the dots on things I’ve been experiencing. What struck me about my visit to my elementary school/middle school was one of my Music teachers who I met with told me about this box of pencils that she keeps and how I NEVER had a pen or pencil in her class. I did not only have her for one year, but multiple years. Me not having a pen or pencil happened so often that she got a pencil box and kept one in her class at all times. She still has the box to this day.

More so I’m trying to figure out how to make my career choice/work environment work with me. These things have been negatively effecting my work

Any recommendations for what I should do next/how I can manage myself while waiting to get in touch with my healthcare provider to be evaluated? Any help you can offer is much appreciated!