> [...] I’ve been reading up on ADHD. It seems to fit so many issues I have [...] If you're feeling like that I strongly recommend that you consider consulting

> [...] I’ve been reading up on ADHD. It seems to fit so many issues I have [...] If you're feeling like that I strongly recommend that you consider consulting a competent medical professional with experience diagnosing ADHD/ADD and undergo an evaluation. While your concerns around pharmaceutical-based approaches to assisting people to live with the affects of executive function related disorders (such as ADHD/ADD) are understandable, such decisions are a step beyond where you currently are. ADHD/ADD is known as a disorder where (unlike most) simply having a diagnosis can have a significant positive impact on a person's ability to deal with it. This is in part because a diagnosis provides a new lens/perspective through which to view one's life and because the negative secondary effects (e.g. shame, guilt, depression, interpersonal & employment difficulties) of living with un-diagnosed ADHD/ADD have so much impact. My understanding is that a combination of medication & therapy has been shown to be the most effective tool in helping most people live with the effects of ADHD/ADD but medication is by no means the only option--and there are some non-stimulant options also. But with regard to "stimulants", the word itself & people's understanding of how they work leads to a lot of moralizing, misinformation & misunderstanding. To some degree the effect of a "stimulant medication" is similar to that of water to a house plant: if the plant has insufficient moisture in the surrounding soil then "stimulating" it with additional water from a watering can brings it up to a level of moisture required for a fulfilling life--but if the plant already has sufficient moisture then adding additional water may cause negative effects. But being "underwatered" is not a positive state of affairs. If you would like to read further about ADHD/ADD (particularly the under-diagnosed "Primary Inattentive" subtype) I recommend considering "Driven to Distraction (Revised/Second Edition): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder" by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. One of the aspects I particularly appreciate is how much emphasis they put on the importance of a precise & accurate diagnosis as a starting point--e.g. they spend a chapter each on "things that are misdiagnosed as ADHD/ADD but are actually something else" & "things that are misdiagnosed as not ADHD/ADD but are in fact ADHD/ADD". Good luck! Edit: Oh, yeah, two other things: * "Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria" is a common but less discussed aspect of ADHD/ADD. * If comics are more your style, you might find a read of ADHD Alien enlightening: http://adhd-alien.com/ http://adhd-alien.com/