Traditional ADHD symptoms don't describe me at all. Thoughts?
Quick FYI background: I'm a woman in my early 30s. I was diagnosed as a teen. I was struggling to focus on homework, which earned me the diagnosis. I took meds, which helped immensely. But I didn't like their side effects and I'm no longer in school and have graduated from college, so I am currently unmedicated.
I guess I'm primarily the inattentive type, but I feel like that word doesn't describe me well at all. My main symptom that has been interfering with my life has been the inability to switch tasks quickly. I have always been this way, since Kindergarten. I am engrossed in one thing and cannot put it down. I spend hours and hours on one task. Once I'm in the mode of doing something, I want to complete it before starting the next thing.
I hate interruptions. I hate being expected to drop what I'm doing and do something else unless that thing is very urgent. I'm focused, extremely focused. Let me stay there and get this done, or else starting back up again may never happen or will be very difficult.
Do I lose my keys? No. Do I lose important items? No. Am I impulsive? No, I'm actually too slow to make decisions. Do I miss important details? No, actually I catch details most people miss while not noticing what everyone else sees. Do I struggle to complete something I've set my mind to? No. Am I late for work? Pretty much never. All those ADHD symptoms, I simply don't have or have developed mechanisms to prevent them.
But if my bf asks me to do something and I'm engrossed in another thing, I'll probably forget what he told me even if I acknowledged what he said. Or I'll take forever to do it because I'm in the middle of something. Or he'll have to repeat himself several times. Needless to say, he isn't happy about this and it's harming our relationship.
But when I read books about ADHD, they don't talk about this much. They mainly focus on the symptoms that don't describe me at all. I'm questioning my diagnosis.
Anyone else relate?