A lot of what you wrote hit home; I feel like I could have wrote that post myself. So, having ADHD myself, I gotta be that guy who asks the patently absurd but obvious question – have you ever been tested/diagnosed for adult ADHD? And in no way am I asking rhetorically.
You see, ADHD - or more specifically, ADHD/PI [1] - is commonly overlooked, with only 10% formally diagnosed [2]. ADHD/PI is sorta special because you're not the kid shouting out in class or having problems sitting still. To the average person, you'd just be suffering from depression or lack of sleep, etc. Cycles of started projects with nothing to show for is definitely a symptom of ADHD/PI, but of course, not a formal diagnosis.
Imposter's Syndrome [3] is something I think most ADHD/PI suffers can sympathize with. When we look at others execute tasks, we can say, "Ya, I could do that. I understand how that works." Execution is a whole other matter. Programming/Design is such an attractive gamut for someone with ADHD/PI because there is always something new to learn, or a better way of doing it, but the incredible need to execute can only be seen far, far away.
ADHD/PI doesn't represent a huge percentage of the population in general. But in our circles, I believe the percentage to be quite high. Anecdotally, 1/3 in the arts/marketing/web have strongly associated symptoms of ADHD/PI. Let me be clear: I am not suggesting that as much as 1/3 of people working in these fields have ADHD or ADHD/PI. Just that, in a sea of introverted people - how many are actually suffering with attention deficits and not knowing?
My over-arching point here is - it's important to get diagnosed. Even if you choose not to take prescription medication to treat it, at least you'll have awareness. And with that, you can identify with yourself a lot better.
EDIT: ADHD/PI is so different from what people would consider traditional ADHD symptoms that it has been suggested it should be considered a completely separate condition [4].
You see, ADHD - or more specifically, ADHD/PI [1] - is commonly overlooked, with only 10% formally diagnosed [2]. ADHD/PI is sorta special because you're not the kid shouting out in class or having problems sitting still. To the average person, you'd just be suffering from depression or lack of sleep, etc. Cycles of started projects with nothing to show for is definitely a symptom of ADHD/PI, but of course, not a formal diagnosis.
Imposter's Syndrome [3] is something I think most ADHD/PI suffers can sympathize with. When we look at others execute tasks, we can say, "Ya, I could do that. I understand how that works." Execution is a whole other matter. Programming/Design is such an attractive gamut for someone with ADHD/PI because there is always something new to learn, or a better way of doing it, but the incredible need to execute can only be seen far, far away.
ADHD/PI doesn't represent a huge percentage of the population in general. But in our circles, I believe the percentage to be quite high. Anecdotally, 1/3 in the arts/marketing/web have strongly associated symptoms of ADHD/PI. Let me be clear: I am not suggesting that as much as 1/3 of people working in these fields have ADHD or ADHD/PI. Just that, in a sea of introverted people - how many are actually suffering with attention deficits and not knowing?
My over-arching point here is - it's important to get diagnosed. Even if you choose not to take prescription medication to treat it, at least you'll have awareness. And with that, you can identify with yourself a lot better.
EDIT: ADHD/PI is so different from what people would consider traditional ADHD symptoms that it has been suggested it should be considered a completely separate condition [4].
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADHD_predominantly_inattentive
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_attention_deficit_hyperac...
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome
[4] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1093/clipsy.8.4.489/ab...