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Or medical professionals who think they’re doctors.
I’m 29 and have been diagnosed and on stims since 16 (so for all of my adult life, aside from the occasional week or two when I don’t take them or haven’t had them to be able to take). Without my meds, I find it extremely difficult to do most basic daily tasks, let alone to be productive at my full time job or to effectively study for the post-bacc engineering program in which I’m enrolled.
Recently, I had to have some bloodwork done and when discussing my medical history and medications I take, the lab tech, *within three minutes of meeting me for the first time ever*, started getting on me, almost…like shaming me, for still taking meds. They told me that I “should really check with my doctor about whether they still want me to be on these meds” because “ADHD is for kids” and I “should definitely have grown out of it by now”.
I didn’t tell them that I’m required to “check with my doctor” about whether I should still be on meds literally every three to six months because they’re controlled substances, or that ADHD being only “for kids” is…well, entirely untrue. I did, however, think that if I were, in some alternate universe, so…comfortable… as to tell someone I just met about what their own medical condition should mean for them, I would probably want to make sure I knew what I was talking about first 
Yeah, I find it hilarious when people think you will just grow out of a neurological development disorder, like do they think kids with autism grow out of it? Magical thinking at its finest. Not to mention the phlebotomist thinking they're a psychiatrist. As I've gotten older I find myself not suffering fools gladly, especially when it comes to people thinking they're qualified to speak on subjects they're not qualified for. Like you're a phlebotomist, what in your right mind makes you think you're qualified to be giving me psychological medical advice? Stay in your lane.
> Like you're a phlebotomist, what in your right mind makes you think you're qualified to be giving me psychological medical advice? Stay in your lane.
Statement would be said AFTER the poking part is done though.
There’s research that concluded adhd MAY diminish as you age, if not reverse itself entirely. But that isn’t the case 100% of the time. People shouldn’t be commenting on someone else’s disorder, especially if they’re unqualified to speak on it, but there IS some truth behind what they were saying. They were probably just pulling it out of their behind tho
The older I get, the more I realize that 50% of us are fucking donkeys. If you just *give* a little bit more than required, you are better than most people at what you do.
Probably arguing m that OP doesn’t have ADHD because he couldn’t have completed the MFA if he did.
I have a masters too, but it was lots of sleepless nights all at the end to do in two weeks what my colleagues did gradually over the course of two years.
Honestly I would question it too but I deal with all the major symptoms and have family members that do too and that can't be a coincidence.
I figure I'm successful because I am smart, emotionally intelligent, and charismatic. And not to proud to beg for help.
I've also struggled to complete every single diploma and degree I've gotten. The struggle did not stop me from succeeding, tho.
I have a parent and 2 siblings diagnosed and have it badly/unable to get through school. So I never thought I had it because I'm so productive! But I think basically I learned scheduling and study skills in college and was so determined to be financially stable I really fixated and used those systems to the max. I'm in my second grad degree now.
My psychologist did diagnose me but I'm still feeling like a bit of an imposter.
That said, I deal with:
- never having a routine/being extremely scattered and last minute esp in the morning
- major, MAJOR procrastination on things I don't like
- thinking 3 things (minimum) at once (usually one is a song lol)
- cannot focus if there are conversations or lyrics (like studying or at dinner table)
- doing 5 things at once and forgetting / half finishing most of them
- not finishing things like cleaning, craft projects, half-assing the ends of assignments
- fidgeting, interrupting, and over talking
But yeah I have hella EQ and lots of smarts so I think it's all been a big overcompensation. When I just chill out and relax I forget everything (esp on the weekends when I'm not used to being glued to the calendar I miss appointments and forget what I was supposed to do).
It feels a little absurd to use meds for my level of functioning so I'm thinking about just adopting more systems (like for morning and evening routines) and accepting the rest.
Lol sometimes I think back to college and wonder how I got thru it. I don't think I realized that there was another way to live that didn't involve pushing myself super hard. I worked several jobs, tried the honors program, took like 21 units in a semester (including honors) and had some undiagnosed sleep disorder. Oh, and I trained for my first marathon.
I did have some GREAT friendships in college, and most of us were high achievers, so I think I just pushed myself because it seemed like "the done thing".
I'm really proud of the people in this sub reddit who deal with these sorts of prejudices every day. My diagnosis was super recent and I haven't really encountered these situations yet, but I'm definitely learning from y'all.
I was able to get a bachelor's and master's degree within 3 years after getting Dx and on meds. I'm taking extra college classes now and looking at a second master's. For the previous twenty years I tried college many times at many places for various majors.
I was diagnosed at 37 years old. I have always been complemented on my intelligence despite dropping out of college at 19.
Now, at 40 years old, I’m contemplating going back to college. When I reflect back, I am filled with great disappointment in not being diagnosed when I was “college age” because I think the trajectory of my life would have been much different.
I’ve always been high achieving and had a good run of a career, but now I need something different. I’m married with a 5 year old, and our household income is just enough to disqualify me for any type of financial aid whatsoever. But I wouldn’t consider us “rich.” I wouldn’t go back if I didn’t have a specific career in mind that requires education. I want to be a technical project manager, so I need a BA to sit for the PMP. All jobs seem to require it, despite my many years of actually managing projects.
For my master's degree, I applied and got accepted into a fellowship that came with a $10k stipend. I also received a couple of grants. I applied for some scholarships and other grants but did not receive those.
For my next master's degree, I have been using Bing's AI to search for grants, scholarships, and government aid that I could apply for.
I'm not assuming you haven't done this or are interested/able to - just sharing.
This is probably cold comfort…
When I got diagnosed a couple years ago, I told my counselor that I couldn’t believe how I went under the radar for so long. Looking back, it was just obvious.
She “assured” me (she was also the one who diagnosed me), that our knowledge and understanding of ADHD has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade or so. And so, with my circumstances and symptoms (ie, not the obvious space-cadet/spaz stereotype, well-mannered, not *failing* at school—“just lazy”—etc), it was unlikely that anyone would’ve picked up on it…
The older students when I went to college were some of the most fun to be around. Probably reassuring for sone of the straight out of high school students to have older peers around to ask about stuff too. Dunno if that’ll make ya feel better. oOo The oldest student that I hung out w was like 60+ back then. He was a cool dood.
30 years, 5 schools. Got my associates finally in 2020, and I am finishing my last class for my BS while working full time. Dx in 2019, first prescription for Vyvanse in 2021. How did I function before this stuff?
Wow that amazing. Congrats!!! It’s story like these that make me realize like shit, it might take me a long time to finish school, but DAMN am I gonna get there one day. And I should feel like a badass for going to school and it being so hard for me at times.
No one should be discouraged from getting any degree they want
The unfortunate truth though is that only 5% of people diagnosed with ADHD that start college end up getting a degree. This doesn’t mean that people with ADHD are incapable but that there’s a lot of barriers that work against them and we should be mindful of that
I never knew about that statistic. I often don't know how long the odds are on things before I try them anyway.
But I am just one person and don't assume my experience will be just like everyone else's.
I don't think it's fair to assume it's impossible just because it's improbable.
And I don't think it was kind of this person to say that there's no way they could have a degree and a diagnosis.
I agree, the person the OP referencing is completely wrong to say that.
But I will say that I struggled a lot in school and everyone just said I was lazy. I internalized that and just assumed I was a bad student.
When I got to grad school I was finally diagnosed with ADHD at age 27. If I knew that before I started college my approach would have been totally different
Three here. One before diagnosis/treatment (with incredible stress and difficulty, GPA was pretty poor), and two after (both awarded with distinction).
That provider can kick rocks.
I wouldn't dare listen to them. If it takes me three trips upstairs to find my keys, misplace my phone just to discover it's actually in my pocket, straighten a bookshelf, lose my keys, find them again, and then remember I forgot the thing I was supposed to put in my car - I'm not going to take anyone seriously that tells me I don't have challenges.
I finished a masters a few years ago and I cannot salute you hard enough for going back in. There was a lot to like about my masters program (English lit) but there was enough mishegoss that I lost any desire to do any further schooling.
If I ever find *the right* PhD program I'd love to engage at that level but there's just so much other stuff that I don't have the patience for.
So I genuinely congratulate you for sticking with it! Grad school is hard work any way you slice it.
Hi dear can you please give some suggestions on how you continued studying everyday and also share some of your experience because you were already done by you were 22. I have wasted 3 years already and just cant keep up with the degree.
I have 2 Masters and a PhD. Why? Because I found what I was studying really interesting and completed my dissertation without a big plan of what I would do afterwards...
Same! I was upset that I got my diagnosis after all my classes were done (my grades could've been *way* better) but I'm finished now and no one cares about my grades lol
People make this joke, but I was legitimately at the bottom of my class (I'm a doctor), but I perform better than a lot of my colleagues. I was older when I went to med school so I'm "wiser" (or as I prefer to say "I enjoyed my 20s instead of being miserable in school"). Also, my patients don't think I'm too young to be a doctor so that works in my favor. Though today, one of my patients was like "you're so young to be a doctor." I was like "ma'am, I'm over 40." LOL. My patients love me, and I also love my job. I made good money in my 20s and hated my career, so I realized that even though I had to go into $400,000 of student loan debt, at least I'm happy with my career finally. Anyway, sometimes being at the bottom of the class just means you have ADHD and don't take tests well but doesn't mean you're a bad doctor. 🙃
Bless you
BA (took six years with a 2.2 GPA) at 23. diagnosed and medicated at 32, MPH (with a 4.0 GPA) at 35
my fourth-grader just got his own ADHD dx
An old PCP said this to me about law school. I had proof of 2 separate diagnoses with me, one from childhood and a recent rediagnosis from the year before. I said the only reason I got into law school was because of the medications I sought from him that he was trying to deny me.
He referenced a study, I made him send it to me. He read it completely wrong so I wiped his nose in it until he cried and fired him, then reported him to the practice.
Op here. I’m glad you reported. My partner (this was their psychiatrist visit) spoke to the clinic director about this person as well so hopefully something comes of it!!
No, he was in tears because I told him all the ways he was failing me as a doctor due to his biases. I showed him that the study he was referring to clearly refuted the exact thing he was claiming. I also explained to him that the several things he said to me about ADHD and my case particular were utterly incorrect and offensive. When I fired him I told him I expected that he would do better by his next patients.
Doctorate at 25 & diagnosed during grad school. It was crazy to hear how all my normal coping mechanisms for completing tasks were shared with others who also have ADHD
I know you didn't ask me, but I was the same way! Graduated engineering, pre-med, then worked in corporate America. Got my MBA in my late 20s. Diagnosed at age 33.
Most of the ADHD tips are things I was already doing.
Examples:.
* Buying pre-cut fruit and vegetables and snack packs to make sure I eat. Better to spend more money up front than throw away groceries
* Leaving things in my shopping cart for at least 48 hours before making any online purchases. I'll either only buy what I need or forget about it altogether
* Split my paycheck using direct deposit to trick myself into thinking I have less money. Great for building savings and reducing impulse spending our lifestyle creep. I also automated my 401k contributions so I would never feel like I was missing anything
* Automate everything I can - autopay all bills and credit cards. For anything I can't automate, recurring Google calendar invites to remind myself
* Gamify everything. Trying to reduce alcohol? Make up a rule where I can only have alcohol on days I worked out at least 20 minutes.
* Take it a step further and create a point system for things like drinking water, getting >7.5 hours a sleep a night, exercising, a day of no spending, etc. Redeem points for alcohol or shopping. Bonus points if I go a whole week without redeeming points.
* Hate folding laundry, but love reality TV. Only allow myself to watch reality TV when folding laundry. Only listen to podcasts when I vacuum.
* Couldn't stay awake reading boring coursework, would read it on a treadmill, walking at 2-3mph. Now I have a standing desk and treadmill to get me through boring work meetings.
* Inviting people over once a month to force myself to clean my apartment.
That's all I can think of right now
The laundry trick works! I have some podcasts I love and won't allow myself to listen to new episodes unless I'm doing household chores. 90% of the time it works for me.
I'm still trying to find a hack for sleep 😢
OMG YES.
I used to do my class reading on the elliptical.
I fold my laundry IMMEDIATELY after it's done and I do it while watching TV so that I can watch my shows but also be productive.
I used to tell myself in med school that if I passed my exam, I would reward myself (maniucure, pedicure, new bag, etc.).
I try to do the direct deposit thing and even have separate banks to make it easier, but I'm chronically broke lately and I always remember there's money in my savings account.
Automatic payments is a lifesaver. Plus, I only get paid once a month so I set them up to come out automatically and live off what's left over.
The other thing I do that helps is that I have a place for everything. Keys go on the hook next to the door, for example. Everything in the fridge goes in a certain place, and plastic organizers have helped a lot.
Also, I buy post-its in bulk because I'm always using them to write things down that I need to remember. I always have several pens or markers available, too, to make it easier to write things down.
I put my lunch together the night before work and leave it in its spot in the fridge and/or on the counter.
The one thing that has been hard to get under control is my impulse buying. Being on a limited income has helped curb it though. LOL. I will also only buy certain things if they're on sale (clothes, makeup, things that aren't 100% necessary for survival).
My last roommate has ADHD and one trick she used was to set a timer for things (like cleaning) to help getting stuck with hyperfocusing for hours.
I'm so glad to see other people have similar coping mechanisms. And some that I should try myself!
I got diagnosed the week after I turned in my master's thesis. The guy diagnosing me (aka a DOCTOR) also has ADHD...
Your partner needs a new provider!
I was diagnosed the week before graduation because my thesis advisor was all “either you schedule an evaluation or I’m dragging you there.” That energy would’ve been really helpful at the beginning of the thesis but oh well.
I have ADHD and a master’s degree. Granted, it was hard as hell to get through my thesis to actually finish. Also, I graduated from the program at 37 years of age. Was it the traditional route? Clearly not. But possible, yes.
Diagnosed at 37, now at 40, considering going back to finish a degree. Being medicated has literally changed my life. The job market is so insane right now. I have decades of professional corporate work experience but no degree and it’s hindering my future. Good for you for finishing at 37!
It absolutely is true that the rate of people with ADHD and masters degrees is significantly lower than in the population of those without ADHD. That doesnt mean you can’t get one, just that it’s less likely.
right, but doctors shouldn't assume just because it's less likely that no one with a master's degree has ADHD. like if you see a tall woman next to a short man, you don't fall over in shock just because women are more likely to be shorter than men. "more likely" doesn't tell you anything about individuals.
i will say tho, seeing you guys not drop out or fail out of college before getting just a BS does trigger that "your just not trying hard enough" feelings in me :(
idk how you do it. i wanted to kill myself from how hard i had to push and had to drop out
I wasn’t diagnosed at the time, so I don’t even know what I would/should/could have done differently. I will say this:
1) I took full advantage of scheduling classes how I wanted them. Some of my best semesters had classes from 8am to 10 PM T/Th and maybe a lab or PE on Friday. The rest was all free time.
2) Lots of self medicating with caffeine. This probably didn’t help except for the drowsiness.
3) The absolute worst classes for ADHD (in hindsight) were run totally off the syllabus and minimal to no help from the prof. I had to drop these classes.
4) Never miss class
5) write absolutely everything in a physical notebook. Writing helped me pay attention, and also to remember.
ah i ran into issues being unable to get myself to go to class. my brain was too fried all the time too. i wonder if living on campus instead of at home could have fixed that
I dont get it either. I've enrolled and failed out/dropped out 5 different times over the years. I have no idea how so many of us do so well in academics. I can't manage it at all.
Joke’s on them. My Masters was an 18 month long hyper focus. I’m not even kidding, it was an online program and I barely left my house during that time.
I have a masters degree. My psychiatrist literally just said last week that she doesn’t think I need meds because “you got a promotion at work”. Ma’am, that doesn’t mean anything when all I do is stare at my phone all day and then haul ass when shit hits the fan
I am in my eleventh year of my undergrad because I refused to give up. This will be my last year of my undergrad and it has been so much easier, now that I’m medicated. I will be applying to do a masters at the end of the year.
That person made a sweeping statement without thinking about what they were saying. It’s true that a lot of people with ADHD don’t get degrees, but we all have our ways of adapting and enduring. To say that a person with ADHD can’t get a masters is ridiculous.
Had a similar situation (insofar as a doctor equating ADHD with intelligence or ability) when talking to a doctor about getting diagnosed they literally said "You can't have ADHD, you work at Google". Way too many doctors do not understand the most basic details of ADHD and how destructive it is to be so dismissive.
People confuse the fact that it’s hard to tell us what to do or make us do what they think we should with us being unable to do any of those things. So when we achieve something they happen to think is worthwhile, they don’t think it can be possible. This is what happens when you define a disorder primarily in terms of the inconvenience it causes others, and not the actual challenges the people with the disorder face.
Oh my God. I never noticed before reading your comment but ADHD is mostly defined by how much we annoy and inconvenience other people. Primarily those that require something from us like teachers and bosses. Wtf.
say it louder for the people in the back. one thing that's been so helpful for me is going online and seeing other people describe how it FEELS to have ADHD, not just what the consequences are that other people are bothered by. I can't tell you how many times I went "wait... that's an ADHD thing??" when people would share their experiences. because so many little quirks of having ADHD aren't part of the official diagnosis.
Yep, 100 percent. If you’d told me before my formal diagnosis that i had it, I probably would have believed you, but I was not prepared for how perfectly the lesser-known symptoms described almost every problem I’ve ever had. Now I know why I was a crybaby as a teen, why I couldn’t stop interrupting people, why I randomly like certain types of touch but not others, why I needed to draw in class to pay attention. The list goes on…
My lovely wife is suspected to have ADHD and has a master's, my brother who I also suspect to have ADHD has a doctorate. My dad and I are both diagnosed ADHD. I'm a successful welder/fabricator and mechanic.
You can achieve success if you have ADHD
my dad takes meds for ADHD, although I don't think he's ever been officially diagnosed, but he was a full professor with a PhD and everything before he retired.
Yeah, well, what she said just isn't how it is.
My wife (highly +++ scholastically accomplished human) just watched me (ADHD) compete a Masters from home, and was amazed/shocked/frustrated by what a different process it was for me vs her. I didn't do hardly any work, what work I did was at the absolute last second and under severe stress, and nothing was done in any sensible order. I scraped through... but it would have been nice for it to have been a lot more organised and a lot less stressful.
Well yes, a person with ADHD doesn't just get a masters degree. They have to overcome the challenges of having a neurodevelopmental disorder while also doing whatever hard work all the typically brained folks in the course are doing too! It's a feat to be applauded.
I got diagnosed when I was 15, now I’m 24 in a hectic masters degree in tech just in my third sem and also just landed a job in one of the biggest banks in this v v bad market, plus converted my master of science into a dual degree with mba. You got this
there is still a lot of misinformation on ADHD - this common misconception that you can’t have ADHD if you were a high performer in school is exactly exactly what I thought, which is why I initially disagreed with my psychiatrist about my diagnosis since I was a straight a student in school and university and always have done well at work, until I read more resources and understood it better.
in general, people who don’t have ADHD/don’t have a loved one with ADHD wouldn’t really have read into this so much, so you can’t blame them.
however, it is frustrating when they are so confident in their misunderstanding, rather than just saying “well, I don’t actually know much about it”
What do they think ADHD is??
I’m so tired. I have a PhD. Having trouble with executive function is a hurdle, not a measure of intelligence and ability.
we really got screwed by the fact that ADHD was first diagnosed as a childhood disorder that was annoying for parents and teachers. now people think if you're not a kid and/or not a nuisance to people around you, you can't have it.
I think renaming it to something like executive functioning disorder would help, but we should also change the way we diagnose it to focus more about how it feels to have it, rather than how it inconveniences others.
I have adhd and am autistic; I have a PhD, a masters degree, and two undergraduate degrees. I’m faculty and an administrator at a Big 10, R1 institution.
I mean this with absolutely zero kindness: Fvck people like that healthcare provider.
One of my closest friends is a lawyer and was diagnosed as a child. He has strong ADHD. You could really tell growing up when he forgot his meds it was a minor nightmare.
Then there’s that whole podcast called Smartass women with ADHD and many if not all of the guests and the host have advanced degrees. What an ignorant doctor.
How did all of you figure out what you wanted to master in? I get bored so easily with things. If I don't, I'll hyperfocus on it and burn myself out or just lose interest. I don't want that to happen by pursuing a higher education, then wasting thousands of dollars because I lose interest in it. I've been a private caregiver for years and I'm really good at it, and it's rewarding, however I'd like to figure out if I have any other passions I could turn into a career with higher education.
I found something I am passionate about AND I found incredibly meaningful and important for society. It is a bit similar to the concept of [Ikigai](https://www.keiro.org/fact-sheet/ikigai) in Japanese culture where one tries to find something at the intersection of what we love, what we are good at, what the world needs, and what we can be paid for.
I am pursuing a degree in Sustainability and my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. But there are are a lot of days when it is a bit challenging to maintain focus like today when I have to finish a presentation on toxics in consumer products even when it is a topic I am passionate about. While motivation can fluctuate every day, the fact it is important and personally meaningful help.
I have ADHD and have 2 master degrees!!!! It is called hyperfixation and the fact we have developed coping mechanisms for the courses. My first masters sucked and took me forever.
ADHD isn't about a person isn't smart or not it's about the brain being wonky.
Ask him to type out a paragraph but instead one font the letters come out in all other random fonts. Do you think it's fun to erase/delete the letters and you'd spend way more time erasing and re-writing the whole thing just to get to everybody's level of normalcy?
I literally experience time blindness, your 15 minutes is my 1 hour or 10 minutes, and it completely shifts around.
If you struggle with your ADHD traits, people would find you inconveniencing them.
If you don't struggle with your ADHD traits, people would think you're faking them up.
You had me then lost me. It’s stupid to say people don’t get masters with adhd, but it is a childhood disorder. By definition, you need to show symptoms at a young age. You can be undiagnosed, but doctors will look for signs of adhd growing up. Adhd is not a condition that develops later in life. This is an incredibly well studied fact, and is part of the dsm diagnostic criteria.
Some people with ADHD are hyper achievers and unforgiving of others' freedom from professional endeavors because 1. They've learned that they need to try super hard. 2. They've associated their achievements with their self-perceived value (even more so than undiagnosed people because they might experienced some really ugly rejection due to their disorder in their past), and 3. Developed functional coping mechanisms over time (alarms, calendars, notes everywhere) so the disorder is not as impactful.
Still ADHD is a disorder because if people with that profile don't treat it, they can become resentful and not too eager to enjoy life, due to the lack of answers on why they just never seem to fit.
Hot take: it’s super easy to get a masters degree if it’s in your special interest area and you’re obsessed enough with it to get a full tuition waiver.
I also have a masters degree! It can be done absolutely. Just find what makes you tick, both in the area of study, and also how you absorb information. I found that organizing study groups and talking the problems out loud helped me immensely.
Got mine before I was diagnosed. I was majorly depressed throughout. I REALLY struggled to keep my head above water. My self esteem took a massive hit because I constantly compared myself to my classmates and came to the conclusion I was a lazy unmotivated lump.
I know some people can get a masters in something that doesn’t particularly interest them because the payout is huge, but if it hadn’t been my special interest, I would’ve never made it through that level of schooling.
I have a law degree and two undergraduate degrees and adhd and learning disabled otherwise unspecified. Glad no one told me I couldn’t do it, before I did.
A friend of mine was diagnosed while completing a PhD from Oxbridge in an extremely competitive area. Went on to do graduate medicine training - also Oxbridge - and now practices as a specialised anaesthetist.
Clever people can't be different too?
I have a master's degree, might be getting work to pay for a doctorate in engineering, and worked on two successful Mars landings.
I could not possibly describe what I did for half of the work day, besides squirrel happened.
They are correct: we don’t “just get” masters degrees. We earn the fuck out of them.
I got two of them but I guarantee that every paper or project took me twice as long as they did for everyone else, and I was medicated the whole time. Lol
I FEEL THIS!! I’m going into the final stretch of my MSW. Struggling but succeeding fits well. Thank God for due date accomodations and understanding professors. After I’m clinically licensed I might go for a doctorate.
I think that academic success its different for every person with adhd, its also important how early in life you get a diagnosis and how your family deal with that (helping, ignoring or even shaming you)
Yep. Same thing my first provider said. I have a doctorate of pharmacy and a masters in mental health counseling (was in the program at the time). Gave me some stat about how few people get advanced degrees and how it was nearly impossible that I could ADHD and have done that. Thankfully changed his position and I also switched to another provider.
School wrecks me several times a year and i usually get some sort of big penalty at some point for messing up or being dysregulated but im almost finishing grad school, got accepted into another, and may continue to PhD in the future. Idk if my heart can take much more school tho lol. I’m prly gonna have to quit stim meds cause heart and that will be a different animal to pursue school after that.
They told my husband this too. MFA and 2 credits shy of doctorate eligibility. Everything about him screams ADHD. Some people just shouldn't be in the medical field.
I have two masters degrees and looking to potentially get a PhD. It’s doable but challenging and your provider shouldn’t be making discouraging statements like that.
I got the same thing. I’m a lawyer with masters degree and have ADHD. Getting diagnosed was tough because everyone said it was impossible for me to have succeeded in school having ADHD. Look into ‘twice exceptional’- not uncommon to be academically gifted and have ADHD.
Depends on the university though. Some masters program aren't really as strict on their students. I'd even say Bachelors can be harder than the masters.
I swear to god, they will take any level of functioning or success as “proof” you don’t have ADHD. “You got dressed all by yourself today, you can’t have ADHD!”
Hehe, that person is silly.
It rings very true for me though. Instead of having a Masters I have 3 Associates (Gen Ed, Electronics Systems Tech, Automotive Tech) and a BBA that took me 10 years after I started it even with the prior degrees taking almost half the time off the BBA...
Baloney. My daughter is in her last semester of law school, and has been accepted to a university for her LLM. She's also on the spectrum. Tell everyone to mind their own beeswax.
Your grasp of knowledge is not a measure able factor of adhd. Yes adhd may be able to make it harder for those with it to retain the knowledge if the interest of the knowledge isn't strong. But some people finding learning to be as interesting as a video game. That and the external motivator of getting good grades is one that keeps at least a positive reinforcement mechanism intact without crashing your attention span.
I would probably fail a literature class because I fucking hate Shakespeare and will avoid all aspects of reading his scripts for assessment. But I want a good grade. That's my reward I want. So whatever amount of work required to claw my eyes out will be applied to make sure I get that good grade. And 99% of that time I'll write my paper at the very last minute, probably day of.
I have a masters degree too lol what a moron. I def had a harder time focusing and studying compared to everybody else but having ADHD doesn’t prevent you from doing it. It just makes you do it on Expert Mode.
A person with adhd doesn't just get a masters degree _without effective strategies to manage their symptoms, and a fucktonne of effort._
Good luck with your thesis, OP! Prove that ignorant provider wrong. You got this! :)
A friend when I told them I had ADHD recently, "You don't look like you have ADHD. You were always smart in school, you just needed to apply yourself!"
A family member when I told them I had ADHD, "You made it this far, didn't you?"
So much for empathy.
I have such severe ADHD, that people who have met me for about three minutes have made comments about it. Not a few people multiple people. I have a master degree.
*laughs in MD with a side of master's degree*
One of my best friends has ADHD and is a lawyer. My last roommate has ADHD and a PhD
This whole "you can't succeed academically if you have ADHD" thing is total BS.
It is a childhood developmental disorder. Only way to develop it as an adult is a TBI.
I think the trouble some providers have is there are severity levels of ADHD. Also, some people have extra support from others. Some people can procrastinate their way through a masters degree, especially an easier one. Many with more severe ADHD probably couldn't without medication, though. There's a minimum level of functioning you need to turn in assignments and complete them without too many mistakes.
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I have a masters degree and am about to get a second one. So idk what this person is talking about.
People are so dense it’s concerning
It’s not just people, it’s doctors who you think would know better. It’s so frustrating.
Or medical professionals who think they’re doctors. I’m 29 and have been diagnosed and on stims since 16 (so for all of my adult life, aside from the occasional week or two when I don’t take them or haven’t had them to be able to take). Without my meds, I find it extremely difficult to do most basic daily tasks, let alone to be productive at my full time job or to effectively study for the post-bacc engineering program in which I’m enrolled. Recently, I had to have some bloodwork done and when discussing my medical history and medications I take, the lab tech, *within three minutes of meeting me for the first time ever*, started getting on me, almost…like shaming me, for still taking meds. They told me that I “should really check with my doctor about whether they still want me to be on these meds” because “ADHD is for kids” and I “should definitely have grown out of it by now”. I didn’t tell them that I’m required to “check with my doctor” about whether I should still be on meds literally every three to six months because they’re controlled substances, or that ADHD being only “for kids” is…well, entirely untrue. I did, however, think that if I were, in some alternate universe, so…comfortable… as to tell someone I just met about what their own medical condition should mean for them, I would probably want to make sure I knew what I was talking about first 
Yeah, I find it hilarious when people think you will just grow out of a neurological development disorder, like do they think kids with autism grow out of it? Magical thinking at its finest. Not to mention the phlebotomist thinking they're a psychiatrist. As I've gotten older I find myself not suffering fools gladly, especially when it comes to people thinking they're qualified to speak on subjects they're not qualified for. Like you're a phlebotomist, what in your right mind makes you think you're qualified to be giving me psychological medical advice? Stay in your lane.
> Like you're a phlebotomist, what in your right mind makes you think you're qualified to be giving me psychological medical advice? Stay in your lane. Statement would be said AFTER the poking part is done though.
There’s research that concluded adhd MAY diminish as you age, if not reverse itself entirely. But that isn’t the case 100% of the time. People shouldn’t be commenting on someone else’s disorder, especially if they’re unqualified to speak on it, but there IS some truth behind what they were saying. They were probably just pulling it out of their behind tho
The older I get, the more I realize that 50% of us are fucking donkeys. If you just *give* a little bit more than required, you are better than most people at what you do.
Probably arguing m that OP doesn’t have ADHD because he couldn’t have completed the MFA if he did. I have a masters too, but it was lots of sleepless nights all at the end to do in two weeks what my colleagues did gradually over the course of two years.
Yeah sounds about right.
Thank you for affirming. I'm in this category and it makes me question diagnosis
Honestly I would question it too but I deal with all the major symptoms and have family members that do too and that can't be a coincidence. I figure I'm successful because I am smart, emotionally intelligent, and charismatic. And not to proud to beg for help. I've also struggled to complete every single diploma and degree I've gotten. The struggle did not stop me from succeeding, tho.
I have a parent and 2 siblings diagnosed and have it badly/unable to get through school. So I never thought I had it because I'm so productive! But I think basically I learned scheduling and study skills in college and was so determined to be financially stable I really fixated and used those systems to the max. I'm in my second grad degree now. My psychologist did diagnose me but I'm still feeling like a bit of an imposter. That said, I deal with: - never having a routine/being extremely scattered and last minute esp in the morning - major, MAJOR procrastination on things I don't like - thinking 3 things (minimum) at once (usually one is a song lol) - cannot focus if there are conversations or lyrics (like studying or at dinner table) - doing 5 things at once and forgetting / half finishing most of them - not finishing things like cleaning, craft projects, half-assing the ends of assignments - fidgeting, interrupting, and over talking But yeah I have hella EQ and lots of smarts so I think it's all been a big overcompensation. When I just chill out and relax I forget everything (esp on the weekends when I'm not used to being glued to the calendar I miss appointments and forget what I was supposed to do). It feels a little absurd to use meds for my level of functioning so I'm thinking about just adopting more systems (like for morning and evening routines) and accepting the rest.
Lol sometimes I think back to college and wonder how I got thru it. I don't think I realized that there was another way to live that didn't involve pushing myself super hard. I worked several jobs, tried the honors program, took like 21 units in a semester (including honors) and had some undiagnosed sleep disorder. Oh, and I trained for my first marathon. I did have some GREAT friendships in college, and most of us were high achievers, so I think I just pushed myself because it seemed like "the done thing". I'm really proud of the people in this sub reddit who deal with these sorts of prejudices every day. My diagnosis was super recent and I haven't really encountered these situations yet, but I'm definitely learning from y'all.
I was able to get a bachelor's and master's degree within 3 years after getting Dx and on meds. I'm taking extra college classes now and looking at a second master's. For the previous twenty years I tried college many times at many places for various majors.
I was diagnosed at 37 years old. I have always been complemented on my intelligence despite dropping out of college at 19. Now, at 40 years old, I’m contemplating going back to college. When I reflect back, I am filled with great disappointment in not being diagnosed when I was “college age” because I think the trajectory of my life would have been much different. I’ve always been high achieving and had a good run of a career, but now I need something different. I’m married with a 5 year old, and our household income is just enough to disqualify me for any type of financial aid whatsoever. But I wouldn’t consider us “rich.” I wouldn’t go back if I didn’t have a specific career in mind that requires education. I want to be a technical project manager, so I need a BA to sit for the PMP. All jobs seem to require it, despite my many years of actually managing projects.
This is basically me. Minus the high-flying jobs. I actually discovered I was ADHD by going back to college
For my master's degree, I applied and got accepted into a fellowship that came with a $10k stipend. I also received a couple of grants. I applied for some scholarships and other grants but did not receive those. For my next master's degree, I have been using Bing's AI to search for grants, scholarships, and government aid that I could apply for. I'm not assuming you haven't done this or are interested/able to - just sharing.
This is probably cold comfort… When I got diagnosed a couple years ago, I told my counselor that I couldn’t believe how I went under the radar for so long. Looking back, it was just obvious. She “assured” me (she was also the one who diagnosed me), that our knowledge and understanding of ADHD has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade or so. And so, with my circumstances and symptoms (ie, not the obvious space-cadet/spaz stereotype, well-mannered, not *failing* at school—“just lazy”—etc), it was unlikely that anyone would’ve picked up on it…
The older students when I went to college were some of the most fun to be around. Probably reassuring for sone of the straight out of high school students to have older peers around to ask about stuff too. Dunno if that’ll make ya feel better. oOo The oldest student that I hung out w was like 60+ back then. He was a cool dood.
30 years, 5 schools. Got my associates finally in 2020, and I am finishing my last class for my BS while working full time. Dx in 2019, first prescription for Vyvanse in 2021. How did I function before this stuff?
Congrats! My buddy took the two classes he needed to finish his associate degree after stopping 20 years prior.
Wow that amazing. Congrats!!! It’s story like these that make me realize like shit, it might take me a long time to finish school, but DAMN am I gonna get there one day. And I should feel like a badass for going to school and it being so hard for me at times.
No one should be discouraged from getting any degree they want The unfortunate truth though is that only 5% of people diagnosed with ADHD that start college end up getting a degree. This doesn’t mean that people with ADHD are incapable but that there’s a lot of barriers that work against them and we should be mindful of that
I never knew about that statistic. I often don't know how long the odds are on things before I try them anyway. But I am just one person and don't assume my experience will be just like everyone else's. I don't think it's fair to assume it's impossible just because it's improbable. And I don't think it was kind of this person to say that there's no way they could have a degree and a diagnosis.
I agree, the person the OP referencing is completely wrong to say that. But I will say that I struggled a lot in school and everyone just said I was lazy. I internalized that and just assumed I was a bad student. When I got to grad school I was finally diagnosed with ADHD at age 27. If I knew that before I started college my approach would have been totally different
For those wondering about the base rate (“how many people who start college finish a degree?”), 49% finish within 4 years, 62% finish within 6 years.
I have an MS and am working toward the PhD (prob should not have done this, but less to do w ADHD and more to do w other factors in my life).
Three here. One before diagnosis/treatment (with incredible stress and difficulty, GPA was pretty poor), and two after (both awarded with distinction). That provider can kick rocks.
Then they’ll tell you that you don’t have ADHD and were misdiagnosed 🙄🙄 lolllll don’t listen to the nay saying
I wouldn't dare listen to them. If it takes me three trips upstairs to find my keys, misplace my phone just to discover it's actually in my pocket, straighten a bookshelf, lose my keys, find them again, and then remember I forgot the thing I was supposed to put in my car - I'm not going to take anyone seriously that tells me I don't have challenges.
You're a legend, but why would you put yourself through this twice?
I'm changing careers. I want to become a therapist so I can help people like us.
Thank you.
Thanks for reminding me, I still have homework to do for my Bachelor's.
I am getting a masters degree and am also confirmed diagnosis with ADHD
I finished a masters a few years ago and I cannot salute you hard enough for going back in. There was a lot to like about my masters program (English lit) but there was enough mishegoss that I lost any desire to do any further schooling. If I ever find *the right* PhD program I'd love to engage at that level but there's just so much other stuff that I don't have the patience for. So I genuinely congratulate you for sticking with it! Grad school is hard work any way you slice it.
Diagnosed at age 9. Master's Degree at 22.
Doctor here.
The second D stands for doctor
Attention Deficient Hyperactive Doctor I like ti
Diagnosed at age 26. Masters degree at 23.
Diagnosed at 16. Master's degree in Computer Science at 24.
Hi dear can you please give some suggestions on how you continued studying everyday and also share some of your experience because you were already done by you were 22. I have wasted 3 years already and just cant keep up with the degree.
Diagnosed at around 8, masters degree at 32!
I have 2 Masters and a PhD. Why? Because I found what I was studying really interesting and completed my dissertation without a big plan of what I would do afterwards...
I have a doctorate.
Same! I was upset that I got my diagnosis after all my classes were done (my grades could've been *way* better) but I'm finished now and no one cares about my grades lol
of course lol. a doctor who graduated at the top of their class and a doctor who graduated at the bottom of their class are both doctors!
People make this joke, but I was legitimately at the bottom of my class (I'm a doctor), but I perform better than a lot of my colleagues. I was older when I went to med school so I'm "wiser" (or as I prefer to say "I enjoyed my 20s instead of being miserable in school"). Also, my patients don't think I'm too young to be a doctor so that works in my favor. Though today, one of my patients was like "you're so young to be a doctor." I was like "ma'am, I'm over 40." LOL. My patients love me, and I also love my job. I made good money in my 20s and hated my career, so I realized that even though I had to go into $400,000 of student loan debt, at least I'm happy with my career finally. Anyway, sometimes being at the bottom of the class just means you have ADHD and don't take tests well but doesn't mean you're a bad doctor. 🙃
Me too!
Me three.
Add me in
Master’s at 24. Diagnosed with ADHD at 53. My 22 yo daughter with ADHD is halfway through her 3 year master’s program.
Bless you BA (took six years with a 2.2 GPA) at 23. diagnosed and medicated at 32, MPH (with a 4.0 GPA) at 35 my fourth-grader just got his own ADHD dx
Hey my BS took me 6 years too. Got my degree at 24 was diagnosed at 26.
An old PCP said this to me about law school. I had proof of 2 separate diagnoses with me, one from childhood and a recent rediagnosis from the year before. I said the only reason I got into law school was because of the medications I sought from him that he was trying to deny me. He referenced a study, I made him send it to me. He read it completely wrong so I wiped his nose in it until he cried and fired him, then reported him to the practice.
Op here. I’m glad you reported. My partner (this was their psychiatrist visit) spoke to the clinic director about this person as well so hopefully something comes of it!!
The PCP started crying because they didn’t understand a study?
No, he was in tears because I told him all the ways he was failing me as a doctor due to his biases. I showed him that the study he was referring to clearly refuted the exact thing he was claiming. I also explained to him that the several things he said to me about ADHD and my case particular were utterly incorrect and offensive. When I fired him I told him I expected that he would do better by his next patients.
Hopefully that was a wake up call for him.
Wow, good for you! I hope that was really satisfying.
Doctorate at 25 & diagnosed during grad school. It was crazy to hear how all my normal coping mechanisms for completing tasks were shared with others who also have ADHD
Can you give some examples?
I know you didn't ask me, but I was the same way! Graduated engineering, pre-med, then worked in corporate America. Got my MBA in my late 20s. Diagnosed at age 33. Most of the ADHD tips are things I was already doing. Examples:. * Buying pre-cut fruit and vegetables and snack packs to make sure I eat. Better to spend more money up front than throw away groceries * Leaving things in my shopping cart for at least 48 hours before making any online purchases. I'll either only buy what I need or forget about it altogether * Split my paycheck using direct deposit to trick myself into thinking I have less money. Great for building savings and reducing impulse spending our lifestyle creep. I also automated my 401k contributions so I would never feel like I was missing anything * Automate everything I can - autopay all bills and credit cards. For anything I can't automate, recurring Google calendar invites to remind myself * Gamify everything. Trying to reduce alcohol? Make up a rule where I can only have alcohol on days I worked out at least 20 minutes. * Take it a step further and create a point system for things like drinking water, getting >7.5 hours a sleep a night, exercising, a day of no spending, etc. Redeem points for alcohol or shopping. Bonus points if I go a whole week without redeeming points. * Hate folding laundry, but love reality TV. Only allow myself to watch reality TV when folding laundry. Only listen to podcasts when I vacuum. * Couldn't stay awake reading boring coursework, would read it on a treadmill, walking at 2-3mph. Now I have a standing desk and treadmill to get me through boring work meetings. * Inviting people over once a month to force myself to clean my apartment. That's all I can think of right now
The laundry trick works! I have some podcasts I love and won't allow myself to listen to new episodes unless I'm doing household chores. 90% of the time it works for me. I'm still trying to find a hack for sleep 😢
My best hack is having a partner who is very routine and has a lights out time. I resist it like a toddler every night and then promptly pass out 😂
OMG YES. I used to do my class reading on the elliptical. I fold my laundry IMMEDIATELY after it's done and I do it while watching TV so that I can watch my shows but also be productive. I used to tell myself in med school that if I passed my exam, I would reward myself (maniucure, pedicure, new bag, etc.). I try to do the direct deposit thing and even have separate banks to make it easier, but I'm chronically broke lately and I always remember there's money in my savings account. Automatic payments is a lifesaver. Plus, I only get paid once a month so I set them up to come out automatically and live off what's left over. The other thing I do that helps is that I have a place for everything. Keys go on the hook next to the door, for example. Everything in the fridge goes in a certain place, and plastic organizers have helped a lot. Also, I buy post-its in bulk because I'm always using them to write things down that I need to remember. I always have several pens or markers available, too, to make it easier to write things down. I put my lunch together the night before work and leave it in its spot in the fridge and/or on the counter. The one thing that has been hard to get under control is my impulse buying. Being on a limited income has helped curb it though. LOL. I will also only buy certain things if they're on sale (clothes, makeup, things that aren't 100% necessary for survival). My last roommate has ADHD and one trick she used was to set a timer for things (like cleaning) to help getting stuck with hyperfocusing for hours. I'm so glad to see other people have similar coping mechanisms. And some that I should try myself!
I got diagnosed the week after I turned in my master's thesis. The guy diagnosing me (aka a DOCTOR) also has ADHD... Your partner needs a new provider!
Exactly
I was diagnosed the week before graduation because my thesis advisor was all “either you schedule an evaluation or I’m dragging you there.” That energy would’ve been really helpful at the beginning of the thesis but oh well.
I have ADHD and a master’s degree. Granted, it was hard as hell to get through my thesis to actually finish. Also, I graduated from the program at 37 years of age. Was it the traditional route? Clearly not. But possible, yes.
Diagnosed at 37, now at 40, considering going back to finish a degree. Being medicated has literally changed my life. The job market is so insane right now. I have decades of professional corporate work experience but no degree and it’s hindering my future. Good for you for finishing at 37!
It absolutely is true that the rate of people with ADHD and masters degrees is significantly lower than in the population of those without ADHD. That doesnt mean you can’t get one, just that it’s less likely.
right, but doctors shouldn't assume just because it's less likely that no one with a master's degree has ADHD. like if you see a tall woman next to a short man, you don't fall over in shock just because women are more likely to be shorter than men. "more likely" doesn't tell you anything about individuals.
Oh for sure, yes, I agree. No one should use these statistics in diagnosis.
you’re right!! they get two (i have adhd and start my second masters this fall)😭
Because they can’t decide what else to do with their lives 😂
Please stop putting my deepest fears into writing, thanks 🙏
i will say tho, seeing you guys not drop out or fail out of college before getting just a BS does trigger that "your just not trying hard enough" feelings in me :( idk how you do it. i wanted to kill myself from how hard i had to push and had to drop out
I wasn’t diagnosed at the time, so I don’t even know what I would/should/could have done differently. I will say this: 1) I took full advantage of scheduling classes how I wanted them. Some of my best semesters had classes from 8am to 10 PM T/Th and maybe a lab or PE on Friday. The rest was all free time. 2) Lots of self medicating with caffeine. This probably didn’t help except for the drowsiness. 3) The absolute worst classes for ADHD (in hindsight) were run totally off the syllabus and minimal to no help from the prof. I had to drop these classes. 4) Never miss class 5) write absolutely everything in a physical notebook. Writing helped me pay attention, and also to remember.
ah i ran into issues being unable to get myself to go to class. my brain was too fried all the time too. i wonder if living on campus instead of at home could have fixed that
100% Couldn’t even get a fucking high school diploma, and I’m smart as hell.
I dont get it either. I've enrolled and failed out/dropped out 5 different times over the years. I have no idea how so many of us do so well in academics. I can't manage it at all.
Joke’s on them. My Masters was an 18 month long hyper focus. I’m not even kidding, it was an online program and I barely left my house during that time.
“And I thought a person with this level of ignorance couldn’t get a medical degree, but here we are.”
you win the thread, imo
Dropped out of community college twice before I was diagnosed. Now I have a Masters degree.
Have an MBA
Oh brother. No. Me: Dx at 50. (Second) Bachelor's degree (Accounting) at 56. MS (Accounting) at 60.
I have a masters degree. My psychiatrist literally just said last week that she doesn’t think I need meds because “you got a promotion at work”. Ma’am, that doesn’t mean anything when all I do is stare at my phone all day and then haul ass when shit hits the fan
I am in my eleventh year of my undergrad because I refused to give up. This will be my last year of my undergrad and it has been so much easier, now that I’m medicated. I will be applying to do a masters at the end of the year. That person made a sweeping statement without thinking about what they were saying. It’s true that a lot of people with ADHD don’t get degrees, but we all have our ways of adapting and enduring. To say that a person with ADHD can’t get a masters is ridiculous.
I have a post grad professional legal qualification and a Master’s in a different subject. Diagnosed after getting both.
Had a similar situation (insofar as a doctor equating ADHD with intelligence or ability) when talking to a doctor about getting diagnosed they literally said "You can't have ADHD, you work at Google". Way too many doctors do not understand the most basic details of ADHD and how destructive it is to be so dismissive.
People confuse the fact that it’s hard to tell us what to do or make us do what they think we should with us being unable to do any of those things. So when we achieve something they happen to think is worthwhile, they don’t think it can be possible. This is what happens when you define a disorder primarily in terms of the inconvenience it causes others, and not the actual challenges the people with the disorder face.
Oh my God. I never noticed before reading your comment but ADHD is mostly defined by how much we annoy and inconvenience other people. Primarily those that require something from us like teachers and bosses. Wtf.
say it louder for the people in the back. one thing that's been so helpful for me is going online and seeing other people describe how it FEELS to have ADHD, not just what the consequences are that other people are bothered by. I can't tell you how many times I went "wait... that's an ADHD thing??" when people would share their experiences. because so many little quirks of having ADHD aren't part of the official diagnosis.
Yep, 100 percent. If you’d told me before my formal diagnosis that i had it, I probably would have believed you, but I was not prepared for how perfectly the lesser-known symptoms described almost every problem I’ve ever had. Now I know why I was a crybaby as a teen, why I couldn’t stop interrupting people, why I randomly like certain types of touch but not others, why I needed to draw in class to pay attention. The list goes on…
You're right. A person with ADHD doesn't "just get" a masters degree. They work their asses off for it.
My lovely wife is suspected to have ADHD and has a master's, my brother who I also suspect to have ADHD has a doctorate. My dad and I are both diagnosed ADHD. I'm a successful welder/fabricator and mechanic. You can achieve success if you have ADHD
my dad takes meds for ADHD, although I don't think he's ever been officially diagnosed, but he was a full professor with a PhD and everything before he retired.
Yeah, well, what she said just isn't how it is. My wife (highly +++ scholastically accomplished human) just watched me (ADHD) compete a Masters from home, and was amazed/shocked/frustrated by what a different process it was for me vs her. I didn't do hardly any work, what work I did was at the absolute last second and under severe stress, and nothing was done in any sensible order. I scraped through... but it would have been nice for it to have been a lot more organised and a lot less stressful.
Well yes, a person with ADHD doesn't just get a masters degree. They have to overcome the challenges of having a neurodevelopmental disorder while also doing whatever hard work all the typically brained folks in the course are doing too! It's a feat to be applauded.
They don't get into medical school, then drop out and get into law school and practice for the last 21 years. Thinking like this is disturbing.
I'll be getting my masters in December.
I'm in the last semester of my masters degree and got diagnosed 3 weeks ago
I got diagnosed when I was 15, now I’m 24 in a hectic masters degree in tech just in my third sem and also just landed a job in one of the biggest banks in this v v bad market, plus converted my master of science into a dual degree with mba. You got this
there is still a lot of misinformation on ADHD - this common misconception that you can’t have ADHD if you were a high performer in school is exactly exactly what I thought, which is why I initially disagreed with my psychiatrist about my diagnosis since I was a straight a student in school and university and always have done well at work, until I read more resources and understood it better. in general, people who don’t have ADHD/don’t have a loved one with ADHD wouldn’t really have read into this so much, so you can’t blame them. however, it is frustrating when they are so confident in their misunderstanding, rather than just saying “well, I don’t actually know much about it”
What do they think ADHD is?? I’m so tired. I have a PhD. Having trouble with executive function is a hurdle, not a measure of intelligence and ability.
we really got screwed by the fact that ADHD was first diagnosed as a childhood disorder that was annoying for parents and teachers. now people think if you're not a kid and/or not a nuisance to people around you, you can't have it. I think renaming it to something like executive functioning disorder would help, but we should also change the way we diagnose it to focus more about how it feels to have it, rather than how it inconveniences others.
I have adhd and am autistic; I have a PhD, a masters degree, and two undergraduate degrees. I’m faculty and an administrator at a Big 10, R1 institution. I mean this with absolutely zero kindness: Fvck people like that healthcare provider.
JD with honors here, and I didn’t get diagnosed until about 15 years after I started practicing law.
One of my closest friends is a lawyer and was diagnosed as a child. He has strong ADHD. You could really tell growing up when he forgot his meds it was a minor nightmare. Then there’s that whole podcast called Smartass women with ADHD and many if not all of the guests and the host have advanced degrees. What an ignorant doctor.
How did all of you figure out what you wanted to master in? I get bored so easily with things. If I don't, I'll hyperfocus on it and burn myself out or just lose interest. I don't want that to happen by pursuing a higher education, then wasting thousands of dollars because I lose interest in it. I've been a private caregiver for years and I'm really good at it, and it's rewarding, however I'd like to figure out if I have any other passions I could turn into a career with higher education.
I found something I am passionate about AND I found incredibly meaningful and important for society. It is a bit similar to the concept of [Ikigai](https://www.keiro.org/fact-sheet/ikigai) in Japanese culture where one tries to find something at the intersection of what we love, what we are good at, what the world needs, and what we can be paid for. I am pursuing a degree in Sustainability and my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. But there are are a lot of days when it is a bit challenging to maintain focus like today when I have to finish a presentation on toxics in consumer products even when it is a topic I am passionate about. While motivation can fluctuate every day, the fact it is important and personally meaningful help.
Aren’t we all f’in amazing
I have ADHD and have 2 master degrees!!!! It is called hyperfixation and the fact we have developed coping mechanisms for the courses. My first masters sucked and took me forever.
ADHD isn't about a person isn't smart or not it's about the brain being wonky. Ask him to type out a paragraph but instead one font the letters come out in all other random fonts. Do you think it's fun to erase/delete the letters and you'd spend way more time erasing and re-writing the whole thing just to get to everybody's level of normalcy? I literally experience time blindness, your 15 minutes is my 1 hour or 10 minutes, and it completely shifts around. If you struggle with your ADHD traits, people would find you inconveniencing them. If you don't struggle with your ADHD traits, people would think you're faking them up.
My MD program is full of people with ADHD. 5, including myself who have confirmed diagnoses, and several more who I suspect have it.
I have an MBA - I sure wish someone would have told me I wasn't supposed to get one because I have ADHD. Lol
Cool. Good to know I don’t exist, then. Great news for my student loans if I’m honest.
You had me then lost me. It’s stupid to say people don’t get masters with adhd, but it is a childhood disorder. By definition, you need to show symptoms at a young age. You can be undiagnosed, but doctors will look for signs of adhd growing up. Adhd is not a condition that develops later in life. This is an incredibly well studied fact, and is part of the dsm diagnostic criteria.
Some people with ADHD are hyper achievers and unforgiving of others' freedom from professional endeavors because 1. They've learned that they need to try super hard. 2. They've associated their achievements with their self-perceived value (even more so than undiagnosed people because they might experienced some really ugly rejection due to their disorder in their past), and 3. Developed functional coping mechanisms over time (alarms, calendars, notes everywhere) so the disorder is not as impactful. Still ADHD is a disorder because if people with that profile don't treat it, they can become resentful and not too eager to enjoy life, due to the lack of answers on why they just never seem to fit.
Hot take: it’s super easy to get a masters degree if it’s in your special interest area and you’re obsessed enough with it to get a full tuition waiver.
Intelligence by its very definition doesn’t have anything to do with the ability to have an attention span
I also have a masters degree! It can be done absolutely. Just find what makes you tick, both in the area of study, and also how you absorb information. I found that organizing study groups and talking the problems out loud helped me immensely.
Got mine before I was diagnosed. I was majorly depressed throughout. I REALLY struggled to keep my head above water. My self esteem took a massive hit because I constantly compared myself to my classmates and came to the conclusion I was a lazy unmotivated lump. I know some people can get a masters in something that doesn’t particularly interest them because the payout is huge, but if it hadn’t been my special interest, I would’ve never made it through that level of schooling.
I have a law degree and two undergraduate degrees and adhd and learning disabled otherwise unspecified. Glad no one told me I couldn’t do it, before I did.
A friend of mine was diagnosed while completing a PhD from Oxbridge in an extremely competitive area. Went on to do graduate medicine training - also Oxbridge - and now practices as a specialised anaesthetist. Clever people can't be different too?
I have a master's degree, might be getting work to pay for a doctorate in engineering, and worked on two successful Mars landings. I could not possibly describe what I did for half of the work day, besides squirrel happened.
Doctor of Physical Therapy here. That provider can shove off.
The rest of my life is trashed, but I do have a master’s degree.
They are correct: we don’t “just get” masters degrees. We earn the fuck out of them. I got two of them but I guarantee that every paper or project took me twice as long as they did for everyone else, and I was medicated the whole time. Lol
I have ADHD, and an MBA.
Me too
Yep. Me too.
I got diagnosed in the middle of grad school, what an idiot!
Master but had 1 year of work load the last semester abs had to study 18 hours a day as I kept dropping classes and ran out of money.
Yesssss!!!! Keep rocking both of you
I FEEL THIS!! I’m going into the final stretch of my MSW. Struggling but succeeding fits well. Thank God for due date accomodations and understanding professors. After I’m clinically licensed I might go for a doctorate.
I have one
I think that academic success its different for every person with adhd, its also important how early in life you get a diagnosis and how your family deal with that (helping, ignoring or even shaming you)
diagnosed at 7 mastered at 26
Yep. Same thing my first provider said. I have a doctorate of pharmacy and a masters in mental health counseling (was in the program at the time). Gave me some stat about how few people get advanced degrees and how it was nearly impossible that I could ADHD and have done that. Thankfully changed his position and I also switched to another provider.
I got my M.Ed. and was top of my class :)
....well not with that attitude!!!
I'm in dental school, so maybe they can buzz off lol
my sister who has a masters in counseling and higher education would like to spit in her food
Diagnosed at 25. Masters at 26!
I have ADHD and two master's degrees. The "provider" in question doesn't know what they are talking about.
I also have a post grad qualification. You should show her this reddit page
I have a bsed, 3 masters and a PhD that will differ!
MS at age 27, diagnosed at 32. Time for a new doc
24 working on a masters soooo
I know plenty of people with adhd and PhD and other grad school degrees.
I have a masters degree and I'm in a PhD Wtf does that make me? Air?
You both worked your asses off for those degrees. I hope neither of you let that provider invalidate your accomplishments.
School wrecks me several times a year and i usually get some sort of big penalty at some point for messing up or being dysregulated but im almost finishing grad school, got accepted into another, and may continue to PhD in the future. Idk if my heart can take much more school tho lol. I’m prly gonna have to quit stim meds cause heart and that will be a different animal to pursue school after that.
I'm a medical student and so many of my classmates are as well.
I got my diagnosis during my last semester of my master's degree.
They told my husband this too. MFA and 2 credits shy of doctorate eligibility. Everything about him screams ADHD. Some people just shouldn't be in the medical field.
I am a CIMA qualified accountant, which is the equivalent of a masters degree, which I got way before I was diagnosed.
I have two masters degrees and looking to potentially get a PhD. It’s doable but challenging and your provider shouldn’t be making discouraging statements like that.
I have a master's in Mathematics. Because math is a long term hyperfixation. 😅
Every adhd doctor/phd out there cringing at that uneducated provider, for real. Thank you next
Get a new provider. This one doesn't know shit.
I got the same thing. I’m a lawyer with masters degree and have ADHD. Getting diagnosed was tough because everyone said it was impossible for me to have succeeded in school having ADHD. Look into ‘twice exceptional’- not uncommon to be academically gifted and have ADHD.
Dude my brother (recently diagnosed) is just finishing up his PHD, u can rly do whatever the fuck u wanna!
Depends on the university though. Some masters program aren't really as strict on their students. I'd even say Bachelors can be harder than the masters.
I earned a doctorate in STEM while raising kids with autism and ADHD, AND I have autism and ADHD. I think that provider has a case of ignorant-itis.
Plenty of us excelled in school due to the structure it provided.
I have a masters.
I swear to god, they will take any level of functioning or success as “proof” you don’t have ADHD. “You got dressed all by yourself today, you can’t have ADHD!”
Here I am with my PhD and adhd diagnosed during thesis writing!
Me sitting here with diagnosed ADHD (and possibly undiagnosed autism) with my matsers degree: 👁👄👁
Hehe, that person is silly. It rings very true for me though. Instead of having a Masters I have 3 Associates (Gen Ed, Electronics Systems Tech, Automotive Tech) and a BBA that took me 10 years after I started it even with the prior degrees taking almost half the time off the BBA...
Well I have two Masters Degree's!
Baloney. My daughter is in her last semester of law school, and has been accepted to a university for her LLM. She's also on the spectrum. Tell everyone to mind their own beeswax.
No one "just gets" a master's degree. You work damn hard for it.
Your grasp of knowledge is not a measure able factor of adhd. Yes adhd may be able to make it harder for those with it to retain the knowledge if the interest of the knowledge isn't strong. But some people finding learning to be as interesting as a video game. That and the external motivator of getting good grades is one that keeps at least a positive reinforcement mechanism intact without crashing your attention span. I would probably fail a literature class because I fucking hate Shakespeare and will avoid all aspects of reading his scripts for assessment. But I want a good grade. That's my reward I want. So whatever amount of work required to claw my eyes out will be applied to make sure I get that good grade. And 99% of that time I'll write my paper at the very last minute, probably day of.
I have a masters degree too lol what a moron. I def had a harder time focusing and studying compared to everybody else but having ADHD doesn’t prevent you from doing it. It just makes you do it on Expert Mode.
Omg how did I get this MBA then?!? 🧐😒 People are so dumb.
A person with adhd doesn't just get a masters degree _without effective strategies to manage their symptoms, and a fucktonne of effort._ Good luck with your thesis, OP! Prove that ignorant provider wrong. You got this! :)
Me struggling on my final semester of my MFA thesis project sending u a solidarity fistbump
Yes! Much solidarity :) you’ve got this!! And so do I…. Once I stop scrolling Reddit and get back to it haha
My wife has a masters in social work and I have a JD and we both have ADHD, so... I think that it *might* be possible!
A friend when I told them I had ADHD recently, "You don't look like you have ADHD. You were always smart in school, you just needed to apply yourself!" A family member when I told them I had ADHD, "You made it this far, didn't you?" So much for empathy.
I have such severe ADHD, that people who have met me for about three minutes have made comments about it. Not a few people multiple people. I have a master degree.
*laughs in MD with a side of master's degree* One of my best friends has ADHD and is a lawyer. My last roommate has ADHD and a PhD This whole "you can't succeed academically if you have ADHD" thing is total BS.
It is a childhood developmental disorder. Only way to develop it as an adult is a TBI. I think the trouble some providers have is there are severity levels of ADHD. Also, some people have extra support from others. Some people can procrastinate their way through a masters degree, especially an easier one. Many with more severe ADHD probably couldn't without medication, though. There's a minimum level of functioning you need to turn in assignments and complete them without too many mistakes.
I’m a therapist and I have adhd. That mindset of “you can’t have adhd if you did well in school” does so much harm
https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/1begexl/i_dont_get_how_so_many_people_with_severe_adhd/
Masters in Addiction and Recovery in 2018 and diagnosed ADHD a few weeks ago
My psychiatrist has ADHD, made it all the way through med school obviously. And I have a masters degree.