What should I do if I think I have ADHD traits & PTSD, but my doctor hasn't diagnosed me>?

I'm not a hypochondriac, but I suffer PTSD, & when I hear a loud noise, I jump very fast & sometimes feel like I'm having a heart attack. & that's the same for when I hear people yell. Lots of objects & people remind me of people from my past who have abused me, & I can't get it out of my mind. I'm diagnosed with OCD, Tourette's, anxiety, & depression.

I'm always forgetting things, I blurt out things when I get excited or upset, I'm very figity, I get distracted very easily. I can't stay focused on any 1 task past 3 minutes without feeling impatient or feeling like doing something else.

No. I have no reason to "want" to be diagnosed! I'm truly experiencing this, & it's affecting my daily life. You can't expect a person with an anxiety disorder to just "let go of the past".

Interestingly, in children, PTSD and ADHD are often confused because the symptoms are so similar.

I'd talk to your doctor and see if you can get a full psychiatric screening to figure out what's really going on in your head--or get a consultation with a psychiatric specialist, either a psychiatrist or a psychiatric nurse practitioner, who will be able to take your history and more more concrete suggestions about what might be the most appropriate diagnosis or diagnoses.

About a year ago, I asked my physician for a referral to a psychiatric professional because I wanted to know why my depression was becoming less and less responsive to medications and what I could do about that. I got the referral and had the consultation, and I was (sort of) shocked to find out that my mood disorder seemed to fall more on the bipolar spectrum. After I began taking a mood stabilizer in addition to an antidepressant, I feel much more whole and centered than I ever did before.

The good news about PTSD is that it's really the only mental illness that's considered to be curable. There are a lot of therapies out there, and some can be amazingly effective. I have PTSD, too, and my biggest complaint aside from the anxiety symptoms was that I felt out of touch with my body and, although I couldn't remember the abuse, I knew I was constantly being triggered. I tried EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), and I found it to be very effective for me in terms of the fact that I was being triggered much less often than I was before I began the therapy. Body work (massage therapy, craniosacral therapy) and movement classes like yoga and dance helped me to become more aware of and centered in my body.

Bottom line: I recommend you get a referral to a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner and get to the bottom of what's going on in your head.

Good luck.

Talk to your doctor, but more importantly, talk to your therapist. If you are already being treated with meds for anxiety and depression, then you are on the same meds that would be used to help with PTSD. You and your therapist can figure out if the ADHD like symptoms are serious enough to warrent medication or a work around. In any case, help for both is with the therapist, so talk.

My own bias is that diagnoses are only labels used to identify treatment. If the treatment is the same for two different diagnoses, then getting the second label isn't terribly important as long as appropriate treatment is received. Idk. That's just me.

Do you WANT to be diagnosed? Do you realize that that will be in your medical records every time you apply for a job? Can you try your own cognitive behavior therapy which means acting 'as if' you were calmer without going back in your past. The past is past so try to move forward. I am not minimizing your problem but trying to help you get out of a pit . Are you eating nutritionally balanced meals with no caffeine products like coffee, tea or coke? Are you getting an hour of vigorous exercise a day? Are you going to bed early and getting good 9 hours of sleep a night? Are your surroundings peaceful ? I wish you well since many people have the same symptoms you have and go through the day just rying to make it. I know you have the traits but keep fighting. You can do it!