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> I tried getting an adult diagnosis in the UK to see if maybe "proper drugs" would be helpful, but was just told politely to fuck off by the GP. The reasoning was that I have a job in tech, so even if I had ADHD, it's not bad enough to warrant any treatment. Lots of coffee and listening to "hardstyle" or any music with high BPM seems to help me focus.

If you're ever looking to chase that down again, having a successful career shouldn't preclude you from being "impaired" enough to be treated for ADHD, but you need to emphasize _how_ your life is negatively impacted to give the GP, Psychologist, or anyone else involved the justification they need to diagnose and treat you. (And if you already did this, well, maybe another doctor?)

When I was diagnosed my being relatively successful was definitely some points against, but really high level I was able to explain:

- That I had recently switched jobs, the previous behaviours _are_ impacting my work, and here's exactly how.

- Detailed some of the challenges I faced in my day-to-day life personally and how it was impacting my family.

- For questions where I am not particularly impaired, where possible I explained the coping strategies I use in order to, y'know, function, but obviously that this was still stressful and difficult for me.

The psychologist had no issue diagnosing me with ADHD and recommending my GP prescribe me medication. He was not surprised to hear that over a few decades I'd managed to develop one or two coping strategies, and the strategies I'd explained were actually consistent with an ADHD diagnosis.

I've seen a few videos of people discussing their ADHD. One thing that came across is "I can't focus" was too broad. Some of them could sit for hours on end mastering a video game. What they could not do is focus on things that were less interesting.

Mind you, these were high functioning individuals. They found ways to use their bountiful reserves of energy to earn a lot of money. Maybe there are others that can't focus on anything for a long period - I don't know.

The difference between them and myself (apart from that energy) was that I can, with a struggle, force myself to focus on most things if I'm physically comfortable. That said, doing something I don't like is struggle, and I'll procrastinate like crazy. But for them, it seemed near impossible.

They solved the problem in the same way I do for regular things I don't like doing. They incorporated it into their daily routine. Repeating a routine, even something a simple as casting a fishing line (which I guess is not that simple to do well, now I think about it), brings it's own pleasures regardless of the task. For me it takes a few weeks to add something to my routine. For them, it seemed to take months or years. The self discipline they applied to keep at it until it became a routine they enjoyed for it's own sake, was amazing.

This. I can be great at focusing on something for hours without thinking of anything else.

The problem is I have a hard time controlling what that focus will actually be on.

Hey, I have had almost exactly the same experience, from the childhood experienice down to the music. For me, the functional impairment was also in things outside work, which is eventually how I got someone to refer me to a neuropsychiatrist for the full battery of tests. The treatment ended up being very helpful, but mostly for my personal life and general health.

It’s not a disorder if it’s not sufficiently disruptive :-) There are no absolutes in psychology.