Know that all types of ADHD aren't the same, and specifically that there is ADHD without the outward hyperactivity. Look up "Inattentive ADHD" - I am 30, and up until this past year I just thought that I had issues with procrastination, lack of follow-through, and was easily distracted.
Does this sound like you?
- Underperformed in school, despite being incredibly bright.
- Frequently didn't complete homework in school.
- Easily distracted.
- Shifts from one uncompleted task to another.
- Frequently skips large sections of text when reading.
- Procrastination.
- Frequently switches jobs
Anyhow, why should one get a diagnosis for ADD/ADHD. What difference would it make for a 20 something?
Please note, I'm not saying anyone has ADHD. I'm not qualified to make that assessment.
However, I'm going to make a guess and assume you aren't qualified to make that assessment either.
Getting checked for ADHD and OCD has made a big impact on my life. I didn't think I had ADHD either. I was getting checked for OCD for something unrelated to ADHD, and this came up.
What I considered a normal life, being distracted normally, etc - well, I learned it wasn't normal.
What I mean is that as I search for a solution in the API docs, I stumble across other things that look interesting. Or bits of detail that further explain how this library is built. Or explain the dependence of this function on a specific language feature. It's fascinating. And ultimately, that information makes me a better coder ... but it seldom solves the immediate problem. And now I've got all these ideas for new projects. Or ideas for future features for this project. I feel focused (on obtaining my goal) but distracted.
Or maybe I'm building a new system. But to support feature F, I need this library. To serve feature Q, I need that daemon. To support that daemon, I need a database engine ... but nope, it doesn't support PostgreSQL. To support the database engine, I need a logging daemon with feature L that the bleeding edge metagammalogd doesn't offer. And why am I building all this again? At this point, I'm feeling not focused and also distracted.