This is a post that I’m going to continually update with more thoughts and information over time.
I thought about different ways to order this post but in the end I just ended up going with A–Z.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
If you’re looking for a definition check out Wikipedia’s page on ADHD.
I have been officially diagnosed. I got my official diagnosis mainly because I needed medication.
ADHD has to be one of the worst most misleading names in the world. ADD before it was definitely even worse.
There is no deficit of attention, trust me. Have you ever seen someone with ADHD doing something they’re interested in? There is no stopping them once they’re in that space, they could go for hours without so much as stopping to blink. Hyperfocus is one hell of a drug.
More accurately it’s a deficit of motivation.
So then what is a better acronym? There have been many suggestions over the years but Dr. Edward Hallowell and John Ratey came up with VAST, Variable Attention Stimulus Trait.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
If you’re looking for a definition check out Wikipedia’s page on GAD.
I have been officially diagnosed.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
If you’re looking for a definition check out Wikipedia’s page on ASD.
I have yet to be officially diagnosed. When I initially realised I had Autism I decided not to get an official diagnosis. Because, unlike ADHD, there isn’t any medication for Autism. I have come to regret this though, as now I’m wanting to apply to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or Disability Support Pension (DSP) but to have any chance at getting accepted I need an official diagnosis.
Coeliac disease
If you’re looking for a definition check out Wikipedia’s page on coeliac disease.
I have been officially diagnosed. Ceoliac disease has potentially fatal complications if untreated. So I needed to get blood tests and an gastroscopy to find if I had it so I could treat it properly.
“Conclusion: [Coeliac disease] is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety, eating disorders as well as ASD and ADHD. More research is required to investigate specific biological explanations as well as any effect of gluten free diet.”
— Psychiatric Manifestations of Coeliac Disease, a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Emma Clappison, Marios Hadjivassiliou, and Panagiotis Zis in the journal Nutrients
Huh, that’s interesting.
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
If you’re looking for a definition check out Wikipedia’s page on MDD.
I have been officially diagnosed.
Dysgraphia
If you’re looking for a definition check out Wikipedia’s page on dysgraphia.
I have yet to be officially diagnosed but I want/need to be for the same reasons mentioned in regards to my autism.
Dyslexia
If you’re looking for a definition check out Wikipedia’s page on dyslexia.
I have yet to be officially diagnosed but I want/need to be for the same reasons mentioned in regards to my autism.
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
If you’re looking for a definition check out Wikipedia’s page on POTS.
I have been officially diagnosed. Because POTS is a syndrome that differs greatly from person to person I needed to see a specialist to learn what treatments would work best for me.