Hey @meditate,
I want to welcome you and say thanks for sharing!
You're already progressing on the best general advice by looking for help.
I'm a 30 year old male, recently diagnosed with ADHD.
I'll tell you how I ended up diagnosed, and maybe that will give you an option that might work for you or even just some food for thought.
Like yourself, I started by stumbling into some learning about ADHD. I have a fairly close work colleague who happens to be a doctor, and used to be in family practice. I was speaking to him about some difficulties I was having with university, work and interpersonal relationships and in short his reply was "That sounds really similar to ADHD". I initially brushed it off and thought whatever it's probably nothing.
Fast forward about 6-12 months. I found myself struggling with some new problems that I felt I needed some help with, I spoke to my GP for a general psychology referral, and he linked me to a website for finding a new psychologist. The website is was Psychology Today if you would like to find it on google.
I managed to recall what my doctor friend had said, and also selected ADHD under the issues section, I found a psychologist I thought could help me with my more immediate problem, who happened to also have Adult ADHD as a secondary specialisation, spoke to them briefly over the phone, once I was happy with the choice I got my GP to make the referral. I spent the first handful of my sessions trying to solve what was hardest in my life at the time, and as I started working through that I spoke to them about the other challenges I was and had been facing for as long as I could remember.
They suggested I might benefit from seeing a psychiatrist for diagnosis and medication because what I was facing was almost word for word what was typical with their patients with late diagnosis ADHD. Thanks to my health care professionals, and my doctor friend I was able to quite quickly find a psychiatrist with availability, and set up an appointment date although I did have to wait 3-4 months. Filled in some initial paperwork, and then sent in old school reports at their request.
After an assessment that lasted over an hour, mostly looking at if their was an alternate explanation (comorbidities that may cause changes to the dopaminergic system and mimic ADHD) they crossed the t's dotted the i's and submitted the diagnosis back to my GP. Some extra paperwork there so I didn't have to keep waiting months for appointments when I needed medication, and my GP was able to prescribe for me.
For me, the medication has changed a lot. I don't get stuck walking back and forth between rooms in my house, forgetting what I am doing, I have been able to build habits for the first time in my life and maintain them, I don't constantly feel overwhelmed by all the different things going on around me during the day, or so distracted that I forget to eat and take care of my physiological needs.
So, my best general advice is pretty simple. Book an appointment with your GP, and ask them to help you find the right person for what you need (or talk to your specialist if you already have one), research a little bit -if possible- for the right practitioner for your needs, try and look at their expertise, specialisations and experience if it is an option.
I'm more than happy to answer any follow up questions you might have,
Hoping this can help you on your journey to the answers you seek,
With all my warmth,
Resonar
