u/47wtd

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD
For as long as I can remember, I was described as absent-minded, lazy and careless

University made this much harder.
I studied Industrial Engineering and Management, which is not exactly an easy degree. I struggled enormously with studying consistently. I could understand the material, but actually organizing myself, starting assignments, maintaining focus, and studying ahead of time was incredibly difficult.

I After graduating, the same problems followed me into the job search.
I’ve spent a long time struggling to find a job, applying, getting rejected, losing motivation, and then struggling to make myself apply again. There were periods where I couldn’t even bring myself to apply despite knowing I desperately needed to.
My GPA isn’t great. I graduated with a GPA around 2.6, and I’m scared universities are going to look at my transcript and immediately decide I’m not good enough.

My parents want me to do a Master’s degree. Part of me wants to do it too. But I’m genuinely terrified.I can’t go back and redo university knowing what I know now.
That’s probably the hardest thing to accept.

I’m curious if anyone else was diagnosed with ADHD after university or later in life.
Did getting the diagnosis change how you viewed your academic struggles?
And if you had a mediocre GPA because of difficulties you now believe were related to ADHD, were you still able to get into a Master’s program or build a successful career afterward?
Right now I’m trying to convince myself that a bad academic record doesn’t necessarily mean my future is already decided.

Whenever I go outside and hear people laughing, I immediately think they’re laughing about me, even when I have no evidence that they are.
It makes me very self-conscious and sometimes makes me want to avoid going outside altogether. I find myself paying attention to people’s facial expressions, whether they look at me, what they’re saying, and whether their laughter happened after I walked past.
I know logically that people could be laughing about literally anything, but in the moment my brain automatically assumes it’s about me.
Has anyone else experienced this? How did you learn to stop interpreting other people’s laughter as being directed at you?