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Comment by StefanBatory | Hacker News Reader

In Poland, you are basically unable to get diagnosed if you are an adult. You will be treated like drug-seeker.

You did okay at school? Clearly it's not ADHD. And so on. Heard similar stories from my friends and colleagues.

Americans have that one easier, ngl.

That's unfortunate. It's not exactly easy in the US, either. When I wanted to get treatment, I asked my family doc, who referred me to a psychiatrist. The psych diagnosed me with anxiety and depression. We tried treating that; it failed. Turns out ADHD causes a lot of anxiety. The anxiety was a symptom, not the cause. I found another doc who specializes in ADHD who finally started treating it, and the change was immediate.

You need to look for a psychiatrist that specialises in attention disorders. You also need to work with them on a therapy -- you don't go to them and ask them to give you amphetamines, but instead go talk to them about the issues you have in your day to day life.

Speaking as a fellow European that until recently had the same views as you.

With therapy I of course agree - I do think that people are overmedicated. It should be the last resort.

But even on that, it's unlikely that someone will concur it might be that. General vibe I got was that, as I said - it's something you grow out.

And sometimes I find myself doubting, maybe they're right and it's something wrong with us? Many times I have wondered if it is just my subconscious way of trying to avoid responsibility for myself.

> And sometimes I find myself doubting, maybe they're right and it's something wrong with us?

Yes. The thing wrong with us is that our life style is not a good fit but we persist to it despite knowing that. But why? Well we are more or less forced into it because society currently values dicking around with the JS library of the day much higher than herding a flock of sheep.

I literally went through the process in Poland with success. It was back in 2021 though but I don't think much has changed since then. A bigger probablem at that time was just finding pharmacies that stocked the medicine.

Could I ask what region you are from, then?

I was, without doxxing myself, somewhere in central Poland. Whether it's Łódź, Toruń, Bydgoszcz or Poznań, I leave that unsaid :D

I did everything in Warsaw. But I had to use private health care for the first consultation.

Not true,

Source: diagnosed in Poland, see my other comment. Feel free to contact if need help.

What's your general region you live in if I may ask?

And yeah, I've read it. I'm happy it got better for you. (not saying that sarcastically, I just have trouble with tone over text) How hard was the process for you to get it diagnosed?

The default city, but the process was that I paid out of pocket for psychological diagnosis and then used that to talk with psychiatrist. It seems to be the "easiest" route to be taken seriously, rather than drug-seeker.

And other comments - you NEED to look for people who specialize in ADHD specifically, both on psychologist and psychiatrist side. I got SNRI only because the doc said "it's used as last resort for ADHD, perhaps it will help you" - no, it does shit nothing for ADHD in my case. But it did help with many other things so I'm still grateful for that.

Also, keep in mind that non-stimulants also do work, but they don't work _immediately_ and that requires actual regime to make know whether they work on you.

Gotcha, thanks. (tbh I don't know anyone on NFZ anyway, if I wanted to meet a psychologist, I'd wait close to 300 days and I'm in one of major cities.)

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