I recently went to see a psychotherapist who was recommended and cited ADHD as a specialty to talk about really low self-esteem and depression that I suspected could be related to (undiagnosed) ADHD. Didn’t want to go straight to GP as was worried about being dismissed. After a chat about the problems I experience and how they impact my life, disorganisation, stupid mistakes, info that falls instantly down the back of a drawer in my head, the ability to completely forget about the existence of things and people (like nearly losing one of my kids in a busy airport because I managed to forget I’d brought them with me to the toilets in the time it had taken me to have a pee
), that sort of stuff, she got me to do a symptoms test and said she strongly thought I have inattentive ADHD. Then she said that really the only thing that works treatment-wise is medication and that I don’t need to see her again. She wrote me a report for GP, which I haven’t yet done anything with. I think I will pursue diagnosis and medication but I’m wondering about the extent that this will help address the self-esteem issues of years of feeling like a failure and not having fulfilled my potential, embarrassment about my low-level job etc. Have others who have been diagnosed and take medication also had therapy to deal with the emotional fallout? Or has therapy massively even if you aren’t medicated?