self-test: recent publications

If you have depression, you feel sad or deflated most of the day, for weeks at a time. Your sadness affects your performance at work, relationships with your friends and family, and even the things you used to love.Depression accounts for nearly $12 billion in lost workdays each year in America. Women are more likely to be diagnosed with major depression than are men, but that doesn’t mean it’s not equally likely in both genders.

Do you feel like you’re faking it through life – winging it more than others and barely hiding the chaos? Do you feel like you’ve tricked everyone into thinking that you’re a competent, intelligent person? Do you worry that you’ll be exposed someday? If so, you may be experiencing imposter syndrome.“Someone with imposter syndrome feels like a fraud or a phony,” writes Sharon Saline, Psy.D. “You doubt your abilities and successes, believing that your mistakes and moments of imperfection are proof that you’re not an intelligent person.”According to Saline, imposter syndrome, rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), social anxiety, and perfectionism – all common among individuals with ADHD – can be traced back to one thing: a core belief of deficiency.Answer these questions to see whether you show signs of imposter syndrome, and to what degree. Find more resources on imposter syndrome at the end of this self-test.The questions in this resource were informed, in part, from the ADDitude article titled “You Are Enough: How to Counteract Imposter Syndrome, Perfectionism, and RSD” by Sharon Saline, Psy.D., and from research literature on imposter syndrome. 12Time is Up! Time's upCan’t see the self-test questions above? Click here to open this test in a new window.1 Huecker MR, Shreffler J, McKeny PT, et al. Imposter Phenomenon. [Updated 2023 Jul 31]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585058/2 Chandra, S., Huebert, C. A., Crowley, E., & Das, A. M. (2019). Impostor Syndrome: Could It Be Holding You or Your Mentees Back?. Chest, 156(1), 26–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2019.02.325

About half of adults in the U.S. report experiencing loneliness, with higher rates reported among young adults — a concerning trend that started before the pandemic.1 In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr.

No one is immune to toxic relationships. Individuals with ADHD, however, may be especially vulnerable to experiencing emotional abuse in the form of gaslighting, love bombing, and other manipulation tactics in a relationship.“Adults with ADHD may be more vulnerable to gaslighting due to issues with self-esteem, difficulty with past relationships, and feelings of guilt and shame,” writes Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and the author of Healing from Toxic Relationships: 10 Essential Steps to Recover from Gaslighting, Narcissism, and Emotional Abuse.Gaslighting and other forms of emotional abuse, according to Sarkis, are pervasive and purposeful efforts (overt or covert) from an abuser to gain power and control over a victim.

“I feel like a magnet for unhealthy people.”“I need to learn how to pick BETTER friends.”“Why do I let people treat me badly?”“How do I know whom I can trust? I’ve been burned so many times.”Healthy friendships enrich our lives.

Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), also known as delayed sleep phase disorder or delayed sleep-wake phase disorder, is a circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder characterized by an inability to fall asleep and wake up at socially acceptable times. Individuals with DSPS, because of differences in their internal clock, naturally sleep and wake more than two hours later than most people.DSPS is often mistaken for insomnia and poor sleep hygiene.

If you have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), you worry about everything — whether appropriate and necessary or not.Symptoms of anxiety are nearly constant — and often blown out of proportion when compared to their causes. Anxiety usually starts in early adulthood, and affects as many as 6.8 million adults in the United States.

The hyperactive impulsive subtype of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) is relatively easy to identify in children. In adults, the symptoms are often more subtle and difficult to pinpoint — for example, hyperactivity sometimes settles into a general feeling of restlessness with age. However, while some childhood symptoms dissipate with time, others evolve and change and emerge.

Approximately 8.4 percent of children in the U.S. have ADHD, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Symptoms are often first diagnosed when a child reaches school age and has trouble sitting still for extended periods, disrupts the class by impulsively blurting out answers, experiences frustration or anger with classmates, and/or can’t seem to stay seated.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurobiological disorder characterized by difficulty communicating verbally and relating socially to others, alongside a need to engage in repetitive behaviors or language. Early symptoms often noted by parents include delayed speech, restricted interests, not responding to his or her name, and avoiding eye contact.

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) — formerly referred to as sensory integration dysfunction — is a neurological condition that interferes with the body’s ability to interpret sensory messages from the brain and convert those messages into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. It's not uncommon to feel occasional sensory overload — that is, to feel overwhelmed by distracting noises or crowded spaces or strong odors once in a while — but for children with SPD, these sensations disrupt and overwhelm everyday life.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes it hard for children to read, spell, and plan effectively. Dyslexia occurs in the brain, and it's highly genetic; if you have dyslexia, chances are much greater that your child will have dyslexia, too.If dyslexia goes undiagnosed, a child can not only fall behind in reading but also in development of advanced language and vocabulary skills.

Symptoms of inattentive attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (previously called ADD) — particularly in women — can go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years, even decades. Many adults are finally evaluated for ADD symptoms after their children get diagnosed — and they realize that they struggled with the same symptoms all their lives. ADD symptoms in adults can include lack of motivation, procrastination, and difficulty sustaining attention.

Anxiety is the brain's helpful and essential internal alarm system that activates our fight, flight, or freeze response. Typically, anxiety is triggered when a child feels vulnerable, in danger of being embarrassed, or in trouble. In children with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), these feelings or worry don’t always have a logical source and they are typically persistent, crippling, and way out of proportion.It's not uncommon for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) to be mistaken for ADHD symptoms in children. When a child’s attention is consumed by her vigilance and fearfulness, she may be unable to redirect her attention to anything else.

“Am I dyslexic?” Many undiagnosed adults find themselves asking this question, especially after a lifetime of otherwise unexplained reading challenges — and subsequent academic, professional, and/or personal problems.Though commonly considered a childhood disorder, dyslexia can be diagnosed at any age by a knowledgeable psychologist, diagnostic specialist or learning disability specialist. The first step? Take the free dyslexia test below, and show the results of this 13-question screener to your doctor to see if your symptoms align with those of dyslexia.Your doctor can give you a referral for further dyslexia testing by specialists use a variety of reading assessments and instruments, including the Lindamood Test (for sound and phonetics), the Woodcock Johnson Achievement Battery, and the Grey Oral Reading Test among others to detect dyslexia.[Dyslexia Test for Children: Find the Pediatric Screener Here]Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects reading abilities.

What causes sensory overload? If you find itchy tags unbearable, loud music intolerable, and perfume simply sickening, you may have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) — a condition that disrupts the way the brain takes in, organizes, and uses the messages received through the eyes, ears, muscles, joints, skin and inner ears. SPD may cause sensory overload, but it may also cause you to crave sensory stimulation through deep-tissue massages, winding motorcycle rides, or skydiving adventures.

Nearly half of teens today say they use the Internet “almost constantly” and visit popular social media platforms several times a day.1 While most teens say the time they spend on social media is “about right,” 36% say they spend “too much” time on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and the like.1At the same time, there is growing concern over the negative effects of social media and excessive Internet use on teen mental health, including its links to anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other conditions. (To be clear, research has found both positive and negative associations between social media, Internet use, and wellbeing.3)Social media addiction and Internet addiction are not official diagnoses, but researchers are learning more about the intersection of media use and wellbeing, including what may constitute problematic use and behaviors.If you are concerned about your child or teen’s Internet use, answer the questions below and share the results with a licensed mental health professional.This self-test was adapted from The Problematic and Risky Internet Use Scale (PRIUSS). It is designed to screen for the possibility of problematic internet use, and it is intended for personal use only.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).1Individuals with NPD have an inflated sense of self-importance, and may become upset or bewildered when they don’t receive the praise and attention they feel they deserve. As such, people with NPD often have fragile, highly variable self-esteem, and tend to be sensitive to criticism.

emotional dysregulation, often resulting in unstable interpersonal relationships, hypersensitivity to rejection, distorted self-image, marked impulsivity, and self-harming behaviors.12 About 1.6% of the population has BPD.3 Women are more likely to be diagnosed with BPD than are men, though researchers believe that BPD is often underdiagnosed and/or overlooked in men due to gender bias, treatment reluctance among male patients, and other factors.4BPD falls under Cluster B personality disorders, which are marked by dramatic, overly emotional, and/or erratic thinking and behavior.1”People with borderline personality disorder tend to view things in extremes, such as in all good or all bad,” according to Dr. Stephanie Stepp, an associate professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, who specializes in BPD.

NOTE: The more questions you answer in the affirmative, the more likely you are to have symptoms that resemble those of girls with ADHD. This self-test is not intended to diagnose or to replace the care of a healthcare professional. Be sure to share your completed self-test with a healthcare professional. An accurate diagnosis can only be made through clinical evaluation.

perception that you have disappointed others in your life and that, because of that disappointment, they have withdrawn their love, approval, or respect. The same painful reaction can occur when you fail or fall short of your rather high goals and expectations.

ADHD, people with executive function disorder (EFD), or executive dysfunction, often experience time blindness, or an inability to plan for and keep in mind future events that aren’t in the near-term. They also have difficulty stringing together actions to meet long-term goals.

people with bipolar disorder also have ADHD.Bipolar disorder is highly genetic, and usually comes on in the late teens or early adulthood. It affects approximately 2.6 percent of the U.S.

inattentive ADHD are often quiet and withdrawn. They may be seen as underachievers and daydreamers.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not gender biased. ADHD symptoms exist almost as often in girls as they do in boys, and the majority of kids with ADHD never outgrow it. What’s more, scientific research strongly suggests that ADHD is hereditary. Which means that, if you are the mother of a child with attention and impulsivity problems, you may have ADHD, too.

Awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has grown dramatically in recent years, which reflects both an increase in autism diagnoses and in the public's understanding that, even late in life, an autism diagnosis can offer major benefits and relief. Still, symptoms of autism are still frequently misdiagnosed as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and other related conditions — leading to poor treatment and lifelong challenges. If you recognize yourself or a loved one in the following descriptions of autism spectrum disorder, make an appointment with a health care professional to discuss an evaluation test for autism.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts the prefrontal cortex of the brain — the area responsible for executive functions, emotional regulation, and impulse control, among other things. Most children with ADHD become adults with ADHD because, though symptoms shift and change with age, they rarely go away all together.

Only a mental-health professional can tell for sure whether symptoms of distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are severe and persistent enough to suggest a positive diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. But if you are concerned that your child demonstrates ADHD symptoms, take this test to better measure his or her behaviors and to understand how ADHD in children is diagnosed.

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a behavioral and conduct disorder that affects as many as 16 percent of children in the general population; that number is even higher for patients with ADHD.