Good job its a hard step to make

I didn't get diagnosed until my 30s too. I had the same feeling too. I was scared they'd think I was just seeking meds. I talked with my dr for a good 30 mins, unheard of honestly... and explained to her the way I've felt all my life... she got me a survey and she said after I finished it that she already knew she was going to treat me before the survey based off of our conversation. For me anxiety and adhd are one in the same. The meds allow me to stay focused for at least 6-8 hours at my current dose. It's incredible. Best of luck. Just be honest. You know yourself better than anyone else. I also explained my anxiety which I think helped the awkwardness of my conversation.

I spoke to my GP/PCP about thinking I have ADHD, and they gave me 2 options. Either prescribe me meds or refer me to a specialist.

I went to a specialist who then administered me like 4-5 different tests/discussions. And they were able to tell me their perspective of if I had it or not

The therapist might be able to help run you through some of those tests, and they might be able to sniff out if you’re bored or overstimulated instead. In either case, I would come to the first meeting open minded and have overarching goals and bullet points you would like to go over and take the discussion from there

I think any good therapist would be fine with you trying to self diagnose. It’s only natural to try to find a way to explain our experiences.

For your first session, don't expect much more than just getting to know each other a bit, talking a bit about your goals and where you're at. See if you vibe with them. It's one of those interpersonal things that you can't really objectively measure. Relax, feel them out as a person. As to self diagnosis: i think with a new therapist there's a bunch of fundamentals before you get to those more significant issues. Once you do, be honest and open. Tell them you suspect you may have something like it and why you think that way and they should take it from there. But honestly, don't expect too much from a first chat.

I'm 27, and I've recently been diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago. When I first met with my psychiatrist I told them that I suspect I might have ADHD, and I told them why. There was a few appointments. I had to go through several evaluations where I answered a bunch of questions and they watched me closely when I was in. Then they interviewed my family to ask about my history and how I acted growing up, and then they started me on stimulant treatment. All in all it took me two months before they started medicating me.

Just make sure you're seeing the right doctor for the right treatment. As far as I understand, a therapist can help you with cope with ADHD by helping you find ways to form habits to overcome your symptoms. a psychiatrist will help diagnose you officially and work with you to find a medication to help mitigate your symptoms.

For me they put me on Adderall and it has been completely life changing, but I've been told my case is pretty severe. (For context, my Dr. doesn't like to treat people with stimulants first, and usually tries to treat for depression or other conditions that have symptom overlap with ADHD first, but he moved me to stimulants after interviewing my family.)

As amazing as treatment has been so far though, as they've been slowly increasing my dosage, the side effects are a bit rough, the medication wears off later in the day causing a crash - especially when I first started the come down was rough, and after about 3 weeks started to lose effectiveness, and no matter how much they've increased my dose it has not been as effective as it was in those first three weeks. (Tolerance seems to be building fast for me :< )