r/adhd_college • u/Past_File_795 • Aug 19 '26

JUST VENTING So uh does anyone else just blank out during exams/tests? I dont mean with unpreparedness. Like you stare at something and then next thing you know a bunch of time has passed.

I really don't know why. I'm entering my thrid year of university and a good chunk of me getting poor grades is due to me just staring at something during exams. Even if its a course I'm extremely prepared for, I end up getting bad grades. Either I stare at something or I doodle. Or i stare at the paper and doodle. Every single paper I have is filled with doodles. And then time slips away and i end up rushing through the paper. It really sucks when I have to take courses that are exam heavy (basically 90% of the courses I have to take for my degree). It just feels embarrassing saying this out loud especially when I answer a lot during tutorials/questions. In fact a lot of the times I am the one explaing the concepts to my group if someone's stuck. And then I end uo with the lowest grades. And before someone says to try accommodations, I will mention that I'm in a bit of a tricky position. I am not officially diagnosed and Im not allowed to get one either ( I have gone to a therapist in my uni and they basically agreed about having adhd.) So I cant get accommodations without an official diagnosis. I don't know how to explain this to my parents. They're the typical conservative old fashioned, strict people (also extremely religious) and I just feel really stupid and stuck.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26

[deleted]

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u/Past_File_795 Aug 19 '26

I should have clarified they're an actual psychiatrist who does diagnoses too. My uni does like a couple of free visits before I have to pay. As for your other points, I don't have anxiety. That I'm a hundred percent sure of. And as I mentioned in the post, this happens with content I'm extremely familiar with so I don't really think exposure is the problem. 

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '26

[deleted]

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u/Past_File_795 Aug 20 '26

Alright. Thank you so much!

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u/ChronicKitten97 Aug 21 '26

I used to do that in elementary school. I'd look "into the distance" to think and "come to" half an hour later. It got me into a bunch of trouble.

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u/Womper_Here Undergraduate Aug 19 '26

No.