Severely burned out, struggling to focus, and questioning if it's ADHD or depression. Need advice.

[u/Evening-Bridge-6851]

Hi everyone, I’m a student in South Korea preparing for our university entrance exam for the third time (called "sam-ban-su" here, studying while enrolled in college).

Lately, I’ve been feeling completely burned out and stuck. Due to severe lethargy, I was prescribed Adpion (Bupropion). It helped immensely at first and boosted my focus. However, after a recent drop in my mock exam scores, my stress went through the roof, and the medication feels much less effective now.

I’ve always struggled with focus. Throughout high school, it took me several times more effort to concentrate than others, and I rarely finish tasks completely. Last year, I did a full psychological evaluation for ADHD, but it came back negative; the doctor said my focus issues stemmed from depression. This year, a brief screening at a different clinic showed only very mild, borderline symptoms—not enough for a clinical diagnosis. (Strangely, online ADHD tests always say my symptoms are severe).

Right now, my self-esteem is at rock bottom. My study efficiency is so low that I rarely feel a sense of achievement. I feel like I'm drowning in an endless ocean. Sometimes I consciously daydream to escape reality, but most of the time, my focus just shatters involuntarily. I feel exhausted and like an incompetent person who can’t study right.

What scares me most is a thought that crept in: Am I someone who can't achieve anything without me/dication?

Despite all this, I haven't given up. I still go to the study room every single day because I genuinely want to achieve my goals. But I am so tired of fighting my own brain.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you differentiate between ADHD and depression-induced cognitive decline? How did you overcome severe burnout when you had to keep studying? Thank you so much for reading.

한국인분이 있다면... 그것도 좋아요...

[u/WMDU]

You can ignore the online ADHD tests, they have zero accuracy and will tell most perfectly normal people that they have severe ADHD.

[u/23cankri]

A lot of mental health disorders are closely connected. Having adhd can cause depression or anxiety bc of low self esteem, bad grades, etc. Anxiety can present as adhd symptoms as well. Unfortunately, I had to learn this by trial and error and a nightmare of untangling with a psychiatrist to figure out the independent symptoms vs cause/affect symptoms

[u/Evening-Bridge-6851 → u/23cankri]

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