Hi Everyone,

I've always had an issue focusing in social or stressful situations, and this has persisted into adulthood (I'm 26). When I was young, I was "diagnosed" with ADHD (formally ADD), and took Ritalin to focus in school/college; however, this never helped in certain situations such as taking SATs in a room filled with random people I've never seen before. I say diagnosed in quotes because I never had a brain scan to confirm this -- rather I think I may have anxiety.

I've since gotten off Ritalin and have tried living a healthy lifestyle instead (generally eating well / doing some form of exercise everyday), but I still find it hard to focus at my job in social situations (i.e. zoom meetings) with the fear of being called upon or some other random shit that's going on in my head when people are speaking. I know I'm not stupid -- I graduated with straight A's from Johns Hopkins in a STEM graduate program, and have always been able to think clearly / make good decisions when others are not around. 

Does anyone else experience this? Everyone I talk to just tells me to calm down, but I think it's wired into me and will persist unless I get help (i.e. medication)?