Your child or a child you know may be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children with ADHD may take medicine or use therapy to help them manage the condition and improve daily functioning and get support through certain accommodations at their school. But primary care providers and psychiatrists are diagnosing ADHD in adults, too—but if you have ADHD, you might not even know it. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, adults with ADHD may not have been diagnosed as children or had a mild, manageable case that went unnoticed. Some people just know that managing everyday life and prioritizing and focusing on tasks can be a challenge.
Just as children with ADHD do, you may benefit from medicine or therapy to help you more easily deal with day-to-day tasks.
Being diagnosed with ADHD is no different than being diagnosed with any other chronic, treatable medical condition. You should treat a potential ADHD diagnosis as information to be used to make improvements in the quality of your life.
Behaviors Adults with ADHD Might Notice
Some of the common symptoms and behaviors of people with ADHD include:
- Difficulty completing tasks. You might make careless errors or forget small steps when you are working.
- Disorganization. You might find it difficult to organize your life, home, workplace and calendar.
- Emotional difficulties. You might be easily angered or very sensitive to criticism.
- Feeling restless or hyperactive. You might find it difficult to sit still or keep from fidgeting in social situations.
- Frequent daydreaming. If you find your thoughts wandering or racing, it can make it difficult to listen effectively to the other people in your life.
- Getting bored quickly. You might have a high need for novelty and often find it difficult to do repetitive tasks. This can also lead to higher than usual impatience.
- Impulsivity. You might be prone to impulse buying, changing your mind a lot or making poor decisions.
- Lack of concentration. You might find it difficult to concentrate on daily tasks like paying bills, answering emails and keeping track of your finances.
- Procrastinating. You might put things off, miss deadlines and run late.
- Sustained attention. If you are personally interested in a project, you might have periods of intense focus that allow you to be extremely productive, or still allow you to enjoy and focus on specific hobbies but not work.
- Trouble staying motivated. You might find it hard to stay motivated and focused on tasks.
This list of symptoms isn’t exhaustive. There are other behaviors that people with ADHD might experience. You may also be suffering from another undiagnosed mental health condition that could contribute to ADHD or make it worse. That’s why it’s important to talk with your doctor about any symptoms you experience that interfere with your ability to focus or complete daily activities.
How ADHD Is Diagnosed
If you suspect you have ADHD, an accurate diagnosis as an adult can help you improve your life and manage your daily tasks more easily. To be diagnosed with ADHD, adults must have experienced several symptoms of the condition before age 12 and currently experience at least five symptoms in at least two different places, such as at home, at work, in school, in social settings or at family gatherings. ADHD symptoms are serious enough to interfere with your quality of work, study, household routines or relationships.
There isn’t a medical test to diagnose ADHD. Instead, medical professionals rely on questionnaires, reported symptoms and behavioral scales to make a diagnosis. There might be evidence that you are having trouble keeping up with responsibilities in more than just one setting, like both at home and at work or school. If you are evaluated for ADHD, you should answer any questions your provider asks honestly and completely.
During this evaluation, you’ll be asked about your mood, your medical history and whether you struggle with alcohol and other addictive substances. You’ll also be asked about your experiences as a child at school and with your family. You might be asked permission for the clinician to speak with family members, friends and partners to gather more information or you might be asked to complete a series of psychological tests related to memory, reasoning and decision-making.
Because ADHD can have a serious impact on your life, it’s vital to receive an accurate diagnosis so your providers can help you by making a treatment plan to help you get your symptoms under control. The exact cause for ADHD is not clear, but genetics, environmental factors and experiences during development may increase risk.
Is ADHD a Serious Mental Illness?
ADHD is a serious mental illness that can impair your ability to deal with day-to-day tasks and make organization, concentration and focus difficult. It can cause problems with work performance, finances, relationships and be a contributing factor in physical and mental illnesses.
There is no cure for ADHD, but there are many treatment options. If you know how to approach the condition, you can take the right steps to make your life more manageable.
Treating ADHD
ADHD can be treated using one or more types of treatment that include medication, therapy or a combination of both.
The most common class of medication prescribed to treat ADHD are stimulants, although health care providers sometimes prescribe antidepressants. Here is where your medical history becomes important, as you and your doctor will need to consider other common health problems such as anxiety, depression, substance use disorders, diabetes and high blood pressure, which may be treated with a medication that interacts with stimulants used to treat ADHD. You and your doctor should also consider whether these or other mental or physical health problems are also contributing to ADHD symptoms and should be better treated.
Many adults with ADHD find help from a type of talk therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT focuses on helping you adapt your behaviors by breaking down large, overwhelming tasks into smaller, more manageable ones. It can help people with ADHD concentrate, stay more focused and avoid impulsive behavior that might put you at risk. You can use CBT techniques to manage daily activities and learn how to thrive with ADHD.
If You Have Questions, Ask
If you have symptoms of ADHD, but you aren’t sure what you need to do, talk with your primary care provider.
Your provider can help you get the right diagnosis, start treatment or, if needed, refer you to a specialist or another type of provider to help you manage ADHD. You should always feel comfortable talking with your doctor about your mental health. You shouldn’t feel stigmatized or ashamed of having ADHD.
More to Read
- The Connection Between Diabetes and Mental Health
- The Facts About Autism in American Adults
- Are You Experiencing Situational Depression?
- Trauma Response: Understanding How Trauma Affects Everyone Differently
