Three Ways to Know if You Have ADHD
Often when the term ADHD gets thrown around, everyone defaults to thinking it is a problem for children. As much as it can start in childhood, it can either carry into adulthood or be newly found in adulthood.
Sometimes the symptoms can be mild enough that a person may not have looked into them as being a problem. It probably was easy to manage during younger years, but as life roles and responsibilities changed, so did management of symptoms.
It’s not until they interfere with work, social life, or simple day to day functioning that it becomes an issue. While symptoms are unique to each individual, here are three main characteristics of ADHD.
Difficulty Paying Attention
The AD in ADHD stands for attention deficit, but it can be a little misleading. With ADHD, you can focus on and attend to tasks, but have difficulty maintaining that focus and attention when it’s for something mundane or uninteresting to you.
While completing the more mundane tasks, you may find yourself easily distracted by anything and everything around you: sounds, movements, and even smells can pull your attention away; everything around you can be stimulating.
If there are multiple things that need to be done, you may find yourself bouncing from one to the other. Think of doing your household chores. When trying to get one accomplished, you find yourself working on four at the same time. And not actually finishing the first one. This may be due to a need to multitask or because you became bored with one task and ended up switching to another.
Restlessness
The H in ADHD stands for hyperactivity. This may present differently in adults compared to children. Sure, some adults will have the high energy presentation or always be on the go in a superhuman form. Many adults, however, may display less obvious hyperactive signs. As you age, it’s normal for these to become more subtle and internalized.
It’s common to feel restlessness or have racing thoughts, whether you’re awake or tired. You may find yourself struggling to sit still and crave movement to work out your energy. Often people with ADHD are constant fidgeters. You may be a hair twirler, a pen clicker, a finger tapper, or use any object around you to fidget with.
Your hyperactivity can also present in the form of excessive talking. When talking with others, you may easily become tangential, getting way off topic or find that many conversations become lengthy stories. Sometimes you may over share information unintentionally. Your mind doesn’t mean to do these things, it just needs to get it all out of your system.
Disorganization
Disorganization can take on a number of different forms with ADHD. The more obvious thing is the literal organization of your belongings. Your space (whether office, home, or car) may be a cluttered mess or items are placed where they would not make sense to be placed. Finding specific items when you need them can become difficult because of the lack of organization.
You may also find that you lose things often. You might forget where you put your car keys or misplace paperwork that you need for work. This could be within minutes or days; it’s all the same for the ADHD brain.
This can also apply to how your brain processes information during a task. You may demonstrate poor attention to detail due to a disorganized thought process or have a tendency to procrastinate. Starting and fully finishing a task can also be hard.
If any of these signs sound familiar, it is possible that you are living with ADHD. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but it is a good starting point for assessing your possibility of having ADHD. If you’d like to discuss your symptoms further and learn more about counseling for ADHD, schedule a free 10-minute phone consultation or initial appointment with us today.
