Adult ADHD: Signs and Symptoms
Do you have a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but are struggling to navigate how to treat it as an adult? Or do you have symptoms like trouble focusing, hyperactivity, or forgetfulness? If so, you’re not alone.
With the recognition that ADHD symptoms can continue into adulthood, more and more people are recognizing the impact of this diagnosis throughout a person’s life. It’s usually diagnosed during childhood, so the longer you go without a diagnosis, the higher the likelihood that your symptoms can be misdiagnosed as something else.
After years of dealing with frustrating, seemingly unidentifiable symptoms that interfere with your ability to participate and function properly, it’s time to take charge of your mental health and figure out what’s going on.
Signs You Might Want an ADHD Evaluation
The first step in getting an adult ADHD diagnosis is recognizing the signs and symptoms so you know when to seek treatment. Here’s an overview of the most common ones:
- Inattention: Being inattentive often looks like making careless mistakes on projects, struggling to sustain attention for extended periods, finding it challenging to follow instructions, needing help completing tasks, being organized, and misplacing items. Any of these can impact your personal and professional responsibilities, which can be frustrating and disruptive to your productivity.
- Hyperactivity: While hyperactivity is usually associated with ADHD in children, adults can have these symptoms as well. Restlessness, a constant need for movement, and fidgeting indicate you might have ADHD. Other symptoms are feeling full of excess energy, which makes it challenging to stay seated or focus in quiet environments. However, this condition’s sensitivity to loud noises is also a hallmark.
- Impulsivity: Impulsivity is characterized by behaviors like interrupting others during conversations, struggling to wait your turn, taking “too much” during social situations, and finishing other people’s sentences. Like other common ADHD symptoms, these signs of ADHD often make it harder to get things done and engage in low-stress conversations.
However, it’s important to remember that ADHD looks different in everyone. Males and females have different presentations of ADHD, with males displaying more aggressive, risky, and disruptive behaviors and women exhibiting more internalized symptoms like losing focus, repetitive behaviors, and intense feelings of guilt and shame. Women are also more likely to be diagnosed with other mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, or a mood disorder.
Start Treating Your ADHD With Medication Management
After receiving a diagnosis, many people explore medication as a treatment for ADHD. With stimulant and non-stimulant options, these medications can help improve your focus, impulse control, and overall cognitive functioning.
At Balance Psychiatric Services, we have psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) trained in comprehensive ADHD care, offering a holistic approach rather than only looking at one aspect of your well-being. Schedule your first appointment today to start your journey toward discovering how to manage your ADHD symptoms.