Similar Symptoms, Different Context: Adult ADHD in a Nutshell

In contrast to childhood ADHD, adult ADHD has different components to it, and largely depends on how the individual with childhood ADHD has grown and developed over the course of their adolescent years to adulthood. Children that are diagnosed with ADHD early on, for instance, are much more likely to be able to recognize and better understand their symptoms and patterns in their symptoms than those who are newly diagnosed as adults.

Many people wonder how someone could be misdiagnosed or go undiagnosed as a child. Women are far more likely for this to happen, because they tend to internalize a lot of the symptoms of ADHD, unlike boys who will be very outward and expressive. Some people can go for years without a diagnosis simply because they are able to "mask" their symptoms to appear normal. However, at a certain point in adulthood, it may become increasingly difficult to mask these symptoms as a person grows and has to become more independent.

Signs and Symptoms:

As an adult, the signs of ADHD may manifest differently than in children. For instance, many children can't sit still and will get up and walk around the classroom a lot. For an adult, they are aware of the need to sit for long periods of time for work or certain other obligations, so they may tap their feet, fidget, or play with a pen, etc. They also may pace around when they talk on the phone.

Another adulthood symptom that will not be seen in childhood is the adult's ability to manage all areas of their life and keep a good balance. Adults with ADHD often have a hard time balancing their work and home life, either by being workaholics with no free time, or being unable to focus on work and spending too much time at home. This impacts not only job performance, but also finances.

Financial struggles and hardships can be a big part of adult ADHD as well, whether the person has a problem with excessive spending/shopping, or they lose their job due to inability to focus and do their job at work. In childhood, these symptoms manifest as executive functioning problems in the classroom, but it's never really focused on how this could potentially impact the child with ADHD later in life.

Some other signs of adult ADHD that are common are mood swings, feeling overwhelmed, depression, low self-esteem, anger issues, and even psychosis. If things get bad enough, one can definitely fall off the wagon and go into a period of psychosis. Sometimes, we (adults with ADHD) think we are going mad. It begins to feel like we are left out of the loop, as every other adult around us is able to function and be content and happy, while we seem to be at the end of the race struggling to keep up; in last place.

This is why a lot of adults are misdiagnosed with other mental health disorders when they are younger, such as bipolar disorder, OCD, or borderline personality disorder, or even other learning disabilities instead. (It's important to understand that people without ADHD can have a lot of these signs and symptoms, too, which is what makes diagnosis so difficult. If the therapist doesn't know what triggers the behaviors, it is hard to determine exactly what mental disorder the person may be dealing with).

The important thing to remember is that when these signs and symptoms become a larger problem and they impact your ability to function every day, that is a reason to call your doctor and therapist to find out if it may be undiagnosed ADHD.

Similar Symptoms, Different Context:

According to Forbes magazine, "An estimated 8.7 million adults in the U.S. have ADHD", and only "2.6% of adults worldwide have persistent ADHD from childhood". This indicates that a diagnosis of ADHD as an adult is a lot more common than one might think. Despite the literature indicating that ADHD MUST be present in childhood, many adults don't begin to experience problems or symptoms from their ADHD until adulthood. A lot of this also may be due to the fact that some symptoms were unnoticed or overlooked when they were children. A lot of adults that are diagnosed late can go back and pinpoint specific things that might have indicated ADHD early on had their parents and teachers been attentive to it, but a lot of times, it is just simply overlooked.

Treatments:

There are many different ways to treat ADHD, but the most common plans include a mixture of medications, talk therapy, and sometimes life coaching. Medications consist of stimulants or non-stimulant drugs that work to help the person in the area of focus. These medicines act on certain receptors in the brain to help persons with focus issues such as ADHD concentrate on one thing at a time. A lot of people talk about how it almost "turns the noise off" of their inner brains so that they can actually focus on the task at hand instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything else around them that may be impacting their ability to complete the task.

Therapy is also a good option because therapists can teach adults with ADHD how to manage their symptoms, create plans for when things don't go well, and continue to support the person in their goals throughout talk therapy treatment. Sometimes weekly or bi-weekly visits to a therapist are encouraged to help the adult with ADHD manage and cope with day-to-day symptoms that they can't manage.

Another type of treatment that a lot of adults opt for is ADHD life coaching. Life coaches help you organize your life and manage all of the areas of your life. They are kind of like a best friend that will help you stay on track and stay organized in your day-to-day life. It sounds like a great plan, but usually, life coaches are very expensive, so a lot of people do not have the opportunity to try this method and see if it works.

All of these treatments are available to adults with ADHD, and help assist them in dealing with their daily symptoms as well as improving themselves gradually over time. There are many adults with ADHD that may not seek treatment or may go undiagnosed. These persons may be missing an opportunity to better themselves and their lives if they are not seeking medication or treatment at the time.

To conclude, adult ADHD is very different from childhood ADHD in many ways. The symptoms manifest differently, there is a larger percentage of adults with ADHD that get diagnosed as adults, and treatment plans tend to be more geared towards life goals and management rather than education. For those newly diagnosed as adults, it is an uphill battle to find the right medication and the right routines and solutions that will help them manage their lives more easily. If you or someone you know may be suffering from adult ADHD, they should see a doctor to find out if the symptoms they are experiencing may be undiagnosed adult ADHD.

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a medical professional. I am not here to give advice or instructions and am only informing people about the facts of this disorder.)