What are the symptoms of ADHD?

Hi ADHDers!

How is everyone doing?

Today I’m taking it back to basics to explore the symptoms of ADHD.

I should say the term ‘traits’ is preferable to ‘symptoms’ within the ADHD community.

However, I have used ‘symptom’ because people researching this topic, who are looking for answers, are more likely to search with this term.

I’ll touch on:

• What is ADHD?

• Symptoms included in the DSM

• Traits linked to ADHD

• ADHD Comorbidities

Shall we begin?

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What is ADHD?

“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to control their behaviour and pay attention to tasks” - National Human Genome Research Institute

ADHD begins in childhood, although many adults aren’t diagnosed until adulthood. It would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention that many people go through life undiagnosed.

Health agencies like the UK National Health Service and the National Institute of Mental Health mention that ADHD can be hereditary and genes can play a role.

Types of ADHD

There are 3 types of ADHD:

• ADHD Inattentive Type

• ADHD Hyperactive-Impulsive Type

• ADHD Combined Type

I was diagnosed with ADHD Combined Type by two psychiatrists via the UK NHS service.

Before we get into the symptoms it’s worth saying that not everyone gets diagnosed with a ‘type’. It can vary by country.

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Symptoms of ADHD

Below are some symptoms associated with ADHD that are captured under the diagnostic criteria.

ADHD Inattentive Type can show up as:

• Procrastination

• Being easily distracted

• Lack of attention to detail

• Poor working memory

• Poor organization skills

• Difficulty paying attention

A description, tips and example of how this can impact you as an adult:

adhdtraits.com

ADHD Hyperactive-Impulsive Type can show up as:

• Impulsiveness

• Impatience

• Restlessness

• Interrupting others

• Constantly fidgeting

• Excessive talking

A description, tips and example of how this can impact you as an adult:

adhdtraits.com

ADHD Combined Type is when you have both the inattentive and hyperactive type. As I mentioned earlier I was diagnosed with ADHD combined Type. I scored high on symptoms in both childhood and adulthood.

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Words of advice

ADHD impacts us all differently and we don’t all exhibit behaviours associated with ADHD. Some people may struggle in one area, other people may be fine in the same area.

So please don’t tell people that “they don’t look or act like they have ADHD”.

You can experience/exhibit symptoms of ADHD and not have ADHD. Hopefully, this isn’t a surprise to some of you.

Let’s unpack this, taking this example of Procrastination. A person who doesn’t have ADHD may procrastinate but eventually call the dentist before the tooth worsens. For people with ADHD, it becomes too late and we’re faced with the consequences below:

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Traits linked to ADHD

There are things that people with ADHD experience/struggle with that have not been formally classed as symptoms of ADHD.

For example, Hyperfocus, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), Time Blindness, Rumination, Hyperfixations, and many more!

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ADHD Comorbidities

There are probably many individuals who only have ADHD. However, research shows that many people with ADHD have co-occurring conditions such as:

• Another form of Neurodivergence (e.g. Autism, OCD, Tourette’s)

• Mental Health conditions (e.g. Anxiety, Depression)

• Substance use Disorder

I mention this because you could think something you’re struggling with is because of ADHD but it could be due to something else.

Why does it matter?

Being able to correctly identify the cause of whatever you’re dealing with enables you to research it and find ways to manage it or explore treatment methods.

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If you want to learn more…

This newsletter is a very condensed overview of ADHD. There is so much information out there, some useful, some not so useful.

Information on:

• ADHD Medication

• How do you know if you have ADHD?

• ADHD Cards

That’s all from me!

Rach, with ADHD.