ADHD in adults: often diagnosed late and what the signs are

ADHD in adults is manifested by a variety of different symptoms. Here you can find out what they are, what characterizes the clinical picture and what you can do as an affected person or relative.

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. According to NetDoktor, it is one of the most common mental disorders that occur in childhood. Accordingly, many people tend to associate ADHD with children. However, ADHD also occurs in adults. According to NetDoktor, the disease persists for life in about 40 percent of those affected.

Contrary to popular belief, however, those affected are not always necessarily fidgety, confused and inattentive. ADHD in adults in particular can also manifest itself in completely different symptoms.

ADHD in adults: Three core symptoms

Physicians divide the signs of ADHD into core and secondary symptoms. According to the ADHD guide, the three core symptoms are:

• attention disorders
• hyperactivity
• impulsiveness

Attention disorders are expressed, for example, in poor concentration, reduced performance at work, frequent careless mistakes and daydreams. Constantly misplacing your keys and other items, having trouble listening, and overreacting to noise and other stimuli could also be signs of ADHD.

Hyperactivity in ADHD often manifests differently in adults than it does in children. In children, the phenomenon can be easily perceived from the outside, since they are often very fidgety, often run or jump up spontaneously. In adults, on the other hand, hyperactivity tends to cause inner restlessness and nervousness. Affected people then have problems, for example, sitting still for a long time at conferences and concentrating on what was said. This can be noticeable through small motor movements (such as rocking feet and legs) or increased irritability.

Impulsivity is a core symptom of ADHD, which can put a particular strain on the social environment. Because those affected often tend to quickly interrupt conversation partners or make spontaneous decisions without weighing the consequences. ADHD in adults and children can also express itself in brief outbursts of anger. Children are often much more impulsive as they are generally still testing their limits and learning to better control their emotions. In adulthood, the signs of impulsiveness are therefore sometimes significantly weaker.

ADHD in adults: Other symptoms

According to the ADHD guide, medical professionals have long assumed that ADHD “grows together” and goes away on its own as an affected child grows up. Today it is clear that this assumption is wrong. About half of those affected learned to deal with the disease in adulthood through appropriate medical therapy. The disorder is still there, but hardly restricts the life of the patient.

However, the other half of ADHD sufferers continue to experience complications into adulthood. According to NetDektor, ADHD in adults is characterized primarily by dizziness, forgetfulness, and disorganization.

Other signs that are considered secondary symptoms according to the ADHD guide also include:

• Rapid changes in mood, with the sufferer experiencing an unusually rapid swing from feeling good to feeling depressed. The latter usually only lasts a few hours to a maximum of a few days.
• Slight irritability and reduced stress tolerance are also secondary symptoms. Affected people often feel overwhelmed faster than their fellow human beings and experience short outbursts of anger that they can hardly control, even with small triggers.

Incidentally, according to the MSD Manual, ADHD is a congenital brain dysfunction. Those affected are either born with it or develop it shortly after birth. So it’s not possible to get ADHD in adolescence or adulthood. However, it may be that the diagnosis is only made because the disease has remained undetected up to that point.

ADHD in girls and women

ADHD is a severely misunderstood disorder, especially in people with female sexual characteristics. According to ADHS Germany, research has for a long time assumed that ADHD does not occur or hardly occurs in girls and women. This is mainly because the rating scales are geared towards the behavior of boys and men. However, women sometimes have other symptoms that have been ignored for a long time. Many women suffer from undiagnosed ADHD without knowing why they find many things in everyday life more difficult than their fellow human beings.

According to ADHD and Women, we now know that girls and women mostly correspond to the inattentive ADHD type. So you don’t attract attention with frequent fidgeting or loud outbursts of anger, but rather suffer in silence. They also have difficulty concentrating due to daydreaming, lack of concentration and easy distraction. However, the typical ADHD signs, such as motor restlessness and short-tempered behavior, are absent. Parents and teachers then often see less reason to suspect ADHD in their child and to seek medical help.

According to Praxis Vita, (unrecognized) ADHD in adulthood is noticeable in women through the following symptoms, among others:

• Poor concentration and reduced performance
• Tendency to chaotic lifestyle
• disorganization
• feeling of being overwhelmed
• “jumping” thoughts
• Actions are not completed
• frequent change of friends and partnerships
• great enthusiasm

Due to the lack of a diagnosis, women often develop compensatory strategies for complications in everyday life over time, according to Praxis Vita. As a result, they have to expend significantly more energy and strength for the same tasks. If something doesn’t work out, the self-image often suffers. ADHD sufferers may wonder why they are so much underperforming than their fellow human beings. This often leads to other mental illnesses. A reliable diagnosis and appropriate therapy could prevent this.

ADHD in adults: possible consequences

According to the ADHD guide, the disease in adults often does not occur alone, but together with comorbidities. One of the most common complaints is sleep disorders. This is due to the fact that many of those affected can only really concentrate on their work in the evening, because then fewer external stimuli bombard them. Accordingly, some use the concentration high until late at night and thus shorten their sleep time. However, this can lead to other ADHD symptoms, such as irritability, becoming worse.

In addition, according to the ADHD guide, those affected suffer twice as often from addictions as the rest of the population. One reason for this is that many addictive substances have a calming effect on ADHD patients and can thus apparently alleviate the distressing symptoms.

Anxiety disorders also occur with above-average frequency in ADHD patients. This is due, for example, to the fact that those affected have often experienced failures in the past due to their concentration problems and accordingly suffer from a fear of failure in exams or new job requirements.

Other mental disorders, such as depression, borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder, also often occur in connection with ADHD.

What can those affected and their families do?

If you notice signs of ADHD in yourself, you should first consult a psychiatric practice. Doctors can make an exact diagnosis there. For many of those affected, a clear diagnosis is a great relief. Eventually, they’ll know they’re having problems because of a mental illness, not because they’re less smart or lazier than the people around them. The treatment then includes, above all, information and advice, psychotherapy and any medication tailored to you.

ADHD symptoms can be stressful not only for those affected, but also for their families. Outbursts of anger, impulsive decisions, and restlessness can severely affect relationships and friendships. As a friend or partner of an affected person, the following tips may help you:

• Remind yourself that the other person has no bad intentions towards you.
• However, don’t be afraid to speak up about behavior that bothers you. Try to use non-violent communication. Those affected by ADHD are particularly sensitive to interpersonal conflicts.
• Find out about ADHD, especially about symptoms, the course of the disease and typical behavioral patterns. This way you can better assess the behavior of your partner or friend.
• You can also go to a coaching session or a self-help group with your friend, where those affected and their families can talk about complications in everyday life.

ADHD does not only have negative sides. Affected people are often characterized by numerous positive characteristics and strengths. These include honesty, inventiveness, helpfulness, energy and a high level of positive emotionality. It is therefore also important not only to concentrate on the negative aspects, but also to negotiate compromises in interpersonal relationships and to work on solutions.

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