Adult ADD: The Impact
ByNew Survey Reveals Extent
ADD/ADHD Affects Adults Day-To-Day
The daily lives of adults are clouded by their ADD/ADHD in a variety of ways, a recent survey discovered. Those adults with ADD/ADHD are concerned about such items as symptom management to goal setting as well as the impact of the disorder on their performance at work.
Not only that, but the condition adversely affects their self-image in many cases.
The survey, sponsored by McNeil Pediatrics Division of Ortho-McNeil-Jannsen Pharmaceuticals was a part of this year’s observance of National ADHD Awareness Day. Harris Interactive conducted the survey.
When asked to cite their top three goals in relation to their ADD/ADHD, more than half – 57 percent – listed acquiring the ability to finish projects and tasks. The goal of “organizing the household” was listed in the top three by another half – 51 percent – of the respondents.
Five other goals appeared often on individuals’ top three lists. Nearly 40 percent of adults with ADHD sought to feel less irritable and upset, while another 28 percent cited the need to organize personal finances. Just about as many people additionally wanted to improve their personal relationships. Twenty-six percent of adults had this as a goal.
More than 20 percent had as their goal the need to feel calmer and to slow down, while another 22 percent of the respondents said one of their top three goals was to get along better with others in social situations.
Most surprisingly though may be the fact that more than one-third of the respondents felt that their ADD/ADHD symptoms were not under control. And even more revealing was that of those, more than half of them felt like a failure because of it.
Adult ADD/ADHD Affects Work
As anyone with ADD/ADHD can tell you, this survey revealed that working daily with this disorder is a challenge as highlighted by the nearly three quarters of the people who said that staying “on task at work” were marred by their health condition.
Specifically, employees with ADD/ADHD said that they not only had difficulty concentrating on what their supervisors and coworkers were saying (70 percent cited this as a problem) but they also found it hard to complete projects (61 percent), follow through on many tasks (another 61 percent), as well as sit still in meetings (60) and organize projects (59 percent).
Overall, many individuals with ADD/ADHD find their health condition to be an even larger stumbling block for them in the workplace. Up to half of those asked – a full 50 percent – felt that their mental health condition held them back from receiving a promotion. Another 65 percent admitted that they had to work harder to accomplish what others without the problem do. And nearly half -47 percent – say they must work longer hours to do what their healthy co-workers do.
The findings come as little surprise to Dr. Edward Hallowell, though, a psychiatrist and the founder of the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Sudbury, Mass. He’s not only treated adults with ADD/ADHD, but at age 31 he was diagnosed with the condition himself. “Findings from . . . [the survey] . . . underscore the impact ADHD can have for adults who are struggling to cope with and manage this condition at work, at home and in their relationships.”
So just how do adults with ADD/ADHD manage their symptoms? According to the survey, they use a variety of methods. The most common approach is through the use of prescription medication. Approximately 82 percent of those asked said they took prescribed drugs.
Approximately 75 percent said their symptoms can be managed through listening to music. Another 71 percent cited the use of a day planner to help them keep their focus, while almost as many cited the benefit of regular exercise (69 percent)
Of those who said they took medication 80 percent of them reported that when they don’t take it, they notice a worsening of their performance either at work or at home. Additionally, those who say they use medication also focus primarily on the goals of symptoms control as well as improving their performance not only at work, but also at home as well as in their various relationships.
In fact, more than one third of those interviewed -36 percent to be exact – admitted to feeling depressed when they thought about the difficulties they encounter in dealing on a daily basis with their ADD/ADHD.
Natalie Knochenhauer, founder of the metro Philadelphia Chapter of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), said that following her diagnosis and management of ADD/ADHD, she felt as if “I had extra hours in every day to accomplish what I needed to get done. Because of the clear benefits I have experienced, I work closely with my doctor to manage my conditions, which enables me to perform better in all aspects of my life.”
To read the entire article about this study, click here.
What are your experiences and reactions to this survey?
Please share them in the comments below.
Best,
Dr. Kenny
p.s. To get access to a comprehensive program which will help you to understand and overcome Adult ADD/ADHD, visit Secrets to Adult ADHD Success. On Thursday March 12, you can participate in a live Question and Answer call – if you choose to act now…
Technorati Tags: Adult ADD, Adult ADHD, Medication
My husband (55) suffered from untreated ADD for years before being diagnosed. We are so thankful – our lives have changed dramatically. The biggest problem we have now is finding followup care. So many focus only on childhood ADHD or are not taking new patients. The last clinic we called told us that since he was on meds and happy with them, any GP could renew the prescription. We’re not comfortable with that, and would like a yearly or even every-other-year checkup with an specialist.
One of my main problems is long,detailed tasks when the boss keeps it going & going. My add causes me to have a short patience line & then none of my other projects get done. Also a very low comprehension rate as well. All this gives me bad time management skills but through use of drugs & realizing this I give my more time to do it. Personal finances a keep track of it. Takes alot of decipline to do that as well as someplace very quiet an also established system.
I have found that meds didn’t help me. I either had a bad reaction or the side effects were greater than the benefits. I didn’t like how they made me so iritable. What I have done is be sure to write things down. It’s amazing what a difference this makes in remembering things that need to be done and ideas. Using a checklist of completed tasks and tasks to be done is also very helpful. But the one thing I have found is, and it’s quite difficult to do all the time, is to remember to think something through in your head before you speak. Yes it is very difficult not to just blurt things out, but if you can overcome this it gives you the confidence to try even harder to overcome other “obstacles” for lack of a better word.
I found some of these numbers to be interesting to say the least. Of course we’d expect to find data supporting the difficulties individuals with ADHD face in the work environment, but probably not to the extent of the survey’s findings. I was reading up a bit on some of the economic costs of having ADHD as an adult in the workplace (a summary of the article can be found here): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15693731
To briefly summarize the article, the individuals with the disorder (perhaps not surprising) had double the medical costs, which obviously becomes a factor for company health care plans. Perhaps even more intriguing was the fact that ADHD adults missed almost 4 times as much work as non-ADHD individuals. I was expecting somewhat of a difference, but not of that magnitude!
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[...] recently was reading a blog posting entitled New Survey Reveals Extent ADD/ADHD Affects Adults Day-To-Day. The post appeared on Dr. Kenny Helderman’s ADHD blog. Usually, I am in agreement with Dr. [...]
I was only diagnosed with ADHD late in life after my son was diagnosed with it. Looking at what has been said on this blog and at the “video’s” a lot more of my life now makes sense. I have also tried meds but also found I could not handle the emotional highs and lows and the irritation level. I am learning how to control my frustration levels through what I have read and seen on this blog. A big thanks to all for sharing their experiences to help other ADHD “members”.