Adult ADHD Symptoms

14 Responses to “Adult ADHD Symptoms”

1. kurt cashman Says:
   September 16th, 2006 at 1:59 pm

   I have two children. My daughter was diagnosed with ADD in 4th grade (she is now in 9th and is 14) and is taking Concerta. She can feel its effects in helping her in calming down and being able to focus. My son now 12 and throughout his life has had problems with rage tantrums, usually not physical but has been known to destroy things and hit people. It seems to me that the ADHD profiles typically don’t address these manifestations and I think they should. I understand that there are basically 6 types of ADHD and I think he falls into the “ring of fire” category. I am concerned with his patterns and want him to develop into a successful person. I am 50 and have known for about 5 years that I too had ADD when I was a child and presently do exhibit the character traits that you had listed in the “markers” for adult ADHD. My question I suppose is how do I get my son to come around and seek medical help for his condition? He won’t admit that he has a problem and is infuriated at me when I suggest to him and these are his words “that something is wrong with him and he’s mental”. If you have a strategy that I could use I would grateful.

   Thanks, Kurt

2. Dr. Kenny Handelman Says:
   September 19th, 2006 at 12:12 am

   Thanks for the comments, Kurt.

   Regarding the diagnosis, consider the diagnosis of Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or ODD. It may apply to your son.

   Regarding getting a kid or teen to ‘buy in’ to the diagnosis and treatment can be very tricky. I don’t have an easy answer for you on that one.

   Maybe getting him to see Ty Pennington openly talk about his success with ADHD treatment may help (only if he likes Ty!).

   You need to try to demonstrate to him his ‘differences’, and working with a doctor/professional may help.

   I am sorry to say that there are no easy answers.

   Does anyone else have a suggestion?

3. Allan Says:
   September 25th, 2006 at 2:19 am

   Hi,
   The ‘ ring if fire’ is a Dr Amen description of a possible comorbid ADHD- Bipolar. A lot of therapists don’t like the ODD dx as it just tells you what the kid does and not why and the why is usually taken as ‘ bad parenting ‘ or personality which needs firmer limits etc.
   i would begin some family therapy , you have difficulty not the kid , and try promote dialog and communication skills and most important trust. he has to see you as a help and be confident that the process will serve his interests. He is basically a teenager and will resist you trying to control him with punishments and rewards. I prefer a ‘ working with’ approach, problem solving. Once you are focused on problem solving and thinking skills , we can ask what gets in the way - the inability to seperate emotions and put them on the shelf , mood , irritability , hyperactivity - here medication can help make a kid more responsive to your teaching, that problems can be solved , that one can also ask for help or come up with another plan. The therapist can help in this area. I also recommend a buddy-tutor , a confidant for your child. usually the more democratic the relationship , your child will open up . maybe a teenager who has ADHD and takes medication , naturally this fact should only made known after the relationship is strong. If he is struggling at school with behavior , schoolwork , it could come from the school, social worker etc that he sees a doctor .
   The better your relationship with him , the more you can influence him
   if you ask him , what can improve the relationship , make life less frustrating for him, maybe this can be a start for him also being part of the solution. It is not easy . Education is a long process.
   I hope this helps
   Yours Allan

4. Mark Says:
   November 2nd, 2006 at 12:07 pm

   When I was a young boy in elementry school my parents were first told I maybe retarded and later I had a learning disability. I struggled all through school all the while no one could make a proper diagnosis. As I entered adulthood i ended up in a substantial amount of trouble and learned some very harsh lessons. During this time I was diagnosed with having bipolar and was prescribed paxil. This never seemed to work and shortly thereafter quit assuming it was hopeless to help me. During this time I worked in a warehouse where I was eventually forced to guit due to too many concussions (6). I went to collge after that and fought through a few more years of school not taking any medication. Soon after graduation I went to work for an Architectural firm and that is when the symtoms really started to show up. As time progressed I soon realized I would never be successful at this job due to the fact that all my symtoms would be more emphasized. Determined to not let ADHD dictate where and how I would live my life I decided to fight on, but as time went on I found that I would have to get help or I was going no where in a hurry. I was restarted back on paxil, but soon found that Bipolar was not so much the issue it was ADHD. First was Strattera then Wellbutrin but to no avail. Finally back to Strattera but then I had some very strange side effects that made quit altogether. For 6 months I did not try anything until I heard Ty’s story and said that is me. I just got started again with Adderall XR and the first signs have been very positive. the most positive ever. I have been smoother and more focused and I don’t seem to forget anymore. Now it has only been a week but considering where I was it is awesome.

5. Robert Says:
   December 3rd, 2006 at 12:01 pm

   Hi;

   In reading some of the messages here, the frustration becomes apparent. I had, and still have, my share also.

   I’m one of those adult ADDers who people think is great, but I certainly don’t live up to my potential.

   I was diagnosed when I was 35.. and that was 15 yrs ago. Ouch:(

   I belong to a support group in nYC.. that has helped me cope.

6. Summer Says:
   March 21st, 2008 at 9:03 pm

   Please offer some advice.

   I am a 31 year old female -with a career that I LOVE! I am terrified of screwing it up so I remain on Ritalin although I have never been properly diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.

   It has been assumed that I have learning disabilities thrughout my school years from grade 1 onwards and my self esteem has yet to fully recover the damages that it has sccumb to over the years of overhearing others low opinions of my abilities.

   WIth that being said, my folks had me tested by some sort of professional and it was decided then that I did not have ADD but rather I was focussing TOO MUCH ON DETAILS and therefore not hearing things around me -that I basically zone out. I could read and write and draw at an very very young age but god help me if I can finish a book - I can’t absorb a line by reading once. I also dont seem to finish anything I undertake - I dropped out of school in grade 11, expereinced several career changes since then yet I sustain very long term relationships.

   I can’t find any help except to drop thousands on a Dr. because my GP doesn’t beleive I have a problem since “I SEEM” to be able to focus just fine. I know how to carry myself and I can adapt to just about any situation life throws at me, but I am TERRIFIED that I am setting myself up for failure and I don’t want to lose the career I finally feel blessed to have earned.

   I have never ever been able to multi-task (something every other woman I know if excepotional at) I literally cannot safely drive while talking to a passenger on the phone or even sipping coffee. I am a chronic day dreamer, I cannot hear someone talking to me if I am watching tv or doing anything else except actively looking at them and ;listening. Heck I don’t sit still long enough to watch tv.

   I can work 12 hours straight with barely ay food, then do another 2 hours weight lifting at the gym - but find it hard to wake up in the mornings. I feel like my brain is RACING all the time so much internal noise and ruckus. I forget easily and have a ridiculously difficult time with time management, organizing and tidiness yet I have OCD and am very CLEAN.

   I was placed on Ritalin because I told my Doctor that I was addicted to Ephedrine after I admitted to self medicating myself with Ephedrine/caffeine/aspirin cocktail used commonly in finess circles - to get ripped. I found instead that it made me feel like a superwoman and that I was not forgetting as often or losing things as often and that I was reluctant to give it up. My Doctor gave me Ritalin instead making me promise to never touch Ephi’ again. I have kept that promise, but I am still finding that while Ritalin has had a noticable effect on my OCD(slightly) and the focussing - I am still screwed up.

   What in the world does this sound like, I am afraid because I am now having self defeating thoughts and paranoia that others are conspiring against me (talking about firing me etc) I feel like a rolling stone that gather no moss. I want to succeed to the fullest and feel brilliant but I feel retarded on a daily basis.

   Thank you if you have even read this far - I guess I am self centred too - so I have been told.

   Sorry and thank you,

   SC

7. Summer Says:
   March 21st, 2008 at 9:06 pm

   I DO notice the typos, by the way. I am just too impatient to type more carefully or go back and check spelling mistakes.lol

8. Charity Says:
   March 26th, 2008 at 3:26 pm

   I feel for you Summer. I am in the process of being diagnosed, although it’s months between apointments and it seems to take forever. My Dr. doesn’t believe i have ADHD and is sending me to be tested to rule out ADHD and wants to diagnose me with General Anxiety Disorder. I have been all over the internet researching how ADHD manifests itself in adults and these articles could be describing a day in the life of me. I am the worst procrastinator, can also not sit down to watch tv, but since i love to read and become hyperfocused on it (can sit for 12 hours and read a book cover to cover) the Dr. feels that I must not have ADHD. It is very frustrating. I know I have the potential to be so much more than I am (secretary). After high school in 1995 I sat for the ACT and scored a 27 - that was with a hangover, never having taken geometry, not studying - when the average score was 21. I should have a secretary, not be one. I’m smart enough to look up the symptoms I have and know whether or not I have ADHD. Ok, that sounded egotistical I know, but you get the idea. I feel like I’m interviewing for a cure for my defect when I go to the Dr. and I’m mucking it up. I just want help.

9. Summer Says:
   March 29th, 2008 at 6:07 pm

   Thanks so much for connecting Charity!

   Your life sounds identical to mine. You sound like someone who is “Gifted” and should be in an environment that allows you to celebrate your superior abilities rather than focus on the areas you can’t seen to get right. I LOVE the topics of anything to do with the human mind, what they might call quantum physics (the laws of attraction) the theory of human nature and potential etc etc etc. And so on. I could hide and learn and listen about that kind of stuff fo the rest of my life and I would if I had a wind fall of money and didn’t have to live up to what man man society expects of me to survice and be a contributoir to “normal” society. Now I hope I don’t sound like a granola of a flake cause I am actually quite down to earth too - I not what others might be picturing from this writing of mine. My outward appearance helps me come across as that Canadian girl next door with a little old fashioned values (which I am proud to have) and a goofy sense of humor. Inside my mind is a churning brew of philosophical thinking and questioning that cannot be quenched and it pains me to deal with my hungry brain that is CONSTANTLY analysing questioning theorizing so much that it often takes me hours to fall asleep and longer to wake up cause I have to exaust myself completely inorder to rest.

   With all this brain activity I would think I would be “genius” or atleast proud to be considered “brilliant” or atleas a “high achiever”. Sadly I am not. I am a perfectionist in areas that use my strenghts and involve my interests - people, customer service, conflict management, grief, trouble shooting with anything to do with people and marketing. This is how I keep my job so far as a business manger. I suck however at the other qualities that are and will endlessly be required from me: Organization, Prioritization, Time management, and Linear thinking (measuring ROI, Balancing Expenses/vs./ Revenue) as I am a “Gut” thinker and I repspond to “Gut” impulses. I have an idea and a vision I then wish to act on it and find that I cant explain the formula as is required from me as a business person.

   Charity, in a nut shell I think we are the modern day world’s “Davincis” and “Plato’s” the “Edisons” the “Bells” the “Henry Fords” The Jungs” the “Van Gohs”.

   Many great artists were considered to be “Mad” obsessed individuals who didn’t fit the norm - they weren’t the Smiths, the bakers the bankers the kings courtsmen…. they stuck out or should I say stayed in, like a sore thumb. Some would paint feverishly without food or rest for hours and days on end. Some would sever an ear to make point, some would spend hours on end thinking of crazy contraptions that are now manifested as helicopters and what was once deemed craziness and impossible are now very possible and even taken for granted.

   Many of our legends never lived to celebrate their success and brilliance. Many lived and died alone, lost and treated as outcasts as social retards.

   Many were never even discovered.

   I feel honored and fearrful at the same time to even consider myself as having anything in common with the above gems.

   I once read an article that stated that our modern civilization and perhaps it has ALWAYs been this way. Values Right Brain thinkers _ the accountants the organizers the lawyers the Western Doctors the Planners the time keepers the practical and the predicatble. They teach those things in school and funny enough the ones who seem to excel in school the fasted are more often than not born Right brainers like those above.

   Civilization frown upon the Artists, the Philosophers, the Theologeons, the musicians the romantics the eccentric or and perhaps label us as “deficiant” “learning disables” because we don’t learn or process information the linear way the Right brainers do. We are the Grey area thinkers. Somewhere between Black and White we exist. We read between the lines, have no concept of time cause time actually doesn’t exist. We live on energy and act on energy and see in energy and hear in energy. We see the details and paint the details and sing the details and feel the details. Some of us are like me (People readers - I have been told that I can read people exceptionally well - I seem to know what hides behind the walls) perhaps cause I see the tiny details in physical expression and voice pitch. Others process music like math, others can paint the infinite details they see in the wing of a bug, the veins of a leaf. Others can see and invent possibility where others saw nothing before.

   Problem lies in the Black and White. Until we can turn our dis - abilities into tangible goods that improve life for Right Brainers, we often live a life of failed expectations, low self confidence, tragic love and seclusion.

   I wish I were Right Brain. I wish I was Black and White. I wish I was the Organizer, The Planner, the one whos on time, the one who makes it all look easy, like second nature. I wish I could be my friend who makes more than 200,000 a year doing what she loves - she manages wealth and is trusted with others success cause she is a planner, an organized thinker by nature. Shortly after meeting her I asked her about her mind - I really don’t know how to make normalk conversation thus I am known to cut to the chase and ask the deep stuff when I meet people”. She told me she was a planner and an organizer since she could remember. She planned her future to a T as a child. She is beautiful and radiant she is Happiness!

   She has life by the Balls!

   I guess all I want from Ritalin and Doctor;s is what they have been gifted with since birth perhaps. I want to switch sides in my brain. Hey Doc! What do you have that can do that. Keep me on the top of the list when theres a Right Brain thinkers brain on the donor market. Anyone want to borrow the brain of a persistant day dreamer? Life is constantly intersting and you can stare at the details in a blade of grass and see things in a persons face that you perhaps have never has the eyes to see before - but God help you keep a job or a freindship or a God forbidden day planner.

   Enough Said,

   Summer

10. Summer Says:
    March 29th, 2008 at 6:18 pm

    Thanks so much for connecting Charity!

    Your life sounds identical to mine. You sound like someone who is “Gifted” and should be in an environment that allows you to celebrate your superior abilities rather than focus on the areas you can’t seen to get right. I LOVE the topics of anything to do with the human mind, what they might call quantum physics (the laws of attraction) the theory of human nature and potential etc etc etc. And so on. I could hide and learn and listen about that kind of stuff fo the rest of my life and I would if I had a wind fall of money and didn’t have to live up to what man man society expects of me to survice and be a contributoir to “normal” society. Now I hope I don’t sound like a granola of a flake cause I am actually quite down to earth too - I not what others might be picturing from this writing of mine. My outward appearance helps me come across as that Canadian girl next door with a little old fashioned values (which I am proud to have) and a goofy sense of humor. Inside my mind is a churning brew of philosophical thinking and questioning that cannot be quenched and it pains me to deal with my hungry brain that is CONSTANTLY analysing questioning theorizing so much that it often takes me hours to fall asleep and longer to wake up cause I have to exaust myself completely inorder to rest.

    With all this brain activity I would think I would be “genius” or atleast proud to be considered “brilliant” or atleas a “high achiever”. Sadly I am not. I am a perfectionist in areas that use my strenghts and involve my interests - people, customer service, conflict management, grief, trouble shooting with anything to do with people and marketing. This is how I keep my job so far as a business manger. I suck however at the other qualities that are and will endlessly be required from me: Organization, Prioritization, Time management, and Linear thinking (measuring ROI, Balancing Expenses/vs./ Revenue) as I am a “Gut” thinker and I repspond to “Gut” impulses. I have an idea and a vision I then wish to act on it and find that I cant explain the formula as is required from me as a business person.

    Charity, in a nut shell I think we are the modern day world’s “Davincis” and “Plato’s” the “Edisons” the “Bells” the “Henry Fords” The Jungs” the “Van Gohs”.

    Many great artists were considered to be “Mad” obsessed individuals who didn’t fit the norm - they weren’t the Smiths, the bakers the bankers the kings courtsmen…. they stuck out or should I say stayed in, like a sore thumb. Some would paint feverishly without food or rest for hours and days on end. Some would sever an ear to make point, some would spend hours on end thinking of crazy contraptions that are now manifested as helicopters and what was once deemed craziness and impossible are now very possible and even taken for granted.

    Many of our legends never lived to celebrate their success and brilliance. Many lived and died alone, lost and treated as outcasts as social retards.

    Many were never even discovered.

    I feel honored and fearrful at the same time to even consider myself as having anything in common with the above gems.

    I once read an article that stated that our modern civilization and perhaps it has ALWAYs been this way. Values Left Brain thinkers _ the accountants the organizers the lawyers the Western Doctors the Planners the time keepers the practical and the predicatble. They teach those things in school and funny enough the ones who seem to excel in school the fasted are more often than not born Left brainers like those above.

    Civilization frown upon the Artists, the Philosophers, the Theologeons, the musicians the romantics the eccentric or and perhaps label us as “deficiant” “learning disables” because we don’t learn or process information the linear way the Left brainers do. We are the Grey area thinkers. Somewhere between Black and White we exist. We read between the lines, have no concept of time cause time actually doesn’t exist. We live on energy and act on energy and see in energy and hear in energy. We see the details and paint the details and sing the details and feel the details. Some of us are like me (People readers - I have been told that I can read people exceptionally well - I seem to know what hides behind the walls) perhaps cause I see the tiny details in physical expression and voice pitch. Others process music like math, others can paint the infinite details they see in the wing of a bug, the veins of a leaf. Others can see and invent possibility where others saw nothing before.

    Problem lies in the Black and White. Until we can turn our dis - abilities into tangible goods that improve life for Left Brainers, we often live a life of failed expectations, low self confidence, tragic love and seclusion.

    I wish I were Left Brain. I wish I was Black and White. I wish I was the Organizer, The Planner, the one whos on time, the one who makes it all look easy, like second nature. I wish I could be my friend who makes more than 200,000 a year doing what she loves - she manages wealth and is trusted with others success cause she is a planner, an organized thinker by nature. Shortly after meeting her I asked her about her mind - I really don’t know how to make normalk conversation thus I am known to cut to the chase and ask the deep stuff when I meet people”. She told me she was a planner and an organizer since she could remember. She planned her future to a T as a child. She is beautiful and radiant she is Happiness!

    She has life by the Balls!

    I guess all I want from Ritalin and Doctor;s is what they have been gifted with since birth perhaps. I want to switch sides in my brain. Hey Doc! What do you have that can do that. Keep me on the top of the list when theres a Left Brain thinkers brain on the donor market. Anyone want to borrow the brain of a persistant day dreamer? Life is constantly intersting and you can stare at the details in a blade of grass and see things in a persons face that you perhaps have never has the eyes to see before - but God help you keep a job or a freindship or a God forbidden day planner.

    Enough Said,

    Summer

11. Summer Says:
    March 29th, 2008 at 6:24 pm

    Sorry I reposted this. I realized that I got brain sides mixed up in the first post. For the record:

    Right Brain: Feeling, Imaginitive
    Left Brain: Logic, Organized

12. Katherine Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 7:59 pm

    I just graduated university recently, while there I was dealing with many of the symptoms of adult ADHD. Looking back I had many of the symptoms as a child, but I think being an only child my parents thought it was ‘normal’ and encouraged me to exercise, play with friends and basically cope naturally. Unfortunately since graduation I have become employed in a job that, while I love it, requires attributes that, no matter how self disciplined I try to become, I cannot provide; attention to detail, organization, task management etc. I feel overwhelmed at work, just like I did in university, except when I felt overpowered there I could skip out on a class, accept a late grade on a paper etc, this is beginning to cause extreme anxiety. This type of behavior is not an option at my job where deadlines are tight, would you recommend medication? And if so, with no previous childhood diagnoses, how would a doctor diagnose me?

13. Therapy New York Says:
    September 26th, 2008 at 2:43 am

    “When the diagnostic criteria for ADHD were created, they were largely written based on studies of 6-12 year old boys.”
    I didn’t know that ADHD test wasn’t create equal for girls and adults. Will there be a change in the test so that it accommodates everyone? Also, you point out that an adult that quit jobs or disorganized was acting out from ADHD. I notice the media focus on children having ADHD more than adults.

14. Summer Says:
    September 27th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

    There has to be a cure, a way, a solution, a light at the end of the chaotic and foggy tunnel of ADD or ADHD etc. I’m gonna keep on searching, fighting, not letting myself allow my diagnosis to be an exuse for mediocre performance. The one thing it can’t rob me of is my passion, my talent and my vision. These three blessings along with an ample amount of good faith will map out my way.

    I will get there. I will succeed, and I will appreciate the taste of success all that much more because of the swim upstream. You will to! Keep telling yourself. There is old philosophies and new science that suggests we are more in control of our minds, thoughts, and destiny, then we ever imagined before.

    I have my good days, when I feel driven, motivated and brilliant with new potential and ability. And then there are the other days, the ones that I have allowed to manifest more often than I should, the days that I live in a fog, resulting in beating myself up with shame and fear of failure.

    There is a reason for my different way of seeing things, perhaps although painful, it is a gift. My job is to remind myself of this theory and to continue my search and learning so that I may discover that perfect fit!

    I wish us all everlasting light and hope, I wish us all focussed, deliberate action. I wish us all success in any or all capacities. God Bless All!

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