Adult Symptoms for ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, can affect adults as well as children. It has only been in recent years that ADHD symptoms have been delineated to adults and is now recognized as an adult's disorder as well as a child's . Having ADHD can affect your education, career and your relationships, so it is important for you to get a diagnosis if you think you have ADHD.

Effects

• Most adults who discover they have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder will often realize they probably had it as a child and were left untreated. Many of them found as teenagers they began to self medicate with alcohol and street drugs. Adult ADHD is difficult to diagnose, as many of the symptoms are also symptomatic of depression and drug abuse. Sometimes an adult will find he has ADHD when one of his own children was diagnosed with it.

Symptoms

• An adult with ADHD will, more often than not, demonstrate these three behavior traits: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. These symptoms have usually been quite obvious personality traits since they were children.

Inattention

• You are inattentive if you lose focus on a task quickly or often. You lose interest and don't listen when people are speaking to you. You appear to be listening, but are thinking of something else. You do not follow instructions received and you make many careless mistakes. You do not like working on projects that have a lot of detail. You may start projects and then just leave them undone. You change hobbies often. You may purchase a lot of "toys" or things you must have and then move on to something new quickly.

Hyperactivity

• You are hyperactive if you can't hold still. You are constantly fiddling with things and tapping or shaking your legs. You jump up and walk around suddenly. You have mood swings, in which you may feel depressed or suddenly euphoric.

Impulsiveness

• You are impulsive if you change directions from one task to another quickly, even if the consequences could be a problem. You interrupt other people while they are talking. You may say rude or inappropriate comments without thinking first about the other people around you. You intrude on other people's personal space. You have what physicians are now calling disinhibition. Disinhibition is where you are not able to stop an action quickly once you have already put it in action. You can't stop yourself from doing what you decide impulsively in your mind. You may be a compulsive gambler or shopper. You may have a hot temper or feel out of control.

Causes and Treatment

• ADHD appears to be genetic. There is usually more than one person in each family with the disorder. If you are diagnosed with ADHD, you should consider meeting with a therapist or counselor that will teach you how to control your symptoms. There are medications available as well.