adult add symptoms

Because girls with attention deficit don’t usually have the hyperactivity component that accompanies ADD, they’re thought of as being “emotional” or “difficult.” When they do have the hyperactivity factored in, then people call them tomboys or think of them as flaky or flighty. These girls also have more fights with peers because of their emotional spikes, and still, nobody recognizes that the girl is ADD. The interesting part is that they share all of the attention deficit symptoms with males, such as disorganization, impulsivity, and issues with time management, but still nobody recognizes the attention deficit side of some girls until they become adults. Usually, this is when their own children are diagnosed.

By that time, she is an adult ADD woman, and many of the symptoms, confirmed by a doctor or not, give her added distress. Why is that? Because girls are often encouraged to become multi-tasking super women.

There’s a general feeling among women that they have to be twice as good as men to succeed in business. For an adult ADD woman, this expectation can produce incredible anxiety due to her issues with impulsivity and focus. And though women who think society expects them to be perfect don’t have a realistic assumption, the adult ADD woman may become depressed and lose self-esteem merely because perfection is impossible, especially for anyone with ADD.

Usually, this is exhibited in the adult ADD woman’s home. The place is cluttered like a debris field after an airplane crash and two inches of dust might sit on the TV. It’s chaotic! And because of this, she just doesn’t invite people over. The mere thought that someone might come to the door and see her exaggerated mess may even send her into another round of anxiety, compounded by feelings of shame and guilt.

And when adult ADD women have to work outside the home, there’s added stress. They have to get to work on time and perform their jobs at an acceptable level. But she has to deal with the added stress of what to do with her kids while she’s working, getting the groceries, dropping off cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, and all the other things a mother is expected to do. Due to her inability to manage time well and be organized, this can be very, very difficult. But that’s only if there’s a complete family, a two-parent household.

Adequate sleep is important for improved focus and well-being. Many people with Adult ADD have trouble falling and staying asleep. If you are tired throughout the day, you will have trouble focusing. As the day goes on, you might feel like falling asleep at your desk, but you still have to work! Adequate sleep can help you stay more alert. Falling asleep at night is easy to do if you are able to follow some easy “sleep hygiene” steps. A good night’s sleep can help you control some of your Adult ADD symptoms.

Steps for Good Sleep Hygiene for Adult ADD Sufferers

Respect the Bed – Use your bed only for what it was made for. Don’t do homework or important tasks in bed. Do your reading at a desk or in a comfortable chair. If you use your bed just for sleeping, your brain be triggered to know that its time to sleep when you get in bed. This can improve your sleep and reduce your restlessness. Try to do most of your activities outside of the bedroom. Instead of reading in the chair in your bedroom, try working at the kitchen table.

Make a Routine – Go to bed at the same time every day. Follow a routine before you get into bed. If you can set a time to go to bed, your body will be ready to go to bed when that timed comes around. Having set routines (wash your face, brush your teeth, turn on the fan, get in bed) can help trigger your brain as well.

Fix the Environment – The optimal environment to sleep is very dark and cool. Try not to have any glowing lights in your room and make sure your room is not too warm. Even the light from a bright alarm clock can disturb your sleep, especially if you keep it on your nightstand near your head.

Avoid Caffeine – Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon. Not only is it a stimulant, but caffeine is also a diuretic. You don’t want to disturb your sleep by having to get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.

Shut Down – Start shutting down or ceasing stimulating activities a few hours before bed time. This might mean you need to watch movies before dinner and save less stimulating activities for later. Computers can also be stimulating. Consider turning off your computer during the evenings. Make note of anything you feel like you need to look up or take care of on your computer and do it in the morning. It can wait.

Childhood ADD symptoms can manifest themselves in different ways in adults because adult life is so much more complex. Today, let’s look at these ADD symptom changes and how they can affect someone with attention deficit.

Hyperactivity presents itself in children as the inability to maintain stillness for an extended period, but the ADD symptom may change in adults and mean feelings of being overwhelmed, excessive talking, or heightened states of arousal that can’t be controlled. Whereas excessive talking isn’t life altering, feelings of being overwhelmed or even sexual addiction can be impossible to deal with. If you have these kinds of feelings, it’s important to seek professional help. Nobody has to go through life being a victim of these emotions.

Impulsivity is another ADD symptom that can change as people become adults. Though it can make us impulse doers, it can also mean we’re decisive. But the other side of the coin is irritability, quick anger, and the inability to stop oneself from making rude or insulting remarks. It can also cause poor timing in interpersonal relations. People may not want to be around you if you can’t control anger or censor your own thoughts, and if these are your issues, you may be quite alone. Rather than that, seek professional counseling to help you with these ADD symptoms and follow a course to get you back on track.

Perhaps the most benign of the changes of ADD symptoms in adulthood is inattentiveness. It can be a problem if you just zone out when you’re in the middle of an important meeting, of course, but it shouldn’t change your life. But you really hate to do boring things, like balancing a checkbook or paying bills. That can be problematic, but easily solved by hiring an accountant. And hyperfocus is the best of these changes. You have the ability to hone in on something that does interest you to the exclusion of all else, which can help you to get things done in a hurry. It’s amazing to think how much people who had adult ADD symptoms, like Mozart, General George Patton, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, were able to accomplish.