ADHD In Adults: 7 Symptoms To Detect Attention Deficit And Hyperactivity In Adults

How can I know if I have ADHD as an adult? What is ADHD treatment like? Discover its main symptoms and how to detect attention deficit and hyperactivity in adults.

ADHD in adults

When the ADHD in adults, people often have great difficulty concentrating for long periods of time. In addition, attention deficit in adults also causes individuals who suffer from it to be easily distracted or to act and speak before thinking carefully about what they will do or say.

It is very possible that at some time or another people may experience these symptoms of hyperactivity in adults, but people with ADHD are constantly in these situations. Therefore, they present many significant and continuous difficulties in these areas, something that affects both study, work and relationships.

ADHD in adults

When we talk about attention deficit or hyperactivity We are referring to the developmental disorder characterized mainly by suffering from difficulties in having good concentration, attention and impulse control. Hyperactivity and its symptoms, therefore, impact many areas of the person who suffers from it.

In this case, the adults with ADHD They find it very difficult to concentrate for long periods of time, and they also tend to have very impulsive behavior. Thus, when attention deficit in adults is not treated, the person can end up experiencing many alterations in their life, such as in employment or in their personal relationships.

Symptoms of ADHD in adults

4% of the adult population of Spain suffers Hyperactivity When an adult suffers from this psychological disorder, there is no doubt that he was also affected as a child, even if he never showed signs of it or was not diagnosed. When this happens, when it manifests itself in adult life, problems are usually experienced in one or more areas of life. Main symptoms of hyperactivity in adults are:

  • Inconsistent performance in studies or work: This means that people who suffer from ADHD symptoms They do not finish their studies or they quit or lose jobs too often. Furthermore, throughout their work or student life their record is quite poor.
  • Poor ability to handle everyday responsibilities: The adults with ADHD They never complete household chores. They also often have difficulty getting organized or paying bills.
  • Problems in social relationships: It is difficult to maintain good work or personal relationships, since they never finish what they start. Also, attention deficit in adults It affects them as they forget to do things they have been asked to do and become easily upset over minor matters.
  • Chronic stress and worry: The people with ADHD, especially in adulthood, often experience excess stress. This is due to the existing failure to achieve the goals set and the impossibility of fulfilling responsibilities.
  • Feeling of frustration, guilt or reproach: He attention deficit and its symptoms in adults It makes them feel very guilty for not being able to finish many of the tasks they set themselves or for not keeping their word to others. This means that adults with ADHD end up feeling very frustrated for not achieving good results in some areas.
  • Act or speak before thinking about things: The adults with ADHD as well as all people with ADHD They tend to experience a lot of impulsiveness. Because of this, they often end up acting and saying things that perhaps they shouldn’t. This can affect them both at work and in their personal relationships.
  • Physical symptoms In addition to all the psychological attention deficit symptoms, people with ADHD also suffer from certain physical problems. In this way, they may frequently have diarrhea, tachycardia, and tingling in the legs and hands. All of these symptoms can reflect anxiety.
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The consequences of hyperactivity in adults They have a certain severity, since many people find themselves in family, economic, social and personal imbalance. Many fail in studies as children and many also fail in emotional social relationships throughout their lives. Another consequence is that many hyperactive adults drink or smoke too much. Therefore, it is important that if you suspect that you suffer from ADHD in adults, you go to a professional psychologist.

How to detect ADHD in adults?

How do I know if I have ADHD? Diagnosis

For a person to be diagnosed with ADHD, symptoms They must have started before age 12. Furthermore, the difficulties inherent to hyperactivity in adults must be present in two or more environments for this disorder to be considered. There is a very low chance that ADHD symptoms will emerge during adulthood. Within ADHD there are three types that depend on the main difficulties that the person is experiencing.

  • Predominant lack of attention: This is the attention deficit in adults without hyperactivity That is, the person mainly presents a lack of attention rather than hyperactivity.
  • Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive: In this case you experience the hyperactivity and impulsivity but without symptoms of lack of attention.
  • Combined: In these cases you suffer from symptoms of hyperactivity and attention deficit

Treatment of ADHD in adults

He ADHD in adults and its treatment It varies depending on the needs of the person. There are people who suffer from ‘milder’ ADHD who achieve good results by applying a variety of psychological strategies. On the other hand, those who suffer more severity in hyperactivity and inattention in adults usually combine both medications and psychological therapies.

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As we see, there is a wide variety of treatments to act on the ADHD and symptoms in adults In general terms, we can talk about the use of medications, the application of cognitive-behavioral therapy and in some cases, counseling in relationships.

ADHD medication in adults

There are many adults who take medication to control the symptoms of ADHD. Much research supports the use of these drugs for ADHD treatment in adults

Cognitive behavioral therapy in adults

There is evidence that supports the use of cognitive behavioral therapy to treat ADHD in adults. This is because these types of therapies usually provide a much more useful approach to managing those problems associated with ADHD. Going to this type of therapy provides the following abilities for those who suffer from attention deficit and hyperactivity in adults

  • Organization and planning of time
  • Problem resolution
  • Strategies to reduce distractions and increase attention span
  • Increase realism to avoid anxiety

Couple with ADHD

As we have mentioned, people with ADHD may experience some difficulties in their personal relationships, especially in the love sphere. Therefore, it is common for adults with ADHD Go to therapy with your partner to learn to communicate or express your feelings better, as well as to identify and change behaviors that may be problematic within a relationship.

Treatment of ADHD in adults

How to improve lack of concentration in adults?

There are a series of psychological strategies that can be applied to improve the attention deficit in adults According to psychologists we can do the following.

  1. Reduce distractions: For the ones symptoms of hyperactivity or inattention Even if they are milder, it is important to try to have a space with a minimum of distractions. To do this, it must be tidy, without electronic devices and away from the window.
  2. Establish an organization: The best way to face the attention deficit in adults It is trying to manage and organize what you will do every day. This way, in the morning you can write down all the tasks you want to do, when you will do them and how much time you will dedicate to each of them.
  3. Set goals: Normally, the adults with ADHD They tend to be very unmotivated due to the few results they can obtain due to their lack of attention and hyperactivity. In these cases, it is good to set goals and write them somewhere accessible so you can use them as motivation in these cases.
  4. Divide your tasks into smaller parts: A good way to beat the lack of concentration in adults It is trying to divide tasks into smaller ones. By carrying out this step you will be able to obtain faster results, since you will complete the tasks sooner and you will have more capacity to motivate yourself.
  5. Use problem solving: In order to use problem solving, the first step is to define the problem you want to work on and then brainstorm solutions. Once you have the different solutions, you must select one and test it to see if it can really work.
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He ADHD in adults It can affect both the self-esteem and the security of the person who suffers from it. Therefore, detecting it is vital to face it with a professional psychologist and be able to establish strategies to improve in different aspects of life.