How ADHD Looks Different In Adults

Do you have ADHD? You're not alone. Millions of adults are living with ADHD and many don't even know it. In this video, we take a look at how ADHD can look different in adults and some of the common challenges people face. For example, ADHD can often lead to problems with regulating emotions. If you think you might have ADHD, please consult a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

References

Surman CB, Biederman J, Spencer T, Miller CA, McDermott KM, Faraone SV. Understanding deficient emotional self-regulation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a controlled study. Atten Defic Hyperact Disord. 2013;5(3):273-281. doi:10.1007/s12402-012-0100-8

WANT A SAFE PLACE FOR EDUCATION AND SUPPORT? Join my Mental Wellness Community.

WANT TO START IN THERAPY? Here’s a convenient and affordable option with my sponsor BetterHelp

For a monthly fee, you get a REAL licensed therapist with whom you can meet weekly by phone, video or chat. You can also send daily messages.

Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.

[sephardimyeshua]

If you had adhd in the 1980s, you might have heard this tired old line, "he has a lot of potential if he would only apply himself." That was such a frustrating thing to hear because I really wanted to do well. I was labeled as the class clown, but I just wanted people to like me and I they didnt understand that I felt like an alien on a strange planet where I could never be part of any friend group. Making the other kids around me laugh was the only time I felt a connection to them. Most of the time I just felt alone, and my teachers kept me apart from the other kids. My desk was next to the chalkboard in the front of the classroom.

[Blockistium]

What sucks about ADHD is it can be so invisible. It can so easily be seen as just a character flaw, and not a pathological disability.

[Rampala]

I remember being called "lazy" and "disorganized", teachers desperately trying to teach me time management skills and becoming angry with me when they didn't help; I remember getting after-school detention for "excessive tardiness", which predictably didn't curb my tardiness; I remember getting good grades, but behind the scenes I was barely sleeping because I'd procrastinate until the last minute and then stay up all night finishing homework and studying.

I can't help but wonder if I'd been a boy, if I would have been diagnosed in adolescence instead of angering teachers with my total inability to manage my time productively.

My partner jokingly said something about my chronic lateness being "a disability" and I almost cried because that framing felt so accurate. My whole life people have outright called me "disrespectful" for my lateness, it's ruined relationships and jobs, and none of those people see that I am anxious and angry with myself and constantly STRUGGLING. They see laziness and disrespect. They see flakiness and apathy. I wish people understood it IS a disability, and I'm tired of going around pretending my ADHD is "a superpower" or just another neurotype. Maybe it is, but in this society that neurotype renders you disabled.

[stephss]

Being a midlifer, and looking back on my life in the 70/80's, it's easy to get bitter and jaded over our mistreatment. It isn't until my life made me stop/slow down, that I was aware that my brain/body needed help. It's ok to be mad, suffering is horrible...but we have more info available now. Please be gentle with yourself; recovery takes time too. ty doc

[sara-smtw]

had such a hard time getting therapists & psychiatrist to listen to me about my ADD, even though I was diagnosed twice. They always blame my symptoms on my depression & anxiety. I feel this is SO common with women, just blaming everything on anxiety (not that it isn’t at times).

[andromeda]

my ADHD has actually gotten worse, waaay way worse than when i was a kid. my adhd helped me be an excellent student at school but it's turning my life upside down the older i get.

[Eflodur]

For me cooking is overwhelming. Cooking needs so much planing and organization.

[randomizer]

Many of us with no hyperactivity didn't struggle in school possibly because the structure school provided. Homework was the one place I showed issues. An example of what happens when I left the structured school environment. Mine didn't become noticeable until I was attending a technical college & later university.

Btw you have the best ADHD content online. I use your videos to help explain to people why I am the way I am. Thank you.

[tayzonday]

Vyvanse (ADD amphetamine) had the odd effect of improving my wandering thoughts but worsening my obsessive ones. It helped tone down sudden anger but supercharged obsessive anger, which wasn’t always a therapeutic improvement for me. SSRIs help me regulate emotion by wiping my emotions out, which can be a tough compromise. They may still end up being the best tool for me.

[Minronis]

I spent the first three decades of my life undiagnosed, despite having numerous social and developmental problems that still followed me throughout my life, which cause me a great deal of anxiety and depression, eventually leading to my mental breakdown at my job because I couldn't handle tackling all of this on my own anymore. Now I'm on medication and disability, prior I was sobbing at work because I felt trapped there and I had to instantly turn off the waterworks for when customers came in, because I felt I had no control over my environment except for how I acted. I'm still quite depressed some days, I feel utterly alone no matter how much time I spend with other people or what I have going for me, its this constant feeling like there's no one that understands me and I know that's not entirely true, but I can't seem to shake the feeling and it haunts me day & night.

[pheonixfps]

I have a daughter that has ADHD, and we recognised many traits between her and myself, I'm now trying to get assessed, at 37. Starting to understand this complexity, and understand the complications it's caused in my life, now, is very emotional, but very driving to make sure my daughter receives the best we can do for her, so she doesn't go through what I did. If you're a parent reading this and watching this video as you're curious about what the hell maybe going on, please don't be afraid to get some assistance. It could turn your life or your little ones life around.

[sciencenotstigma]

My mom has ADHD, and gets very defensive when reminded of tasks she forgot. I try to tell her I understand she has trouble organizing her day, and I’m not angry…I’m just reminding her. She is always worried that people will be angry. We need more understanding that people with ADHD don’t forget or have trouble listening because they don’t care. She may have emotional dysregulation issues, but it’s also because of lifelong misunderstanding by others, in her case. ❤️

[Craig]

Thank you for this great video. I was diagnosed 5 years ago. Even though I was put on meds that worked wonders, I always had my doubts that I really have ADHD, given that I had drug addiction in my past. I now have over 12 years clean. I was one of those people that thought ADHD was a made up disease that was an excuse for children to misbehave. After watching this video I know have no doubt whatsoever. Every single symptom that you mention concerning adult ADHD I have. Thank you for your great work bringing this information to the world!

[aishisufuyu]

I've been on my ADHD journey for the past 6 months and there was some great new info for me here, but I was really surprised at the lack of focus on how severely ADHD attacks your motivation. Even so much that many consider ADHD to be an incredibly misleading and ineffectual name.

[keenalove]

Omg what I would do for a normal person’s emotions. It’s almost impossible to be happy when struggling with mental health problems

[elizabethwilliams]

Psilocybin saved my life. I was addicted to heroin for 15 years and after Psilocybin treatment I will be 3 years clean in September. I have zero cravings. This is something that truly needs to be more broadly used in addiction treatment.

[debrawehrly]

I think the name should be changed to Executive Functioning Disorder instead. I think that would more accurately define what it is. A disorder of executive functions. I have had this my entire life. I was first diagnosed with ADHD when I was 7 years old, and was briefly placed on Ritalin. Unfortunately, my parents did not feel comfortable keeping me on the medication because of what others thought, and took me off of it. I sometimes wonder if the trajectory of my life would have been different had i continued to take the medication. But my life became a downward spiral ever since. Not being able to follow directions in school, being emotionally immature, not having any social skills which resulted in a life of loneliness and few if any friends. As a young adult i was unable to plan or set goals. I got bored easily and i had memory problems. I could not hold a job for very long because of numerous mistakes that i made or because of poor attendance. Now as a 55 years old woman, I have a lot more self awareness than I had years ago, but my struggle, although not quite as bad as it was 30 years ago, I still struggle. Sometimes I have a hard time just keeping things together. Managing my finances is my biggest challenge right now. Is there any help for me at all? Does it even matter any more at my age?

[HumanScourgeYT]

Thank you so much for this. I had ADHD diagnosed when I was 6. I was on every medication they made (Paxil, risperdal, Ritalin, Adderal, celexa, everything) I was hospitalized, group homes, suffered a lot from family troubles and abuse growing up, and it took me a long time to become normal-ish, but I have always suffered from my own mind. I thought I was over all this but now it is clear to me as a 34 year old that I still have a lot of work to do.

[habanerofire]

I wasn't diagnosed until I was 38 and struggling in grad school. I went in for anxiety and depression. The stress of grad school exasperated my symptoms. I'm now struggling with agoraphobia and PTSD and my brain just goes haywire when I encounter triggers. It's frustrating because there are simple things I should be able to do, but I find myself unable to do them. I appear inconsistent because sometimes I can do things that need to be done and sometimes I just can't pull it together. The inconsistent and fast changing Covid policies has made it all worse.

[roxymoran]

All of these are so true for me. As a kid, I was usually able to compensate for my lack of attention because most subjects in school came easily to me, even though I was miserable when it came to buckling down and doing homework. The doctors refused to give me an ADHD diagnosis simply because I wasn't 'failing school hard enough!' But then I had to watch my brother, who was getting C's and D's in school, get medicated right away and I just thought that was so unfair!

Once I started college and my first job, all of these problems eventually caught up to me and I finally pushed through to make sure I got a diagnosis and treatment to help me get my executive dysfunction in check. But I sure had to push hard and advocate for myself along the way!