What ADHD is… and what it’s not

There are still many misconceptions about ADHD, the first that it’s only something that only children have, and generally disruptive boys. The second is due to the poor naming of the condition. ADHD is NOT a deficiency of attention and doesn’t always include hyperactivity OR disruptive behaviour.

ADHD is very basically a deficiency in dopamine reaction – so your brain is constantly looking for the next hit. And it’s more a difficulty to harness attention when something doesn’t interest you (inattention) or feeling incapable of tearing yourself away from something you do care about (hyperfocus). Hyperactivity can be mental rather than physical, or both.

And it’s also a lot more than that, affecting executive function, impaired organisation skills (from chaos to OCD), timeliness, emotional regulation, sensory reactions too, and different for each person. But there are also plenty of bright sides to ADHD to embrace: we are often able to spot what others don’t, connect, react, adapt, and HYPERFOCUS. ADHDers can be empathetic, problem solvers and very creative (in non traditional and traditional ways).

There are three recognised types of ADHD, inattentive/distracted, hyperactive/impulsive, and combined. Most ADHDers fall under the last category.

https://www.additudemag.com/3-types-of-adhd/

It’s basically a different flavour of brain, a different kind of wiring, which is why we now talk more and more about neurodiversity – we wouldn’t expect everyone to look exactly the same, and the same goes with our brain. What a sad world would it be if we did!!

ADHD often co-exists with other spectrum conditions, such as autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette (shit!) but also anxiety, depression, eating disorders and a fabulous driver for low self-esteem.

At present, adults who have been diagnosed as children might still need to be reassessed in adulthood to access treatment. It's worth noting that ADHD is more often than not genetic. If someone in your family is already diagnosed, it makes it all the more sensible an option to explore.

Want to explore if you could have ADHD?

If you’re curious and want to explore if ADHD might be part of your make up, you can try one of these online tests. They will not give you a definite answer, and some people with ADHD might score low on them as the questions are not the right questions for them, but it gives a sense of the areas to look out for. These are based on official WHO criteria – so this is serious and researched.

https://adhduk.co.uk/adult-adhd-screening-survey/

https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-test-adults/

Women do present differently to men, so a specific survey could also be useful

https://www.additudemag.com/self-test-adhd-symptoms-women-girls/

You can also do ones as a parent for a child

https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-test-children/

Ultimately, if you feel that you are struggling with daily life more than you should because of issues with impulsivity or inattention, then it might be worth considering ADHD, if anything, to rule it out.