What Is Adult ADHD And What Are Its Signs?

Adult ADHD is a mental health condition characterized by difficulty maintaining attention.

Adult ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a mental health condition characterized by difficulty maintaining attention. Currently, it affects more than 3 million people in the United States each year.
Since the cardinal symptoms of ADHD include trouble focusing, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior, Adult ADHD has a profound impact on life activities. Persons with this disorder report relationship difficulties and a poor work performance. They are characterized as being impulsive and having a risk-taking behavior.

Brief Account of Adult ADHD

Some problems linked to inattention include making careless mistakes, having trouble organizing activities, and losing necessary materials. Many adults attribute such difficulties to a lack of energy, forgetfulness or other issues.

These are also erroneously associated with an advancing age. Some have even engineered their lives to avoid activities requiring a high degree of focus. Other adults have underlying medical issues such as untreated diabetes or thyroid issues that make completing tasks difficult.

For these reasons, consulting with a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, or other professionals with specialized ADHD training is of particular importance. In an adult, hyperactivity can take the form of fidgeting, interrupting during conversations, or restlessness.

Between 10% and 60% of children become adults with ADHD. Those who have this condition and are not diagnosed until adulthood must have exhibited inattentive or impulsive behavior before age 12 to receive a formal diagnosis of ADHD as an adult. Although a variety of factors, ranging from gluten sensitivity to parenting techniques, have been blamed for ADHD, a recent study has linked it to brain structure differences. This was determined by using medical imaging.

Adult ADHD is a relatively common condition that is completely treatable with talk therapy, medication or, most often, a combination approach. If you think that either a loved one or yourself are affected, you need to see a licensed specialist for screening and a possible treatment.

Image Source: Flickr

Bio
Latest Posts

Roxanne Briean

I am a geek, a gamer and a writer. I have always been fascinated with the online community. At the moment I work as a full-time writer and study interior design. When I'm not scouring the net in search of interesting new gadgets and software I spend my time in MOBAs or drawing.