ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) affects millions of people worldwide and approximately 3-4% of adults in the UK.
Although the condition is often perceived as a childhood condition, it can persist into adulthood and have a significant impact on your personal and professional life. According to ADHD UK, there are millions of people who have undiagnosed ADHD (up to 2 million in the UK).
In this latest blog, we explore the primary symptoms of adults ADHD including:
- Inattention symptoms
- Hyperactivity symptoms
- Impulsivity symptoms
If you’re looking to book a private ADHD test and diagnosis, please call The Therapy Company at 01772 440321 or use our online contact form.
What is Adult ADHD?
ADHD in adults and children can look similar but every person is complex with symptoms showing differently. Although some obvious symptoms can be identified and diagnosed in childhood, many are not identified until adulthood, when symptoms become more apparent in professional and personal contexts. Adult ADHD can affect various aspects of life, including work, relationships, and overall well-being. With the complexities of adult life, symptoms can be exacerbated.
Let’s get into the symptoms of adult ADHD…
Inattention ADHD symptoms
A key symptom of ADHD is struggling concentrating whether that be in your personal or professional life. You may notice that you zone out regularly or find it increasingly difficult to remain present during every-day conversations. Another key factor that falls under inattention symptoms is disorganisation. Here, it’s common for sufferers to have a hard time with managing schedules.
Further outstanding symptoms include:
- Poor Time Management: Frequently running late, missing deadlines, or underestimating the time needed for tasks.
- Forgetfulness: Regularly forgetting appointments, commitments, or daily tasks, such as paying bills or returning calls.
- Easily Distracted: Being quickly sidetracked by unrelated thoughts or external stimuli, leading to unfinished tasks.
- Avoidance of Complex Tasks: Avoiding tasks that require sustained mental effort, such as detailed reports or lengthy emails.
- Careless Mistakes: Frequently making mistakes due to a lack of attention to detail, especially in work or academic settings.
Hyperactivity and Impulsivity symptoms
For some people, hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms naturally decrease into adulthood. However, for many, hyperactivity remains prevalent often leading to increasingly likely impulsive behaviour and restlessness. Adults with ADHD (diagnosed or undiagnosed) may commonly experience feeling on edge or finding it difficult to relax.
Further outstanding symptoms include:
- Excessive Talking: Talking excessively, often interrupting others or dominating conversations.
- Impulsivity: Making hasty decisions without considering the consequences, leading to problems in personal and professional life.
- Difficulty Waiting: Struggling to wait in lines or for their turn in conversations.
- Interrupting Others: Frequently interrupting or intruding on others’ activities or conversations.
- Feeling Driven By A Motor: A sense of being constantly “on the go” or acting as if driven by a motor.
Diagnosis of Adult ADHD
Here at The Therapy Company, our private psychiatrists provide private ADHD diagnosis at our facility in Preston, as well as also providing online consultations and appointments. The diagnosis of adult ADHD is carefully considered and can be challenging due to many symptoms overlapping with mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders.
A comprehensive evaluation by our private psychiatrists is necessary for an accurate diagnosis.
Our assessments include the following process:
- Initial consultation
- Discussing symptoms
- Clinical interviews
- Collateral reports
- Reviewing childhood history
- Ruling out other conditions
- Applying diagnostic criteria
- Final diagnosis
As you can see, there are several steps involved in the diagnosis process and this is imperative for ensuring an accurate diagnosis before discussing possible treatments which may include medication, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and lifestyle changes.
Impact of Adult ADHD
Adult ADHD can significantly affect various aspects of life:
- Workplace Performance: As a result of impulsivity and hyperactivity symptoms, workplace performance is commonly impacted and deadlines can be missed, as well job instability becoming a real issue for many.
- Relationships: Personal and professional relationships can take a toll as a result of ADHD symptoms. It’s common for sufferers to become more forgetful and more impulsive. As a result of this, it can have a negative strain on relationships.
- Financial Management: Unpaid bills and impulsive spending can have a major impact which ultimately may result in financial problems. This is another impact of adult ADHD.
- Self-Esteem: With ADHD, you are challenged persistently which can lead to low or fluctuating self esteem. As a result of this, it can cause further mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety.
- Daily Life Management: Daily life can also be impacted and it may become overwhelming to maintain a household, manage schedules, and keep on top of personal care.
Why The Therapy Company?
The Therapy Company provides adult ADHD tests, diagnosis and treatments from our private facility in Preston, also providing online consultations and appointments. It’s our mission to provide you with the peace of mind you deserve to firstly understand your mind and yourself better before helping to improve your overall well-being and day-to-day life satisfaction.
All our therapists are qualified and accredited in their areas of expertise and are also registered with leading private medical insurers including Bupa, AXA, Aviva, WPA, and many others.
Contact Us Today
Looking to get in touch with us today to arrange your initial appointment? For more information, please call us today at 01772 440321. Alternatively, if you prefer to email, use our online contact form and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours or less.
