6 Surprising Signs of ADHD in Adults
ADHD in adults doesn’t always look the way people expect. It’s not necessarily about being unable to sit still or constantly losing things. Often, the signs are much subtler— especially for women and nonbinary individuals, who have historically been underrepresented and under diagnosed.
Because some symptoms of ADHD can overlap with stress, anxiety, sleep problems, and other conditions, ADHD can be difficult to recognize. And if you have made it to adulthood without a formal diagnosis, you have likely have developed strategies that help buffer the impact of ADHD symptoms on your daily life. In this post, we’ll explore six surprising signs of ADHD in adults that are easy to overlook—and explain why they may be worth paying attention to.
Hyperfocus:
Your superpower: you can completely tune the world out to get the task at hand done like a work project due tomorrow or cleaning the kids' closets. When you’re “in the zone” you don’t need breaks like other people do. However, you might forget to eat, use the bathroom, or not feel like sleeping.
High Pain Tolerance:
You can push past pain much more easily than others. You don’t realize you’re injured until it’s extreme. You might be told your hugs & handshakes are “too rough.” Having a high pain tolerance means we can push our bodies' limits, especially in demanding situations. This is partially why so many professional athletes have ADHD (7-9% in pro athletes vs. 4-5% in the general public).
Switching Tasks:
You might struggle to focus on one thing at a time, especially on tasks that require your attention for a longer period of time. In conversation you might quickly change topics or go off on a tangent. Feeling like you can’t focus because you’re “paying attention to everything, all at once.” Switching back and forth between tasks keeps your brain engaged in a way that singular focus just can’t.
Interrupting Mid Conversation:
Do you interrupt others without realizing? Especially, because you’re worried you’ll forget what you were going to say? You might get labelled as “bossy” or “rude,” despite your best efforts. Difficulties with impulsivity mean we might interject when we have a relevant thought, before our brain has the time to “read the room.”
Stimulants Have a Calming Effect:
Substances such as Caffeine, Adderall, or Cocaine have a calming effect on your brain. While others describe spikes in energy and feeling high, your brain slows down & you can get tasks done. If these descriptions fit for you, and you struggle with substance misuse, the right medication can be hugely helpful in attaining sobriety.
Perfectionism:
Were you constantly corrected growing up? Did you feel like you were always forgetting something? Maybe that’s led to you trying to control everything, before it goes wrong. When it inevitably does, you get so frustrated, mentally beat yourself up, feel like a failure. Adults with undiagnosed ADHD often develop “Perfectionistic Thinking” as a coping mechanism.
Can you relate?
Getting a formal ADHD diagnosis as an adult can lead to increased self-esteem, improved communication at work and home, and coping skills that work for YOUR BRAIN. For a free consultation and to inquire around an ADHD assessment with The Bell Practice, reach out via our Inquire Page.
