Are you having trouble focusing during meetings? Are you making snap decisions you later regret? Are you drifting from one project to another — with nothing much to show for it? These are all possible signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and even if you’re a grown-up, you just might have it.
“Half the children who have ADHD when they’re little go on to have it when they grow up,” explains Lenard Adler, MD. He’s a clinical psychiatrist, professor of psychiatry and director of the Adult ADHD Program at NYU Langone Health in New York City. “That’s about 8 to 10 million adults, which makes ADHD the second-most common mental health disorder after depression.”
And those numbers have been growing. A study published in JAMA Network Open showed that the number of adults diagnosed with ADHD has grown by over 50% in the past decade.
One reason ADHD is so common: genetics. If you have a son or daughter who’s been diagnosed with ADHD, there’s a chance you could have it, too. In families who had a child with ADHD, as many as 55% also had at least 1 parent with the condition, according to a study published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. Maybe you’ve had ADHD all your life — but you’re only just beginning to realize it.
“To have a diagnosis of adult ADHD, you have to have roots of the disorder during your childhood, even if you were not diagnosed with ADHD at the time but had significant symptoms,” says Dr. Adler. “What brings people into my clinic is often learning that their child has ADHD. Or sometimes a spouse may point out the problem, or they’ve realized something’s wrong when they take on more responsibility at work.”
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So what exactly is adult ADHD — and what can you do about it? We focus on your big questions here.
Is ADHD the same for adults as it is for kids?
Not necessarily, says Brenna Renn, PhD. She’s a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “We don’t see the same hyperactivity that we see in children. Adults won’t be bouncing off the walls like 5-year-olds, but they may be feeling restless. And they’ll probably have some problems with paying attention and concentrating.” (Try these steps to help children with ADHD prepare for school.)
Some of the most common ADHD symptoms in adults include:
- Distractibility: Do you zone out at work or at home, passing time by daydreaming and internet browsing?
- Impulsivity: Do you make spur-of-the-moment decisions or speak your mind without considering the consequences?
- Hyperactivity: Do you find yourself fidgeting, tapping your feet or taking countless trips to the bathroom or kitchen?
- Memory lapses: Do you leave your family and co-workers in the lurch by constantly missing deadlines and forgetting appointments?
- Social slip-ups: Do you interrupt people, talk nonstop or seem to not listen when spoken to directly?
“Everybody does some of these things some of the time,” says Dr. Adler. “But if you find you’re doing them consistently — and it’s having a negative impact on your life — you may want to do something about it.”
So I’m a little distracted. Why does it matter?
ADHD can impair your life in lots of ways. “Adults with untreated ADHD are more likely to be divorced, change jobs, earn less money and get into car accidents,” says Dr. Adler. Research shows that they may be more likely to have drug and alcohol problems and be involved in more conflicts. “Plus, people with ADHD have higher rates of depression,” says Dr. Adler. “That just highlights how important it is to get a correct diagnosis.”
(We answered your top 10 questions about treating depression here.)
