Can adults have ADHD without knowing? 5 revealing signs

ADHD

may happen to adults with no notice. Some of its symptoms blend in very well with stress or personality traits; some are detected at older ages. Some of the five most frequent signs of

adult ADHD

are chronic confusion and forgetfulness due to difficulties in the management of time and memory. A person may indicate signs of not being able to focus on things, quickly switching from one task to another, or losing interest very quickly.
According to Dr. Geeta Shroff, Co-Founder, Lighthouse Counselling Center, “Another sign might be a lack of inhibition or restraint as shown through impulsive spending or interrupting someone during a conversation. Another symptom is restlessness.

Restlessness

may be the cause of fidgeting or an inability to sit and relax. Finally, emotional dysregulation causes one to have mood swings as well as extreme reactions to everything. All these symptoms must be identified for successful management of ADHD through lifestyle changes and treatment.”

5 revealing signs of an adult struggling with ADHD may include:

1. Poor attention span: It may manifest as difficulty focusing on tasks that require sustained mental effort, zoning out during conversations, careless mistakes, procrastination and often missing deadlines due to inability to sit and focus and finish the task at hand
2. Inability to organize: Adults with ADHD have poor organizing skills due to deficits in working memory. They are often running for things at the last minute; they find it difficult to plan their day and often reach late at events or struggle to pay bills in time; they often end up having cluttered or messy living spaces.

3. Impulsivity: According to Dr. Madhusudan Singh Solanki, Senior Psychiatrist & Head of Department of

Mental Health

& Behavioural Sciences, Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, New Delhi, “Adults with ADHD also show a history of impulsive behaviors, including difficulty controlling their mood and emotional reactions, manifesting as mood swings, anger outbursts, or impatience. It affects their relationships negatively as well. They may tend to make instant plans or act on their impulses, which they may later regret.”

4. Forgetfulness: They come across as individuals who often forget the most important thing. Losing or misplacing keys or other valuables is commonly seen. Forgetting daily tasks leads to a lot of troubles in their daily lives, they may also exhibit absentmindedness.
5. Restlessness: Adults with ADHD often find it difficult to sit still; they fidget a lot, keep moving their legs and often run into things in the house.
If you notice these signs in yourself or anyone close to you and if these signs are negatively affecting your day to day life, work, or relationships, then you should get yourself evaluated by a mental health professional. But here is a caution for not to self diagnosis ADHD after reading the symptoms on internet as a lot of these signs and symptoms can also be present in other mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder or impulse control disorders and drug or substance use etc so a thorough mental health evaluation is the only way to conclude a diagnosis.