Can adults have ADHD?

Up to 70% of children with ADD/ADHD will continue to have symptoms into adulthood. The main symptoms of ADD/ADHD in adults are trouble managing time and struggling with memory and disorganization. ADD/ADHD in adults is often referred to as the "hidden disorder" because its symptoms can often be conf…used with other problems with relationships, organization, mood disorders, substance abuse, employment or other personal difficulties. Diagnosing and treating ADD/ADHD in adults can help them put their problems into perspective, better understand the reasons for many of their lifelong symptoms, and improve their self-esteem, work performance and skills, educational abilities and social skills. OH, YOU ARE SOOOOOO not alone! Everything you are struggling with is a perfect description of how I have been all my life. It wasn't until recently that I looked into this as being a legitimate problem instead of just a character flaw. I know exactly what you mean about feeling inadequate. I can't stand for people to think of me as a big flake and an airhead, yet my actions and inability to "get it together" seem to prove them right time and time again. It's very frustrating when I KNOW I'm not stupid, but sadly, the whole "walking and chewing gum at the same time" phrase is a realistic challenge for me. Okay, so maybe I could pull that off, but I serously struggle to get my brain to concentrate on one thing -- adding a second is usually not an option! Let your doctor sort it out. I am going through this with my son and I believe with the medication, there is improvement and you will know it. Try medication. I am so relieved, although a little saddened at the same time, to hear other people suffering with the same problems as I do. I was recently diagnosed with ADD and have just started medication. For everyone, that takes some 'tweeking' to find the right combinations, but Wellbutrin has started making me feel calmer and more able to manage with my 'flaws'. I never even thought I had something wrong with me. I knew I was relatively bright, but no rocket scientist. I could always talk myself into high powered jobs, but I couldn't manage the work load when I was there. My career is one of constantly multitasking and needing to be tremendously organised and needing to be able to work well under stress. A nightmare for someone with ADD. I tried coping by throwing more hours at the job but I never got to the end of anything while seeing my peers coping around me. I was nervous about answering the phone, and tended to let everything go into voicemail so I would not get caught short - asked a question I could not answer because I could not 'remember'. I'd read the last page of a book first, reread and reread each page of a book, begging information to sink into my head. I cannot remember numbers, directions or peoples names. It makes you feel dumb and stupid and it has made me embarrassed and lowered my self esteem to an all time low. I thought part of it was post partem depression, but it has been going on most of my life, so that could not be the case. Over the space of a few weeks everything came to a head and I could not cope with anything. I made more and more mistakes and felt more and more stupid as I knew they were silly mistakes I had no business to make. What I thought dit not come out at the end of my pen or in emails. It was a shock to find out it was adult ADD but in a way it was a relief. Then you start looking at those around you and wondering if it is a world ailment, who 'hasn't got ADD', not who has! Thanks for being there and we will all get through this together! ( Full Answer )

How does adult ADD ADHD affect relationships with other adults and partners?

Thank you to all the helpful and generous people who shared their personal experience on this page. Your input is invaluable to others who have been diagnosed with ADHD/ADD and the people who share their lives. It is also extremely helpful and full of information for anyone who suspects they may hav…e the disorder. Knowledge is power. Adult ADD and Relationships I am 23 years old and was recently diagnosed with adult ADD. After all the years of being criticized for not paying attention, zoning out and being useless I feel relieved to know there is a reason. I have been reading through this site and it really helps to hear others with the same problems I have been experiencing. My main problem seems to be my temper and sensitivity to criticism. At the moment I am struggling not to argue with my partner. I wonder if anyone feels the same. I can be fine one minute then explode the next if my partner keeps going on about the same thing that I have done wrong etc. I get so worked up that I have impulsive reactions and want to storm off then ten minutes later will want to be normal again. My partner often gets annoyed because he misinterprets a lot of things I say and tells me that I have to think before I speak, but I find it hard as I don't believe I am saying anything wrong because he has misunderstood. I am finding it really difficult and wonder if anyone has found any good coping strategies. I also get really frustrated as I do things a different way to other people and my partner thinks that it isn't a logical way to do whatever the task is and is forever checking everything I do. This infuriates me and makes me feel suffocated and useless. I have just started taking Straterra which I have had for 2 months now. I have seen some improvements in my reactions but tend to lapse now and then. Also I have been getting side effects I wondered if anyone else had. I've also been diagnosed with Adult ADD though I'm certain I've had this problem for as long as I can remember. My spouse and I have had many, many difficulties throughout our eighteen year marriage stemming from ADD related issues; specifically my inability to finish projects I start, forgetfulness, daydreaming or 'zoning out,' laziness, anti-social tendencies, lack of consideration, etc. And we too have come close to separating a couple of times. The hardest thing I've had to deal with once I acknowledged that I really did have a legitimate problem and not just a weak character was getting my spouse and other family to understand that a mental or emotional disorder, such as ADD, depression or anxiety, can be just as debilitating as any physical disability, if not worse. I mean, if you have a heart attack or just break a bone, it's obvious to those around you that you have a genuine medical problem. But with ADD and related illnesses, there is no cast, no x-rays, no apparent indications. It's easier to dismiss your problems as laziness, contrariness, PMS, or whatever excuse is handy, rather than to take the time and effort required to educate oneself. Imagine telling a stroke victim to "just deal with it, everyone has problems," or "if you really wanted to/cared about it, you'd get it done." It's still frustrating to no end, but my spouse is now supportive, most of the time, because when I first sought treatment, I brought home booklets and pamphlets galore from my psychiatrist for him to read, e-mailed him articles I found online about ADD and the ways to treat it and most importantly, I talked to him about it until I got his attention. He's put up with a lot more than most men would. And I'm lucky to have him. I don't waste my time on ignorant people who don't take me or my disorder seriously, or who vehemently insist that I should stop making excuses and just "get over it." And I don't think anyone else should have to put up with it either. I have an IQ well above average, I'm creative and talented, and I'm raising three beautiful, healthy, and gifted children. All this and I'm being treated for ADD, anxiety, and a severe lifelong case of depression. When I inevitably run across a closed-minded individual who dares to tell me what I should do or how I should live, I've learned to grit my teeth and bear it, all the while asking myself 'who really has the weak character here?' Unfortunately, I will admit that if you haven't lived with ADD yourself, or depression, it's not an easy thing to understand or deal with. So, difficult as it may be, sometimes we need to cut these "normal" people some slack. In the meantime, I'd recommend making some new friends, a support network, if you will. It helps, a lot. Now that I've been diagnosed at 23 with ADD it explains a lot of the relationship problems I've had with my fiancÃ© for the past 6 years. Where to even begin? I have an inability to do those extra things he asks me to do. I forget to run errands quite frequently, even the really important ones. When driving I'm very easily distracted which irritates, and at times scares him. I swerve and almost rear-end other cars. I lose bills and have a hard time keeping the house clean. The worst part by far is my forgetfulness. I forget conversations, what I'm saying in the middle of a sentence, and things I've said just seconds before. Now that we know what is wrong with me, he's a lot more patient with me. He finally understands that those annoying little things I do aren't really my fault. I've recently started taking Straterra and can't believe the difference in my life. I'm starting to see what it's like to function like a "normal" person. My husband has been trying to understand what I am dealing with. He feels that if I wanted to change I could, but this type of pressure aggravates my problems. The blaming gets us nowhere. I have a hard time following through until a task is complete. I can't seem to accomplish much but I am exhausted trying. This pressure causes sexual problems as well, no interest when I feel so bad about myself. I am a 34 year old father of twins who was diagnosed with A.D.D four years ago. My son also has ADD. My relationship with my family was very difficult. We have been married for 14 years. I was too manly to admit that a pill was the answer although it was. I was originally taking it daily, things went well. I stopped, things went really rough. I would yell, blame others for my shortcomings and just not respect other's opinions. My wife held it together. She had to deal with her husband and son. She is a trooper through thick and thin. Family counseling, couples counseling and individual sessions with a psychologist has helped keep us a family. Now we are the road to a pleasant life. The road is not without some pot holes. If I or my son forget our meds things can get somewhat ugly. We start with not doing daily things, easy things that cause friction in our home. Homework is not completed, dad did not check it. Both of us are now falling backwards into the past behaviors. With our medication on board we do pretty well. After reading some of the other replies I completely agree that it is very difficult for a non-ADD person to understand this illness. As far as my life experience, I was diagnosed at 36 (now 37) and I wish the answers available to me now, were available to me then. With medication and the understanding of others that I even had a disorder, life would have been drastically different for me 20+ years ago. I deal with a lot of anger resulting from the treatment I went through because I was labeled your typical problem child. I cried many nights not knowing why I was acting the way I was, but also realized it didn't stop but only escalated my acting out. Let's say I had a serious attitude and that's sugar coated. It has been very very difficult to break my coping habits as an adult. For years I lashed out at anyone who dared get in my face and whew! Temper temper! I still feel the need to protect myself this way and I can't stand it. I have worked very very hard to stop and learn new ways to deal and progress is slow but I am moving forward. I am twice divorced with four children. Lord, let me tell you I would have never had children knowing I had ADD. It is very very hard. I have 3 boys all ADHD (ages 18, 7, 4.) with the 4 year old being the absolute worst case yet. He would drive a normal adult nuts and in dealing with his behaviour plus being ADD there are days I feel I will lose it. My daughter, age 11, shows no signs yet. I am in a new relationship for about 10 months now and he is having difficulty understanding me. He often says he will have a life of high intensity drama if we stay together. He told me last night I seek out ways to destroy relationships. I guess this could be true and I won't deny his reasoning for thinking it. I am not violent but I do speak my mind and I am quick tempered. Sometimes following a day of extremely bad behavior by my 4 year old I am ready and looking for someone to steam at just so I can relieve stress, cry, fight, do whatever is necessary to release the anger and resentment. I didn't know that I had ADD until about a year ago. I have the same historical background as others who share this disorder with me. I am constantly in a state of rush no matter whether I plan for something or not. My wife (I feel for her) is always letting me know that I don't pay enough attention to her and that she often wonders what it would be like to be with someone who would show her such. It is hard for me to explain to her that I have every intention to be that man for her, but I always seem to fall short. Whether it be because I forget to send flowers, post love notes or call her at work, I just can't seem to get it right. All the while, I don't mean to do it. I am on Ritalin and it has helped me tremendously, but it only does so much. I have discovered that to be "normal", one has to work at it. The only problem is consistency. I have to set reminders everywhere, little notepads for work and for home, reminders on my cell phone and calls from my wife or fellow employees to remember to do something. There are times that I feel hopeless and that I am never going to succeed with my disorder, but I need to stay positive and not let anyone else deter me. If only my wife could fully understand that my behaviour is not intentional and that I don't make things go awry on purpose. They say everything happens for a reason. I just lost the girl of my dreams over all of these symptoms mentioned here. I'm 20 and I'm glad I'm realizing that I have this condition now. I was taking Ritalin as a child and it helped enormously but they eventually told me I didn't need it anymore. In retrospect, it's been a lot harder to cope since. My temper flares at the slightest thing and goes away very shortly. I had trouble in crowded situations and found myself tuning out entirely. Many relationships have been damaged by my lashing out unexpectedly. I've sought counseling and other professional help but until I did more research on the symptoms I not realize it was the ADD. I can't blame that condition entirely, but I am confident that the pills will help. I have been diagnosed with ADD since I was 8, and I am now 24. It was hard growing up with it, because not a lot was known at the time. It was hard on my parents, hard on me and my friends as I got older. Two years ago I met my husband. It was really hard for him to understand what a hard time I had in school, and in general life. Everything comes so easy to him so it was extra hard for him to understand me. We found a book called ADD and Romance. I can't remember the author, but it's a pink book. That has helped a lot. He was able to see how my ADD affected him, and things that I do that makes him mad is actually ADD. It also helped me figure out things that I was doing, which I didn't even know I was doing, and helped me to be aware when I was doing them. The more you know, and the more your significant other knows and the better off everything is. My former boyfriend of 23 was diagnosed with ADD very recently. When we first met, he was incredibly infatuated with me. He sent me flowers, love notes and pretty much hyper-focused on me rather than on anything else in his life. A month into the relationship he said I was the most important person in his life and that he loved me more than he loved his mom. I thought that was a bit odd but didn't pay much attention to it. He was a very nice guy but he had a short fuse and he would always pick the most mundane fights. He also complained about being inconsistent and incapable of finishing things he started. A year later, all the attention he gave me stopped and he was suddenly "confused" and "inconsistent" as he put it. It was also very hard for him to connect with reality. I knew the relationship was spiralling downhill but when I tried to talk to him about it he just couldn't connect and take it seriously. His body was there but his mind was absent. One day, he forgot to pick me up to go on a date and that was the end of it. I couldn't take it anymore. When I read the book on ADD and Romance many of my questions were answered. Although I don't want to blame our breakup entirely on ADD, it may have been an important player. I wish I had read the book before we broke up but perhaps it's better this way. I don't know if I'd be supportive enough if we would have gotten married. I'm going to give him the book as soon as i finish reading it. My husband and I have been struggling with ADD issues in our relationship for five long years now and have just now begun to seek help for it. My husband went to see several different physicians and told them all of his symptoms and they dismissed it saying he was fine, he's just a man. Finally, after separating, he's getting help and was just formally diagnosed with ADD. He also suffers from depression and anxiety which we've been told can be part of the ADD. I'm writing from the non-ADD perspective. It's been hard! I'm pretty much responsible for everything in our lives. If he does take care of something, I have to check later to make sure he finished it, which he resents. I know it's frustrating for him too, but it's exhausting for me. It's like having another child in my home instead of an adult. He is usually unavailable in our relationship and fretting over something insignificant, every day! So much drama. He is starting medicine this week and we are seeing a wonderful counselor, so I'm hoping for great things! I feel like I've aged ten years since we've been married and life has been so difficult and full of conflict. I was diagnosed with ADHD about two years ago. I've been taking medication and it seems to help out at work. Problem is, I was ignorant on how much this was affecting my wife. I just figured the meds were the "magic answer" and my marriage was great. Nope, not the case. She has basically been taking care of two kids for the past four years. Anytime she wanted to discuss problems, I'd blow up. Now our marriage is in serious trouble and I'm scrambling trying to correct it. If I were to do things all over, I would try to focus more on her. Set up a time every day where I would force myself to be available to her needs, and not get defensive. I know this is easier said than done, but knowing the emotional distress I have caused her, and what appears to be the break-up of our marriage, I would force myself to do it. You owe it to your relationship to address the other's needs. The best time of day to catch my attention is in the a.m. after I have had my pot of coffee. This is the time I should have used to talk with her in the past. Don't lose your mate. Talk about things that aggravate them, and try to develop better habits around these aggravations. Personalities can't change, habits can. My boyfriend and I have been together just over a year, and we live together. We literally hit the ground running when we started dating. Early on, he revealed to me that he was he had had childhood ADD (i.e., I was upset with him that he oftentimes seemed to 'zone out'). Of course, before knowing this, I took his behavior to mean that he found me unimportant and was losing interest in me; however, he assured me that that was far from the case. Over the course of our relationship, our time together has had its highs and lows, as in any relationship, but knowing that he has ADD has been a mixed blessing: I'm glad that I know that he suffers from it, but I'm also troubled on how to remedy recurring problems, e.g., his disorganization in our living space, his struggle with prioritizing, his lack of motivation to get moving, his face glued to the TV. By contrast, I am more on the get-up-and-go, near and tidy person who likes to make to-do lists and I try to stay as organized as possible. I have to add that my older brother has ADD so some of the behaviors my boyfriend has displayed, I am a bit familiar with. I decided to take a stab at trying to understand the disorder and search for some answers as well as some support. My guy is a good guy, and I want to help him. I just bought a book, Delivered From Distraction: Getting the most out of life with ADD . I just want to add that it's much easier to walk away from a relationship then to deal with adversity. All I know is that in the end, I want to say that I gave it my best shot, whatever the outcome, and learned some valuable lessons. I've been diagnosed with ADD for four months now. I always wondered if there was something wrong with me, but had no answers. Asking doctors about problems was difficult and embarrassing. I happened to find a new doctor and ask about anxiety and depression when he starting asking me more in-depth questions, coming up with ADD. I have a 4 year old son and a wife of five years (I now understand what she has gone through) and love them very much. Divorce or separation seem to come up a lot during arguments. I've noticed within the last five years I cannot control my anger or my foul language as easily. I figured it was my wife, or my job, or dare I say it . . . my son. I now take a prescription drug that my doctor recommended: Methylphenidate. I can think a little clearer (still working on anger and swearing) and see a big change in depression. I hurt my family with a big decision that I could not see was a dead end and am now having to apologize constantly. My wife is a trooper though. She found this site and many others. This site in particular was very helpful with the answers I have read and the experiences I have related to. Thanks to everyone for sharing! I dated a wonderful man for about six months. He was attentive, caring, and loving. He was everything that I wanted in a mate. I always knew that he was diagnosed with ADD as a child but never put much thought into how it affected 'us' as a couple. About four months into the relationship he started classes at University. He had decided to go back to school and I was 100% behind him. Around this time he started to become slightly more distant. I noticed but thought that it was because we had come out of the "puppy love" stage. He then started two new part-time jobs. At this time he seemed to me to be distant, and unavailable to see me as much as I would like. I started to react and eventually gave him a choice "make me a priority or I'm leaving the relationship". I ended up leaving . . . which was a mutual choice. It wasn't until after all was done that I understood that what was happening had nothing to do with me but was ADD. He became so frazzled with life he couldn't focus. I regret what happened and that I didn't understand. I still love him and hope that one day things work out for us but I do still worry about his ability to follow though. The good news is that he seems open to seeking and receiving help. I hope that he does this. He is a wonderful man who deserves a wonderful life. I'm 43, female, lesbian and have had ADD all my life. I've been taking ADD medication and working with a top-notch ADD therapist for about 15 years. I have a great job that I've been at for almost 25 years and I hold my own in the intelligence department. Where I struggle is with relationships, both friendships and lovers. I've found after several years of failed relationships that my addiction to excitement and new challenges are contrary to making a long-term relationship work. One of the things that many women do is to become very symbiotic with each other emotionally, and what seems to happen with me is the old "familiarity breeds contempt" or at least boredom takes over. I yearn for a monogamous intimate relationship that I can feel safe in, with a mate that I will continue to respect and desire. I currently have the best opportunity of my life with a wonderful woman whom I am deeply in love with. Now after a year and a half together I am scared by my old familiar feelings of boredom and suffocation. I have been married for thirty-three years, and about four years ago my husband who is now sixty-one, was diagnosed with A.D.D., type II inattentive. Our marriage had been troubled for years, not because of his forgetfulness, his inability to complete projects, his inattentiveness or promises which he could not keep and all the other everyday things that go along with this condition. Our marriage was in serious trouble because my husband had been unwilling, for years, to even hear or consider what is and was important to me, always making what he wanted (and needed) a priority instead. When I tried to talk to him, he would start blaming me immediately for whatever instead of listening to what I had to say. He went so far as to tell me that all our problems in our marriage I had created because I always was asking things of him and I was always confronting him with something while he was always Mister Nice. In a nutshell, if I would just keep my mouth shut all the time, his life would be wonderful, and he stated as much when we entered marital therapy (again) after his diagnosis. Unlucky, we had a therapist who felt that my husband's diagnosis was inconsequential to our problems. He believed that ADD has no impact on relationships, only the two people involved and their behaviour. My husband, while in therapy on his very apparent blaming-and-unwilling-to-take-responsibility track, was told by this therapist that he had an inability to admit to failure or wrongdoing. However, this therapist decided to continue the marriage counseling without paying future attention to his own observations. My husband, after I told him that I couldn't continue with this kind of therapy or with our relationship because after months of counseling things only worsened, decided that he probably didn't have ADD and that he didn't need to inform himself about this or seek any individual help at all; his view is the same as always; I am the one who is solely responsible for the dismal state of our marriage. I feel that the therapist we had, contributed even more to our problems, and have come to the point after all these years of marriage, that I am no longer willing to stay in this relationship. I can say this much. My husband is a great person even with the normal ADD flaws as long as he doesn't get confronted with something that he might not have handled correctly. When that happens, it is as if he transforms into another person. From all I read and researched about Adult ADD, this is not uncommon behavior. I find that lots of people and professionals just focus on the common things in ADD instead of giving the behavioural traits the same kind of focus; what happens with children who have ADD lots of times happens with adults too. They are oppositional to no end, unwilling to take responsibility for how they chose to behave. I believe if professionals focused more on this in adults, lots of relationships could be saved. The other things, in my book, are small potatoes when you know that this is part of this condition. What aren't small potatoes is living with a person who, in his coping skills, has gotten so used to his blaming and uncaring behaviour to the point that he believes himself it to be, quote, normal. I believe my husband lives in denial because he hasn't encountered one professional who has been straight forward with him and has told him that he needs to acknowledge behaviour before he can ever make a positive change. I do know that my husband doesn't want this to happen, and when I look at him I can say the same thing lots of people have written here already, I do take care of everything in our lives, and if this support falls away at his age, how will he cope then? I was first diagnosed with ADHD when I was 10, and was put on a medication that would cause me to fall asleep. I was never hyperactive, and in fact, have always had a problem with constant fatigue. In response, my parents took me off of the medication and never took me back. Of course, I forgot all about this for a long time. I dropped out of high school, ran off (rather impulsively) to another state on a greyhound bus with just a backpack and got married. I got odd jobs here and there, mainly in food service. I had no self-esteem or confidence in myself, so I never tried to get a good job because I was certain that I was a "freak" or was somehow "less than" everyone else. I couldn't even order a hamburger in a fast-food restaurant or make a phone call. I never learned how to pay bills or make a budget, so my wife ended up doing all of that. During the time between 1996 and 2001 I worked close to eighteen different jobs, one right after the other. I would work there until I became one of the best employees, and I would get bored with the job and leave. In 2001 I was finally coerced into taking the GED test and passed, with a score of 335, and earned a scholarship. I went to college as a physics major for two semesters and once again dropped out. I simply couldn't stand being there anymore. I knew I shouldn't have, I didn't want to, but I couldn't get over not wanting to be there. Well, through the years, I've switched from one project to another, being absolutely gung-ho in the beginning but then fizzling out after a few days. I've been interested in art, writing, physics, mechanics, philosophy, metaphysics, electronics, etc. ad infinitum, switching focus about once every other day. My wife, who has a genetic disorder that has caused a cascade of other physical problems including hypothyroidism, diabetes, and anxiety attacks, has had to put up with this behaviour all this time. I never did any chores, would freak people out by saying or doing something and having absolutely no memory of it a few seconds later, and have never even gotten a driver's license. Eventually we moved back to my hometown in California, and I finally decided to get help after having a serious breakdown. I went to college as an art major while I sought medical help and treatment, though I dropped out again in only one semester. In the end it took me almost four months just to get a doctor to take me seriously, and when I finally did, I was re-diagnosed in less than five minutes. I applied for disability to help pay rent, and they of course sent me to their own specialist to be diagnosed again. I still don't know how I managed to fill out all the paperwork, but I got through the system and began receiving disability in only three months. I am going to vocational rehab now to try to get a real job that I might actually be able to keep, and am currently taking Dexedrine. All of this on top of a lifetime of severe depression and a father who had me convinced I was worthless because I wasn't him. My parents never even took me to a doctor when I broke my nose as a child. I'm now almost twenty eight, and I've had to live with all of this my entire life, and now it seems that even with my medication, even though it makes a major difference in my attitude and behavior, I still can't seem to do simple things like paying bills or balancing a check book, or even making phone calls, because I've always got so many other things on my mind and that I want to do. Because I forget things and miss well over half of anything said to me, and put things off (often until it's way too late,) I tend to screw things up a lot, and I'm always making the worst possible decisions that always end up with disastrous results. Then I lash out when confronted about it because the feeling of guilt is so overwhelming that my brain literally shuts itself off. I can't control my behaviour, and all I can do is try to figure out what I can do or say to make the feeling of guilt "go away" and end the confrontation. The problem is that this same thing happens not just when I'm confronted by my friends and family about something I've done (or not done) but even just talking to someone. Even if the conversation isn't important. Things like paying at a grocery store, ordering in a restaurant, asking for help understanding directions, etc., become almost completely impossible. I become paralyzed. My friends call it "deer in headlights syndrome" to describe the effect. I'm determined to dig myself out of this hole however, because I want to be able to take care of my wife and myself and be a responsible adult. And the medication has definitely helped me focus enough to at least try, even though it still feels quite often like I'm not getting anywhere. I was diagnosed with ADD 4 months ago and looking back into my life with girls and relationships I found that after 6-8 months I was over it. Just done and nothing could make me feel the same way that I felt a month earlier. I am still having trouble with girls and keeping interest for longer than 6-8 months. This is obviously frustrating me and the one that I am with, does anyone out there have a clue of what to do? I'm 27 years old and I've never been diagnosed. I started having problems with ADD (my own well-researched self-diagnosis) as far back as I can remember. In elementary school, I was unable to pay attention in class, couldn't sit still and got in trouble a lot for being disruptive. In grade school I learned to stay out of trouble but still had problems focusing in school and during personal study time and my grades reflected those issues. I always had trouble being social and developed huge insecurities. I constantly asked myself, "WHY can't you just PAY ATTENTION?!" and felt SO stupid for not being able to keep up in school. After all, everyone else could. In High School, it was the same story but as school became more demanding and a social life became more important to me, my insecurities and depression seemed to get worse. I felt like every day was a struggle, not to excel, but just to get through it and then do it all again the next day. I heard about ADD and researched it. I was certain that ADD was my problem and that I could be normal if I was treated. My parents told me that I just wasn't trying hard enough and that I just had to apply myself. I became reliant on my relationships with boys and in college, struggled even harder to study and fight against myself to do well in school. Failure after failure, to do well in school, made me turn to alcohol and I drank heavily almost every night. I went from serious relationship to serious relationship because being single was lonely. I ended up on academic probation and dropping out of college to work from pay check to pay check and couldn't hold down a long-term job. Years later, I'm still fighting insecurities, depression and still feel like a prisoner within my own mind. I'm earning a degree through online classes which are going much better because I can work at my own pace, not someone else's. My husband and I have a good relationship, MOST of the time, but sometimes we have these huge fights that make me want to leave him and think that maybe we should see a counsellor. I wonder how much my ADD has affected our relationship because I know my insecurity and sensitivity must have some effect. I've thought about seeing a physician about a diagnosis and treatment but for some reason I'm scared. I don't want to be told, yet again, that it's all in my head or that I just need to try harder. Experience First of all, I am right now, causing my tongue to bleed. No one has any right, unless backed up with hard scientific evidence, to denounce the validity of ADD/ADHD. How dare you? (That post was removed by a super.) We could just as easily denounce the viability of bipolar, or depression. "Oh those are just excuses to feel sorry for yourself". And in my mind, the ramifications of ADHD ADD are far more serious than depression (depression could be a consequence of untreated ADD ADHD). How would explain how thousands of people have the same strange symptoms of learning disabilities, anger issues, social inadequacy, organizational inabilities, forgetfulness, impulsiveness, hyperactivity, all clumped together in one person? I'm sorry, that's sounds like a clinical mental disability to me! All those symptoms? Me, except for anger and learning disabilities. I do have irritability issues. I was diagnosed at I believe the age of 6 or seven. This was because I had extreme issues paying attention in school (thank God I was home-schooled). But I also couldn't get ready in a timely fashion, I would forget that I was supposed to be putting on my shirt and would be in the corner of my room playing with a Barbie-shirtless- me, not the Barbie. My mom used to say that if she ever died of a heart attack, it would be because of me getting ready in the morning. I wasn't a stupid kid, nor did I have hand coordination problems or learning disabilities. I could read my first 10 page "book" when I was 4. I was doing multiplication when I was 6 and wrote my first 250 wood composition when I was almost 7. I graduated high school with extra credits at the age of 16. I am now in my first year of college working on a Culinary Arts AA Degree. My SAT scores ranked with those going in to college to study law, surpassing most students who were going in to study Culinary. ADD/ADHD is a stumbling block, a chemical imbalance in the brain that has caused a key doors to stick shut or open, when they need to be routinely opened and closed. Impulsivity was and is a huge problem with me factoring in physical inappropriateness (nothing sexual in my case but in many other cases it can lead to that if not subdued or redirected), I reach out to tap someone to emphasize a point, and I would end up leaving a bruise. So in my case, inappropriate physical aggressiveness was my issue. This doesn't mean I love my issues that I think being ADHD is totally cool. I hate it. My stimulant medication causes my metabolism to speed up quite a bit. It also knocks down my appetite somewhat (although hormones easily override my medication whenever they so do please). I am a healthy weight right now, I don't eat too much and I'm active at least 3 times a week in Karate for 45 minutes each time. My favourite place is outside. I want to overcome and control my symptoms. I know I'll never grow out of it. My birth family (by the way, I'm also adopted) has a history of obesity and diabetes. I feel that being on medication the way I have been, has severely damaged how I will be able to control what I eat, having never really been given that chance, having been on medicines for 10 years now. It's disappointing, but that's just the smallest piece in this story. My social abilities suffered heavily up until I was around 13. The fact that I still have friends from when I was 8 is amazing. ADHDers can have the side effect of not being able to see or care about the emotions and hurts of other people. Many times, someone with ADHD has huge issues with thinking and caring about other people, they usually have the ability to care of only themselves if they don't get help. Other issues that go hand in hand, oh and before I continue? ADHD is ADD, the added H stands for Hyperactivity. Disgraphia - keys in with poor hand coordination issues of ADHD. What is it? An inability to write almost anything with any sort of legibility, doesn't mean it's incurable, just takes a lot of letter stencils and training to overcome. Discalcula- a form of dyslexia, a learning delay in which letters swim on the page, making martial look like marital. Discalcula is the same, but with numbers, and it goes even further. Numbers have no meaning to you. It's like "normal" people with no understanding of geometry trying on their own to figure the pi symbol and its relevance. Discalcula, you look at if a=b and b=c, then a=c, your mind goes, "how the heck did you get that a=c?" that because 1/2 = 1/4+1/4=2/4 so 2/4=1/2 your mind goes "yeah, that's nice, what is that supposed to mean again?" My sister has Discalcula. She can't add or subtract negatives with positive without the number line I made for her with 4 clear rules on adding subtracting negatives with positives. It's such an issue with her, she can't understand that 136-n=120 that in turn equals the equation 136-120=n. How can you tell me that ADHD/ADD just isn't real? My sister is 15 and she can't add 1/4+1/4=1/2 she gets 2/8. Why would someone purposefully do that to get sympathy? To pretend not to be able to understand 4th grade math when you are in the 12th grade? (Fortunately we found alternate math programs that we were able to count as high school math so she will also graduate at age 16). I said I don't think ADHD is totally cool, I do think, in the interlacing between your disorder and who you are, you can't separate the two, so when you have ADHD, when you totally embrace it, when you work with it to help you, then I think ADHD can be really cool. ADHD, the hyperactivity? I let it out in Karate, I took the energy that was driving everyone crazy and trained it to go into my muscles, into my balance and reflexes. I'm now a 9th level Junior Black belt (been in Karate for 10 years now). The only people my instructor wants me to do grappling with, so that I have a chance to be challenged, are the big 6' feet tall guys in the class. Of course, being a 16-year-old girl now, the amount of grappling I do with guys is strictly limited. Here's the thing, when picking things to do to get the energy out, make sure it is something like Karate, but counterbalance it with something where do you don't exert the energy on people, someone could get hurt, but also if you are always trying to restrain that energy so you don't hurt someone, you may never learn how to fully empty yourself, never feel the thrill of using the full extent of your strength. Something like weight lifting, or advanced sport conditioning would be really great to. Like I said, because I have ADHD, doesn't mean I'm stupid, because I come to the defence of people who are diagnosed, doesn't mean I think that everyone should feel sorry for them. I have hard times, but it makes me mad, and what I have been trained to do, is that when it makes me mad, I turn that anger on the symptom and kill the symptom. I don't have attention problems, and I can sit still far better than my sister who does not have the hyperactivity, I can sit still for 1 hour and 30 mins so far, that's all I have had to sit still for. When it comes to tests such as the SAT or Midterms, I go into a hyper focus that I have trained myself to do. I don't allow anything to distract me. I'm still in the process of doing the same in other areas though, like driving when I can only hyper focus when concentrating on one thing. When I have to concentrate on a lot of the things at the same time, I miss things, like what happens with my memories like Greek myths. With driving, I'll be really good at taking in the street sign, signal, the lanes, the laws, all at once at let's say an intersection I'm about to go through, but I'll miss the car that is right in front of me starting to slow down to make a turn: stuff like that. I feel like I can help a lot of my fellow "friends" of people with ADHD. I like to tell people I have ADHD and have them look at me like "why the heck would you lie to me like that?" My success is all owed to my parents, if they didn't care or weren't involved like they are, I would probably be some wild girl pregnant and on the street right now. Because of people who go around saying stuff like, "oh I'm such a klutz", "I so hate my ADHD impulsiveness", I can see why other people assume that this disorder is a fraud. People who go around saying stuff like, a.) "OMG, my cousin is always bouncing off the walls, I swear he has ADHD, he just can't stop moving", are usually exaggerating, b.) When asked if he told them he had ADHD their usual response. "No, but I'm telling you there is no way he doesn't have ADHD". Then I drop the bomb that I have ADHD and have been professionally diagnosed, and the looks on their faces is priceless. But then they go on to still say that their energetic cousin has severe ADHD as if they know better than me. That makes me mad, and there's the assumptions that ADHD kids all belong in resource, rooms at school. Actually, a lot of the people I know who have ADHD, have GPA's of 3.6 or higher. My high school GPA was 3.86, my IQ is 134, two points lower than my brilliant mother. (I'm not exaggerating, if you knew her you would say the same.) 6 points from the highly intelligent spectrum. I just want everyone out there with ADHD/ADD to know that, they're not stupid, just a little lost, with even just a little bit of help? They could go beyond anything they could have dreamed. Oh, and Einstein? The theory is that he had ADD and at least Asperger's syndrome. They are doing further studies on it. The term Absent Minded Professor was started with him and not for no good reason. Oh, and Thomas Edison? He is also being looked into for ADD. His teachers hated him because he wouldn't pay attention in class, and turned all his homework in late and sloppy. Both my husband and myself have ADHD, and we've been married for twenty-eight years now. Our first sixteen years were very chaotic due to neither one of us ever being on any treatment for ADHD. My husband started on treatment right after our son was diagnosed with ADHD and the change in him was quite apparent. The chaos in our home was eased in the first month. I knew at the time that I also shared the same ADHD diagnosis and so did my sons doctors, who I had worked for as one of their nurses prior to his birth, yet I didn't want to admit that I too had ADHD. One of them talked me into a series of tests for ADHD and I knew that things would soon change. I started treatment as well. All of us were taking Adderall and there was been an unbelievable change. It was wonderful until I lost my job due to a back injury and could no longer afford the Adderall for myself. Once again, chaos stepped in, and seemed to totally take over my life. I found it impossible to complete tasks, and despite much effort, it just wasn't happening. Eventually, after having two more children, it caught up with me, and I am once again on treatment for ADHD, and things are looking up again. Being a 36 year old man, with ADD and have lived with it all my life. It does has its disadvantages. However, when it comes to understanding one, it's simple, especially in a relationship. The way is to simply write out all the ADD facts for your partner, research it. Show it to them, if they truly care for you, they will understand. Mine did, then the funniest thing happened. She did her own research and talked to friends. Sure enough, she found something for me. Called Ginkgo Biloba, I have been taken it for years now and everything is fine. ( Full Answer )

What does adult ADHD mean?

%FOLLOWUPS% ADHD NOS means NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED. IT refers to a category of diagnosis for people who have some prominent symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention or impuslivity, but who don't meet the full diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Basically, it is a garbage-can diagnosis for people who don't m… ( Full Answer )

Are adults being overdiagnosed with ADHD?

Usually when people ask that they mean are some people being diagnosed incorrectly. That is always true with any diagnosis. If you are asking across the population then no. Epidemiology shows that ADHD in adults is underdiagnosed. Most adults enter treatment because a child they are related to was d… ( Full Answer )

How to deal with feelings of abandonment in adult relationships?

Answer . There are two things that humans fear most 1)being alone 2)death. Some may not thing they are much different. I believe we are such creatures of habit and in our personal relationships, become so codependent at times that we cant tell where we, ourselves, begin anymore. You have to be … ( Full Answer )

What is adult ADHD?

It has long been assumed that ADHD is a disorder only for children but professionals have realized that it also occurs through adulthood. There is some research that points out that ADHD may be hereditary. Other contributors include: high amounts of lead present in the body, prematurity, or damage i… ( Full Answer )

What is an adult?

An adult is someone who is 18 or older, and can do anything they want with their life. They can drop out of school, get a job, drive a car, and order stuff off of TV.. An adult is someone who turned 18 is old enough to drive, go get a job, buy anything they want, and basically be old enough to do w… ( Full Answer )

What are ADHD symptoms in adults?

When u cant concenrate on one thing but instead do multiple things at one time. Like skipping topics around

How can an adult get diagnosed with ADHD?

You find a doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, neurologist, or licensed clinical social worker who understands ADHD and has experience in diagnosing it. Unfortunately since many medical schools haven't adequately taught their students about how to diagnose and treat ADHD (as several medical profe… ( Full Answer )

What medications are used for adult ADHD?

The same medications used to treat childhood ADHD are used in adults. The most commonly prescribed treatment are a type of drugs called pscyhostimulants which include Ritalin and Adderall. Please see related question.

Should teens have an adult relationship?

if youre referring to sex, no cuz it could lead to pregnancy and its extremely hard for 2 teens to care for a baby. and abortion should never be an option. other than that, i dont see why not

Why are positive relationships with adults important?

Positive relationships are important to maintain a sense of goodwill inside ourselves, a destructive relationship is not good as you spend your time fighting for what you want and feeling bad if you keep getting put down. And all sorts of other problems can occur like abuse and generally just losing… ( Full Answer )

Caffeine affects on ADHD adult?

Caffeine causes the Hypothalamus to produce additional stores of Dopamin and Norepinephrine, two of the brain's neurotransmitters. Because patients with ADD/ADHD have fewer neurotransmitters than the average person, this overload of Dopamine causes you to become very, very sleepy.

Why will adult birds feed other adult birds?

it is a courtship thing, why do you take your date out to dinner? it's the same thing.

Why is it important to encourage and support positive relationships between children and other adults?

When a child begins to learn from culture, that child is still in need of mediation on the behalf of a trusted adult up until a certain age, which marks the zone of proximal development according to the social cognition learning theory put forth by Lev Vygotsky. In short the zone of proximal develop… ( Full Answer )

What is the felony called when an adult is in a relationship with a minor?

you mean what is the crime called? cause felony is the classification of the outcome from a crime its called statuory rape in most states and child molestation depending on the age of the minor the more severe your felony punishment will be like a 17 yr old a day away from 18 would be less severe pu… ( Full Answer )

Does music affect adults?

Rather general question but yes it does, and in many different ways depending on the mental state of the beholder.

Why are there adults?

Because, when a mommy and a daddy like each other, they go and TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

Can an adult receive SSI for ADHD?

You will have to contact the SSA office to help you determine this your self you can find some information about this by going to the SSA gov web site using the search box Click on the below related link

Why is it important to encourage and support positive relationships between children and other adults in the setting?

it's important to support relationships between children and adults cause it can inspire and help their everyday life to feel good and be strong! with encouragement they will always have a smile on their face cause they know that their loved! =)

What is consent in adult relationships?

In the context of adult sexual relationships it means that BOTH parties are willing and consenting to the act of intercourse with one another. In the case of STATUTORY Rape, there is no such thing as CONSENT. The law (the Statute) makes the legal assumption that a minor is legally incapable of grant… ( Full Answer )

How does scarlet fever affect adults?

Scarlet fever has many symptoms that can affect adults andchildren. These symptoms include chills, headache, sore throat,swollen tonsils, vomiting, pale skin around the lips, and a whittongue with red dots.

How do you be an adult?

If you want to be an adult you have to be 20 or older and be more mature.

Why do adults bully other adults?

It is human nature to assert authority over fellow beings in order to get their way or the job done.

Why don't adults have ADHD?

Adults can have ADHD; most adults with ADHD are able to control their symptoms better in their adult years and are less noticeable. Please see related question.

How does your childhood affect your future as an adult?

it affect your future by what you do and how you act. hope that helped!

If both partners engage in sexual contact and one is a minor and the other is an adult and the female ends up being pregnant is the adult male going to get in trouble?

That will depend on the specific ages and the laws of thatjurisdiction. Being a minor is different then being over the age ofconsent. There might not be anything illegal about it.

Is ADHD the same as adult autism?

No, the two conditions are not the same thing. Atention deficithyperactivity disorder is not the same as autism, they can howevercoexist together. There is also no such thing as 'adult autism',you are an autistic adult.

How do you encourage and support other adults to have positive relationships with children?

If the child has did anything good or something you could brag about it tell the parent, example say the child helps others all the time tell the adult how good he/she is good at helping others. Or it could be anything! also tell the child some good about there parents!

What is adult nursing relationship?

two lesbians hook up and one lesbian gets manparts for they can have babies are u a lez?

If you didn't show signs of ADD or ADHD as a child can you have it as an adult?

perhaps, but it's not something that is developed with age... the "H" is crap though. it doesn't belong in there at all... see "difference between ADD and OCD"

How divorce affects adults?

Divorce can affects adults servilely likes children's mothers and fathers splitting up. It can knock your confidence down to 0 but whenever and if ever you get divorced always remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Why do adults criticize other adults for watching kid cartoons?

Well, I mean like when adults are watching kids cartoons it's just not very grown up. Maybe you just enjoy watching it for the memories or for the laughs, but their's other shows for grown ups that are cartoons, such as South Park, Family Guy, Futurama, I grew up with those cartoons, though.

How communication affects relationships in adult care setting?

it can mean life and death easily. you need to communicate for you to tell that something is wrong with someone else. if you can't communicate then someone could die, and you can continue your life without a care. but since their is communication you would easily care, and help... or if you are a … ( Full Answer )

What are the adult symptoms of ADD and ADHD?

Symptoms of adult ADD and ADHD often include the inability to finish projects, always needing to start something new, heavy procrastination especially if a task requires lots of thought, and difficulty concentrating on what people are saying to you. If you think you or someone you know may have adul… ( Full Answer )

How do you know if your partner is in other relationship?

There are many different tell tell signs. A person can start behaving differently than normal, acting suspicious, being sneaky, lying, staying out late, not doing or being where they said they would be, secretly talking on the phone, texting or on line chatting, maybe they start drinking, etc. They … ( Full Answer )

What are the disadvantages of communication in adult relationship?

Its very important to have communication in relationship or else you won't know whats going on in each other heads .Example time lets say a man gets home from work and really wanted to have shrimp Alfredo but instead your wife made spaghetti then you don't eat her food and she thinks she did a bad j… ( Full Answer )

Can autistic adult engage in a meaningful relationship?

Yes, of course we autistic adults can engage in a meaningfulrelationship. Autism does impact on social interaction, but itdoesn't make us emotionless or stop us from forming relationshipswith other people. Most autistic adults will have a meaningfulrelationship.

Can an adult baby have a relationship?

There is no such thing as an adult baby. It would be the same as asking whether a teen fetus can run around in his house.

How does math affect adults?

The question is broad enough to be the topic of an entire book. Let's just say adults, knowingly or not, use math every day of their lives.

How many adults are in abusive relationships?

i wouldn't want to say because all abusive relationships can happen to anyone no matter how old or young they are

How communication affect relationships in an adult social care setting?

Communication is very important in maintaining a relationship in anadult social care setting. All persons involved in this care willneed to be able to share their thoughts and ideas as well as theirinteraction with the adult in the social care setting.

How do you advise a young adult about a bad relationship?

There is no such thing as advising a young adult about a bad relationship because they will only become angry; defend the person they love even if that person is not good for them. The more one pushes by telling the person they are in a bad relationship the closer that person will become to the othe… ( Full Answer )

What does it say a when an adult woman is not allowed her own choice of adult man as her partner?

It says the woman lives in a patriarchal culture where women do not enjoy legal rights. It can say the woman is considered to be the property of her father and the males in her family are her superiors. Her husband will be chosen for her, a match to benefit the family, and she will not have any sepa… ( Full Answer )

What starts babies relationship with adults?

The relationship between a baby and its parents actually starts in the womb, where the baby becomes accustomed to the mothers heartbeat and voice as well as the fathers voice. Once a baby is born, it becomes accustomed to the people it sees often and the ways in which they behave.

What is adultered?

When you mix something that is not required , then it is adultered . e.g. mixing of small pebble sized stones to pulses for faking its weight .

What are the Guam laws for adult minor relationships?

Age of consent is 16 so no sex before that. Dating is legal if the parents consent.

How do you repair a bad relationship with your adult daughter?

Try to find things you have in common, activities you both enjoy, things like that.

What medications for adult ADHD are available other than Ritalin?

There are numerous drugs available to treat adult ADHD. Ritalin is methylphenidate, a stimulant used to treat ADHD. There are other stimulants available: Adderall and Vyvanse. Non-stimulant options exist such as Straterra. Please see the related question below.

What are some signs of adult ADHD?

There are several signs that can be identified as being related to adult ADHD. These include problems with being organized, difficulties with marriage or relationships and poor listening skills.

How does adult ADD-ADHD affect relationships with other adults and partners?

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