- Hey, everybody, happy Thursday. Today, we're gonna talk about ADHD and how it can be different as an adult. But before I get into that,
are you new to my channel? Welcome! I put out videos on Mondays and Thursdays, so make sure you're subscribed
and have those notifications turned on so you don't miss out. But let's jump into this topic. And today's question is, hey
Kati, could you talk more about ADHD as a whole and
how it can be different as an adult? I wasn't diagnosed until recently and I still don't really understand. In the past, everyone used to
consider ADHD to be something that only affects children. Many professionals even believed
that children who had been diagnosed with ADHD would later,
eventually, grow out of it. But we know now that that
line of thinking is completely false, and ADHD is
something that will span a person's entire lifetime. ADHD can even present differently
in adults versus children, and therefore, go undiagnosed
for long periods of time. But before we jump into
how ADHD can be different in adults versus children,
let's define ADHD as a whole and how it's diagnosed. ADHD stands for attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder, and it is a persistent
pattern of inattention or hyperactivity and
impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development. It is categorized by
the number of symptoms one has in both the inattention and the hyperactivity/impulsivity
categories. So let's get into the
inattention portion first, and a person must have at
least six of these following symptoms, and these
symptoms must have persisted for at least six months, so
it's kind of easy to remember. Must have six, must have
been happening in your life for at least six months,
and it has to be to a degree that is inconsistent with
developmental level, and it negatively impacts our social
or occupational functioning. Meaning that, y'know, kids
can be restless and be inattentive, we can't force
a two-year-old to watch a four-hour film, this is not
gonna happen, so we have to kind of take all that stuff
into consideration before we assume that someone has ADHD, okay? Now, the first symptom is, often fails to pay attention to detail, and therefore, can make
careless mistakes frequently. Number two, has difficulty
holding attention in tasks or hobbies. Three, does not seem to listen
when spoken to directly. Four, often does not follow
through on instructions and can fail to finish work. Five, has difficulties
organizing tasks and activities. For example, y'know, having
really poor time management or is extremely messy and
disorganized with work. Six, dislikes activities
that require sustained mental effort, and will often avoid
them altogether if possible. And number seven, will
often lose things necessary for tasks and activities. Like, for example, if we had
a big presentation at work and we needed our thumb drive to
even start the presentation, we leave the thumb drive
at home on accident. Eight is easily distracted by stimuli. It could be outside of themselves, or even their own thoughts. Nine, is often forgetful
in daily activities. Like, they can forget to pay bills, keep appointments, et cetera. Now we're gonna get into
the second category, 'cause remember, that
was just inattention, and now we're getting to
hyperactivity and impulsivity. And again, just like the one above, they must have at least
six of these, but they only have to have five if they're 17 and older, so we're talking about adult ADHD. They would only need
to have five of these, and they need to persist
for at least six months, and, y'know, not be consistent with their developmental level, and it
has to interfere with their ability to function in their life. And they also note that
this category of symptoms cannot be just because
someone is being oppositional or hostile towards someone
else, so you have to kind of, like, rule that part out
first, and the first symptom is that they will often fidget
with or tap hands or feet or just squirm in their seat. Number two, they'll often
leave their seat times when remaining seated is
expected, like at a wedding, in school, at a really important meeting. They have trouble just being there. Three, they can often run
out or climb in situations where it's inappropriate. In adults, they say that this
limited to feeling restless, but in children, they find
that they just have to move, they need to get out,
they need to climb around and do all sorts of things. You can see how this is just, like... I just have to move, I'm hyperactive. Sorry, guys, I had to cut the roll. Speaking of, like, things
happening that are distracting, I think there's a wood
chipper outside our house. I have no control over it,
so I'm sorry if you hear it, but that's what's going on,
but let's just keep going, we shall persist. And the fourth symptom is,
they're unable to play or engage in leisure activities quietly. Five is that they often
feel on the go or act as if they're driver by a motor,
like, they'll be unable to sit still for a long
period of time and people can really find them hard to keep up with, 'cause they just go go go go go go. Six, they can often talk excessively. It can be misdiagnosed, you'll
see, I'll talk about this a little bit more, but
ADHD is often misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder, because
a lot of these symptoms, even as I say, can talk
excessively, reminds me of the part of a bipolar diagnosis where
we talk about pressured speech, where they almost just can't shut up. Seven, they'll often blurt out
an answer before a question has even been completed. They can also complete other
people's sentences when they're still talking or talk
completely over others. Number eight, has difficulty
waiting his or her turn. You can see, it's just, we have to move, it's that hyperactivity component, right? And number nine is, often
interrupts or intrudes on others. Like, they'll butt into
conversations, they can start using other people's things without
permission, or even take over something that someone else is
working on, because sometimes they become impatient with
the speed with which someone is completing a task. Now, several of both sets
of these symptoms, right, we talked about two different
sets, must have been present prior to the age of 12. And several of both of
those sets must also have been present in two or more settings, meaning that it has to happen
at, like, home and at work. And there must be clear
evidence that these symptoms are interfering with
or reducing the quality of our functioning as a whole. Now that we know what ADHD
is and how it's diagnosed, let's get into how it can
be different in adults, and why many people are not
getting properly diagnosed with ADHD until they're much much older. First, I think it's important
to know that all adults who are diagnosed with
ADHD had it as a child, they just never got a proper
diagnosis, and may have even struggled in school without
support as a result. Which, I have to be honest,
is always upsetting for me to read about, because
children can grow up believing that they're stupid, lazy, or
they're never gonna fit in, and if they understood
what was really going on, they could have learned tools
and techniques to better manage it and gotten
more support in school, so they could have succeeded more easily. Now, adults with ADHD
may have trouble at work. They change jobs frequently,
and they often don't feel very fulfilled by their work. They can also tend to smoke
cigarettes and abuse alcohol or drugs with more frequency. They talked about this a lot
because, kind of like the impulse control issues that we
can have, we feel so on edge all day and everything that
we do to try to stay focused takes so much of our
energy, we often reach out for unhealthy coping skills
as a way to better manage. They also find that
adults with ADHD struggle with mental health issues as well. Most common that they talk about
are anxiety and depression, and you can see why, if
you've been told as a kid that you're not as smart or
you're slow and you've grown up feeling like you're different,
or it's really hard for you to sit still and you have
to put all this energy into, like, fitting in with other
people, you can see how that would really be difficult. Research also shows that adults with ADHD get a lot of speeding
tickets, they aren't good at saving money, and
they oversalt their food, which I've found to be very interesting. There wasn't a ton to back that
up, but I'm just giving you some of the signs and symptoms
that adults may express that we won't see so much in children. Adults also tend to
struggle with relationships, and due to the impulsiveness
that comes along with ADHD, they often get married multiple times. And now, obviously, as I
go through these traits, know that everyone is gonna be different. These are just some of
the signs and symptoms that research has shown us over the years. Now, as for why many people
aren't properly diagnosed as children, they believe
it's often misdiagnosed as anxiety, OCD, or even bipolar disorder. Others are not diagnosed
because they find ways to better manage their symptoms. Many adults reported that
they learned mental tasks they can do to help them
focus and not fidget. In order to fit in and get through school, they utilize these tools. Do you remember when I did the
interview with Mark Suster, he talked about how, even
as an adult, in meetings, he doodles as a way to
keep him focused and trying to not be super disrespectful
to the person talking, so he does a bunch of
things, or he'll do, like, mental tasks, go through
his list of to-dos, so that he doesn't appear
disrespectful, when really, he's just trying to stay focused. But the good news is that
we're learning more and more about ADHD every year. There are many therapeutic
techniques and tools that you can use to better
help you manage the symptoms. CBT has been the most researched
and supported treatment, but here are some of, like,
the basic tools that people find helpful that, some come
out of the CBT treatment, others are just ones
that I've read in blogs that people find really helpful. Number one, setting small goals and tasks each and every day. I find it to be really
important for us to visually see what it is that we need
to accomplish and when. Number two, setting a timer,
so that you know how long you have to keep ding
that thing, because maybe you're struggling to stay
focused, and it's nice to know that, hey, I've only got a
few more minutes of this, just push through, I'll be
done, and then you get to do something completely different. Three, have a reward system
for yourself, where you get something that you want, like
watching that amazing YouTube video that's been in your
feed that you saw earlier, and you're fighting to not
watch, but make sure you get to do this reward and get the
reward as soon as you complete one task, therefore, it keeps
us a little bit more motivated to stay focused and finish. Four, establish a routine
that you can follow most days. We find that people with ADHD
work well when they have, like, a structured routine,
and something that's kind of expected, so make sure
you try to wake up around the same time and do certain
things throughout your day. And number five, come up
with distraction tools and techniques that you can do. Like I said, Mark Suster
doodles while in meetings to help him stay focused. Find something you can do
where you won't get in trouble for it, but it helps you
stay focused for longer, so that you can complete
the tasks you need to each and every day. And the sixth, be kind to yourself. Behavioral changes take time
and practice, and some days, you may just be too tired to do it at all, but just keep trying,
and know that it does get better and easier. Last, if medication is
something you're interested in, that's another option for treatment. There are stimulants, such
as Adderall or Vyvance, and non-stimulants, like
Stratera or Intuniv, so it's best to talk to your
doctor first, get properly assessed and diagnosed,
remember, 'cause often it's often misdiagnosed, and then you
get to decide what treatment is right for you. They talk about how stimulants
can be a little dangerous for those of us who had
an addiction in our past, and it makes our
hunger/fullness cues get off, so make sure you talk to your
doctor, ask all pertinent questions, make sure you're fully informed before you decide to start medication. This video has been brought
to you by kinions on Patreon. If you would like to support
the creation of these mental health videos, click
the link in the description and check it out. And, as always, leave in the
comments how ADHD has felt for you, or what tools you
find to be the most helpful, because together, we are
working for a healthy mind and a healthy body. And I will see you next time. Bye!
