“I think I might have ADHD”
Could it be ADHD?
If you’re here, you will already have some knowledge of ADHD and may be curious about whether or not you have ADHD yourself
ADHD awareness has been growing in recent years, especially through social media. This awareness is helping people understand ADHD, and for many, bringing them a late diagnosis. “I think I might have ADHD” is something I have been hearing more and more in the last year, so let’s talk about it!
On tiktok, the ADHD hashtag has over 7 BILLION views! With similar hashtags such as #adhdcheck, #adhdawareness, and #adhdproblems having hundreds of millions of views. This is bringing a lot of awareness to the nuances of ADHD and things people with neurodivergence experience, that are often not specific to the DSM5 criteria. One popular tiktok user in particular has a wealth of great information about ADHD from his own perspective on his account, where he has almost 4 million followers. People relate to a lot of these videos and wonder if they could have ADHD too, however, most people will experience some symptoms of ADHD throughout their life. So how do you know if you might have ADHD? Just say you see 10 descriptors of ADHD symptoms, if you don’t have ADHD you might identify with two or three of those items, if you have ADHD you may identify with 8-10 of those descriptors. These symptoms also can’t be better explained by another disorder such as anxiety or OCD. However, it is important to note that ADHD can often co-occur with anxiety, depression, autism, learning disabilities, and personality disorders. To have ADHD, these symptoms also must be causing disruption to your life and ability to function, and they must have started in childhood (before the age of 12).
Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder is a neurobehavioral disorder which affects how we think and behave. Symptoms have historically been put under the umbrella of either attention, or hyperactivity (most common to have elements of both). What this can look like may be being able to focus on a computer game or painting for hours (hyperfocus), but zoning out of a conversation, or being in a lecture and focusing on a drip in the ceiling and not hearing the lecture. ADHD isn’t the absence of attention, but difficulty sustaining attention and controlling where attention is focused. Hyperactivity may look like struggling to sit for long or sit normally in a chair, readjusting or getting up and moving around a lot (restlessness), and frequent fidgeting. You can feel hyperactive, without looking it, often due to modifying your behaviour due to societal norms; knowing this isn’t socially acceptable. This is known as masking.
At the centre of ADHD is the difficulty with executive function. Executive functioning skills include attention, time management, task initiation and completion, decision making, organisation, problem solving, processing speed, working memory, organisation, and self-control. At you can imagine, unmanaged ADHD can cause havoc in relationships, education and work. Due to being undiagnosed, the person with ADHD may feel misunderstood and get frustrated that they can’t do the things they need to, and they can’t explain why this is difficult to tutors, colleagues, partners or family members. Unfortunately this can lead to being labelled lazy or uncaring, but neither of these are true. “Laziness” is actually that struggle to get started, “uncaring” is actually getting sidetracked and having trouble rerouting your attention. Getting a diagnosis can not only help you to understand yourself and begin the process of learning to manage these symptoms, it also means you can get support in education, reasonable adjustments at work, and understanding from those around you. However, there are sadly barriers to diagnosis.
It is becoming more widely thought that the diagnostic criteria discriminates by describing how ADHD more commonly affects boys and men, making diagnosis for women and girls harder to obtain as their symptom profiles can be different. In Scotland, you must be referred by your GP for a diagnosis. It is helpful to prepare for this appointment. Here are some tips:
1. Make a list of any symptoms and difficulties you are experiencing at home, at work, and at school (if applicable). Showing how these affect you in three environments can help.
2. Prepare key personal information including major stresses or important life changes
3. Bring any past evaluations, school reports if you have them, a report from your therapist. A letter from a parent or teacher could also help.
4. Make a list of questions to ask your doctor (e.g. what are the possible causes of these symptoms? What kinds of tests are needed?)
Therapy is a great way to gain understanding of how your ADHD affects you, learn to identify and manage symptoms, and also discover how your ADHD can be a strength and a useful tool for you. Your GP may be able to refer you for therapy, there are often charitable organisations offering free therapy in most cities. For private therapy, Psychology Today is a useful directory for finding a therapist.
In my next blog I will talk about ways to improve function and manage symptoms when living with ADHD
Further Support:
The ADHD Foundation: www.adhdfoundation.org.uk
Scottish ADHD Coalition: www.scottishadhdcoalition.org
Written By
Hollie Harland MBACP, PGdip, PGcert, BSc, DipHE
Additional sources:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
A Review of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Women and Girls: Uncovering This Hidden Diagnosis (2014): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4195638/
Adult ADHD: evaluation and treatment in family medicine; Searight HR, Burke JM, Rottnek F. Am Fam Physician. 2000;62(9):2077–2086. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11087189/
(I am not a medical doctor and cannot diagnose you with ADHD. I have personal experience with ADHD, years of professional experience working with individuals with ADHD, and have completed training in counselling clients who have ADHD, which also covered assessment and diagnosis information)