by Carley Hyder, Reg. Psychologist
The typical stereotype of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often centres on young boys who appears restless and unable to sit still. However, ADHD has vastly changed now that research in the past ten years has (finally) branched out to include girls and adults. Adult ADHD is one of the top diagnoses right now, next to adult autism because so many of us were missed or never diagnosed as children. What does adult ADHD look like? Adult ADHD can differ by person, but these common traits are associated with adult ADHD:
- Disorganization: Documents being scattered, messy cabinets/closets, missing appointments. Some people are able to ‘keep it together’ at work, even when their home life feels chaotic. This is called masking, and can work for a while, but can also lead to burnout. Other people struggle to stay employed due to the severity of their disorganization.
- Impulsivity: Some indicators include impulsive spending, impulsive decisions, and erratic changes in daily schedule. Some individuals may not be able to plan for things in advanced. There also seems to be a preference for change their routine.
- Executive Function: The ability to plan and execute, such as meal planning, prioritize tasks, and being able to stick with them might be challenging.
- Struggles To Get Simple Activities Completed: Having a hard time doing chores or tasks that are not exciting or ‘less dopamine rich’ such as dishes, laundry, tiding up, and balancing a budget.
If this sounds like you, you could have some of the symptoms associated with ADHD. There are great tools to help you stay on task and organized. Use a calendar to keep track of deadlines, appointments, and events. Do the less favourable task first, followed by a ‘reward’ or favourable task. Try to schedule each day to get a balance of items completed. You are not in this alone, ask for help; professional organizers, financial planners, executive function support from a licenced psychologist and in some cases, talking to your family doctor can also be helpful.
