Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):
Adult ADHD is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity.
Adult ADHD is a prevalent and often misunderstood condition that significantly impacts a person’s interpersonal, educational, and occupational relationships. It affects approximately 4%–5% of the general population. It is often under-diagnosed, partly due to the misconception that it is solely a childhood condition.
Men are diagnosed more frequently than are women. However, women are increasingly recognized, especially as they tend to present more with inattention than hyperactivity.
What Are Symptoms of ADHD?
Common symptoms include the following:
• Not finishing tasks or projects one starts
• Being easily distracted
• Racing thoughts
• Forgetfulness
• Severe anxiety
• Disorganization
• Problems in planning, following through, and completing tasks
• Misplacing items like keys, wallets, cell phones, and glasses
• Interrupting others in conversation
• Impulsively making decisions and taking actions one hasn’t fully thought through
• Trouble staying focused and poor concentration
Research indicates that adult ADHD involves functional and structural changes in the brain. These include a much less active prefrontal cortex, which governs executive functions like planning ahead, impulse control, and attention.
Additionally, there are alterations in the dopaminergic pathways, which are crucial for attention and regulating behavior. Neuro-imaging studies show reduced grey matter volume in the frontal lobes, caudate nucleus, and cerebellum.
How Do You Treat Adult ADHD?
Effective treatments for adults with ADHD include a combination of medication management, which can be life-transforming, lifestyle modifications, and psychotherapy. Stimulant medications are the first-line treatments. These enhance dopaminergic activity and improve focus, concentration, and impulse control, not to mention significantly reducing anxiety.
Lifestyle changes include regular exercise and sleeping nine hours a night. Psychotherapy can be essential to help patients develop skills to plan, organize, and follow through, and to manage interpersonal, academic, and occupational relationships.
A key issue to note about adult ADHD is that it often co-exists with mood disorders such as one of the four types of Bipolar Disorder, as well as with Substance Use Disorders. Patients often use alcohol, marijuana, and illegal substances to attempt to manage their symptoms, albeit ineffectively.
It is essential to not only diagnose adult ADHD but also to uncover these coexisting disorders. Maximally effective treatment for adult ADHD comes with early detection, a comprehensive evaluation, and a treatment plan that includes medication management, psychotherapy, and lifestyle adjustments. These interventions will greatly improve the quality of life for adults with ADHD and help them achieve their potential.