I am 56 years old and I was always absent-minded. It is a personal characteristic that, although it caused me criticism, I never gave importance to. This year I lost a job promotion and did not pass the psychotechnical exam. I made consultations, I was diagnosed with ADHD and now I am in treatment.
Justiniano Loretto, from La Plata.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) usually associated with childrenbut in recent years its recognition in adults has also gained importance.
However, many are unaware that they suffer from it, since in children, puberty and adolescents the most obvious symptoms include hyperactivity and impulsive behaviorswhile in adults it presents differently, as will be detailed.
The belief that it is a condition exclusive to children causes adults to think their symptoms are due to anxiety or that they must overcome it with good intentions and willpower, assuming that it is normal to have these difficulties.
ADHD, if left untreated, can have a significant impact on the lives of adults, affecting your job performancetheir interpersonal relationships and their mental health.
In the workplace, adults often have difficulty following routinesmeeting deadlines or managing several tasks at the same time, affecting their performance or suffering layoffs, with the consequent risk of also triggering symptoms of anxiety or depression.
ADHD, if left untreated, can have an impact on the lives of adults, affecting their work, relationships, and health.
In personal relationships, it can cause conflict due to lack of attention to details, inability to keep promises, commitments, or the tendency to forget important events. Which is why they often feel guilty, frustrated and criticized for not being able to meet the expectations of others.
Here, six main features:
1) Difficulty concentrating and maintaining attention, becoming easily distracted, which hinders your ability to focus on long tasks or that require sustained attention, such as reading, working or studying.
2) Disorganization and poor time management to organize daily activities and meet deadlines, which leads to delays, forgetfulness and the constant feeling of being overwhelmed.
3) Chronic procrastination, postponing important tasks until the last moment.
4) Impulsivity, by which decisions are made without thinking about the long-term consequences. This impulsivity also can be evident by interrupting others during conversations.
5) Inattention and impulsiveness lead to frequent omissionsboth in everyday tasks such as appointments, commitments or in the attention of important data.
6) Although hyperactivity is less evident in adults than in children, in many it is experienced as an internal feeling of restlessnesswhich translates into difficulty relaxing, with the presence of racing thoughts or the constant need to move or change activities.
ADHD is mainly related to decreased functioning of certain areas of the brain (“the brakes fail”), the interconnectivity between them, and the way key neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and norepinephrine, are produced and function.
Diagnosis is based on a thorough process that includes clinical interviews, standardized questionnaires, neuropsychological testsstudy of brain neuroimaging and medical examinations to rule out other conditions.
Once confirmed, there are different resources for its proper treatment.
