Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder isn't a disorder that can develop in adulthood like depression and anxiety. It's a disorder that has lifestyle-impairing symptoms beginning in childhood. There are adults who continue to suffer with ADHD or adults who never received an ADHD diagnosis during childhood but suffer from the disorder. It can be treated with medication, therapy and lifestyle changes.
Inattention
Adults with ADHD have a hard time focusing at work and home. An adult with ADHD might switch from work project to work project without completing any of them on time and have a hard time focusing long enough to help his children with homework. He might start cleaning one room but become distracted by a pile of laundry and switch to doing the laundry. Housework and work projects pile up and never get completed.
Also, organization issues plague adults with ADHD. They might always run late for appointments, when picking up kids from school and when meeting friends for lunch. They might make a doctor's appointment and completely forget about it and fail to remember to make brownies for their child's bake sale.
Hyperactivity
The symptoms of hyperactivity look different for children and adults. A child might run around a room and have a hard time sitting still whereas an adult will struggle with pent-up energy, feel irritable, become bored and experience mood swings. Adults who struggle with ADHD can't get up from work meetings every time they experience hyperactivity, so those unfulfilled sensations turn into irritability.
Impulsivity
Many adults with ADHD have difficulty making and maintaining healthful relationships. An adult with this mental health disorder might have a history of failed romantic relationships. The partners might claim that the people with ADHD didn't understand them, didn't listen when they were talking, forgot important dates such as anniversaries and were self-centered. Communication problems are prevalent in relationships in which one person has ADHD. An adult with ADHD is more likely to interrupt others, change the topic of conversations that are important to others and say things without thinking about them first than an adult without the disorder. These communication issues, along with forgetfulness and disorganization, can damage a relationship.
Another sign that an adult has ADHD is impulsive decision-making. Many times someone struggling with this disorder will do something before thinking through the consequences. This is one reason that some adults with ADHD struggle with drugs and gambling.
