What Does ADHD Look Like?
When some people think of ADHD, they only see the attention issues or hyperactivity, but those
of us who live with ADHD on a daily basis struggle in numerous ways. Yes, we have trouble with focus, and some of us have the hyperactive component, but there are other symptoms like ADHD impulsivity that can damage lives.
Impulsivity can present itself in countless ways, depending on the person. For me, it is excessive, impulsive spending, but for others, it may be gambling, making rash decisions like starting new businesses, or excessive talking to the point that it intrudes on others.
Additionally, when you have ADHD, you tend to be impatient and prone to restlessness or irritability, especially if you have the hyperactive-impulsive type. You may be short with or snap at others, or struggle with anger.
Memory issues are common in ADHD, and often it might seem like we are neglecting our responsibilities or need to “get it together,” when in reality, our memory fails us, and we forget to do things we’ve committed to.
Life With ADHD
I was recently asked to describe what life with ADHD is like by a reader of my blog. In reality, there are no right answers, because everyone experiences it differently.
This is what it’s like for me:
- It’s like reading, only my eyes skim the page, and the words don’t reach my mind, causing me to reread again and again to gain comprehension. That’s if I don’t give up.
- It is like listening; only hands are pressing against my ears, making it harder to hear accurately and easier to get distracted by a thought or my surroundings. People are talking at me, but I do not process their words.
- It’s like living with this pot of boiling energy inside that threatens to spill over and flood. The higher it gets, the more restless and irritable I become.
- It’s like becoming so restless I start to fidget or shift in my seat. I may snap at a co-worker or loved one out of agitation.
- It’s like performing an act only to forget what I was doing.
- It’s like starting again and again but never making it to the finish line.
- It’s like discovering some new thing: a book and the world within it, a band, a film and its cast, a new topic of any variety, and finding myself so deep in it I could answer virtually any question about it because I’ve become a self-taught expert. I have the gift/curse of hyperfocus, which can be damaging if it goes uncontrolled.
These things are all destructive or negative, but I do not live a life without hope. So it may be all of those things.
But it is a force in that I see what is unique to me — for surely we are all individuals, but with ADHD even more so. We like to color outside the lines.
It is creation in that if I can harness my hyperfocus I can write a book-length manuscript, or create new words in my head. If only I could finish something. Anything.
So it isn’t all bad. But, it is a reality.
ADHD is accepting the good along with the bad and continuing on into the great unknown of life.
