Depression is estimated to be 2.7 times more prevalent among adults with ADHD than among the general adult population. Studies also show that about 30 percent of people with ADHD will experience a depressive episode or have a mood disorder in their lifetimes.
Depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder are very common in people struggling with ADHD; people with ADHD are more likely to have these conditions than people who don't have ADHD. 7 These conditions can account for the person's changes in mood.
Adults with ADHD consistently report challenges with emotional regulation, including significant difficulty in regulating and reframing emotional context. Whether in the present or projected into the future, their experience is that emotions are something that happens to them.
Indeed, ADHD brains struggle to sustain motivation when rewards are mild or are linked to long-term gratification. As a result, ADHD brains search for stimulation that can increase dopamine more quickly and intensely. Ultimately, the pursuit of pleasurable rewards may become a potent form of self-medication.
People with ADHD also tend to feel heightened emotions like anger, frustration, or disappointment. Although moodiness isn't unique to ADHD, poor self-control and impulsivity can cause mood swings, which are common symptoms of ADHD.
These may include hyperfocus, resilience, creativity, conversational skills, spontaneity, and abundant energy. Many people view these benefits as “superpowers” because those with ADHD can hone them to their advantage. People with ADHD have a unique perspective that others may find interesting and valuable.
The five gifts of ADHD include creativity, emotional sensitivity, exuberance, interpersonal empathy, and being nature-smart (The Gift of Adult ADD, 2008).
People with ADHD may talk excessively when nervous because they want to be part of the conversation, or instead of getting quieter, social anxiety may actually propel them to talk more. They may also talk excessively from a desire to fill the silence, because silence can be challenging for a person with ADHD.
ADHD can make you forgetful and distracted. You're also likely to have trouble with time management because of your problems with focus. All of these symptoms can lead to missed due dates for work, school, and personal projects.
Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.
As we've discussed, unfortunately, many people with ADHD tend to have a lack of empathy. This can be addressed, though, through identifying and communicating about each other's feelings. If you see a disconnect between ADHD and empathy in your child or in your spouse, don't give up hope.
Can someone with ADHD fall in love? While all kinds of people can fall in love, the experience of people with ADHD falling in love can be more intense for them. This is because the person with ADHD can hyperfocus on the person they are in love with.
Type Three is Over-Focused ADD. This includes the primary ADHD symptoms plus trouble shifting attention, being stuck on negative thoughts and behaviors, holding grudges, excessive worrying and being argumentative. People with over-focused ADD tend to need a strict routine.
Depression and other comorbid conditions that are common with ADHD, such as anxiety and addiction, all increase the chances of feeling lonely. Now that we know why ADHDers feel lonely, it's important to develop strategies to overcome that feeling. Feeling lonely has serious health repercussions.
When people with ADHD are activated, they are often plagued by self-sabotaging, negative internal talk that prevents them from believing they can do things. It can be conscious or unconscious and can keep folks from setting, working towards, and reaching goals. It holds them back from doing what they want to do.
As many as 60% of individuals with ADHD symptoms in childhood continue to have difficulties in adult life. Adults with ADHD are more likely to be dismissed from employment and have often tried a number of jobs before being able to find one at which they can succeed.
Research has shown that high rates or intensity of boredom is a core symptom of people with ADHD. Feeling bored can lead to poor academic performance as well problems with relationships and attention.
Untreated ADHD in adults can lead to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. This is because ADHD symptoms can lead to focus, concentration, and impulsivity problems. When these problems are not managed effectively, they can lead to feelings of frustration, irritability, and low self-esteem.
Sensitive to Rejection. People with ADHD are exquisitely sensitive to rejection and criticism. They can experience hopelessness and demoralization because they try to succeed by imitating the paths to success of people without ADHD, and then fail over and over again because the same paths don't work for them.
Those with ADHD will often have difficulty “reading between the lines” or understanding subtext. It is difficult enough for most to attend to the text of conversations without the additional strain of needing to be aware of the subtext and what the person really means .
With ADHD, the brain doesn't correctly attend to and interpret things like facial expression, tone of voice, and other non-verbal communication messages. Therefore, someone with ADHD misreads a lot of interpersonal interactions, doesn't respond correctly, and comes off as rude.
What is the Rarest Type of ADHD? The rarest type of ADHD diagnosed is the hyperactive-impulsive type with no indication of inattentive or distracted behavior, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Understanding the 10-3 Rule for ADHD: The Basics
The concept is simple: for every 10 minutes of focused work, your child takes a 3-minute break. This approach not only helps maintain their attention but also prevents burnout and frustration.
The ADHD brain has been described as an “interest-based nervous system”: It seeks high-stimulation situations, stronger incentives, and more immediate rewards, which trigger a quick and intense release of dopamine and with it a rush of motivation. Hyperfocus. Dopamine is the brain's most intense reward.