Since many people with ADHD tend to react to emotions rather than calmly reflect on them, this means you have to process emotions separately from talking through conflict. If you have conflict with someone else, your best course of action might be to take some time alone to process.
Inattention And Staying Focused
ADHD's brain activity can sometimes influence how we handle arguments. When there's too much going on inside our heads, we tend to stress over these things and think of them during the whole course of confrontation.
One ground rule, above all others, is especially important: Stop any discussion right away if you or your partner becomes angry. Take a breather and return to the discussion 30 minutes later, after the anger has dissipated. Go for a walk, visit a neighbor, or play with a pet.
Many people with ADHD are, if anything, argument-averse. And certainly, you needn't have ADHD to be an argumentative son of a gun. Yet, some individuals with ADHD do habitually bait others into heated disagreements. It's typically a subconscious behavior.
Since people with ADHD struggle to understand the emotions of others and can find social interactions difficult, it just follows that they might struggle with confrontation as well.
We tend to react self-defensively, or worse, angrily. Rejection sensitivity is extremely common in people with ADHD. We get overly excited about things, including good things. Just as we often overreact to minor problems and annoyances, we can also go overboard in the other direction.
Many people with ADHD have behaviors that get them in trouble. Some people might tell lies. Others may have angry outbursts. These actions or words can be hurtful to others.
Irritable: People with ADHD that fall into this category feel a high degree of anger. They feel it often and hard. They have a hard time getting over their anger, and they often perseverate on the things that made them angry.
Folks with ADHD may tend to be impulsive or angry, but they're not always violent. ADHD doesn't directly lead to violence or aggression among those who live with this condition, but some people diagnosed with ADHD may be more violent due to symptoms like emotional dysregulation and impulsivity.
Increased anxiety: Yelling may trigger a “fight or flight” response, aggravating ADHD symptoms. Diminished self-esteem: Chronic exposure to harsh words could cause a decline in self-worth and self-confidence.
Sometimes, being argumentative or even saying mean things can stem from an inability to slow down and recognize how other people are reacting or feeling. This again falls into impulsivity and hyperactivity. But if you were to call out someone with ADHD as rude, they may respond by being defensive.
It's all about the natural extremes of ADHD brains. They are both extra good at forgiving (or maybe it's actually forgetting) but can also have an exceptionally difficult time of it as well.
People with ADHD may have more trouble calming themselves when they feel angry, or may engage in more impulsive expressions of anger. Frustration with the symptoms of ADHD: The symptoms of ADHD can make it difficult to concentrate at work or school.
Common ADHD-Related Problems
Impulsive spending or overspending. Starting fights or arguing. Trouble maintaining friendships and romantic relationships. Speeding and dangerous driving.
Oftentimes people with ADHD receive so much criticism that they begin to react angrily and aggressively when criticized. Other times, adults with ADHD may become passive to others' actions toward them.
Similarly, people with ADHD can also experience 'meltdowns' more commonly than others, which is where emotions build up so extremely that someone acts out, often crying, angering, laughing, yelling and moving all at once, driven by many different emotions at once – this essentially resembles a child tantrum and can ...
This is why people with ADHD can often hold grudges against people, companies and locations; memories of an injustice or disservice can linger for a while, which can cause all sorts of other problems such as low moods and irritability.
In one study, researchers found that people with self-reported ADHD symptoms earned lower scores for affective empathy compared to other participants. However, they were still within the range of what's considered typical for empathy levels overall.
What I see more often in autistic and ADHD kids is over-apologizing, or apologizing too much. This happens when kids have low self-esteem and believe that they are constantly doing things wrong.
One of the things you shouldn't say to someone with ADHD is that it's in their head, they're lazy, or if they learn to focus that they can get their work done. By saying these things, you're dismissing their condition and the challenges they deal with daily.
Many people with ADHD have difficulty with heightened emotions and lesser-known symptoms like emotional dysregulation.
For people with ADHD, this means that, although it can look like these other people are trying to control you, they're really just trying to control their own anxiety - using external anxiety management.
The impulsivity, disorganization, and difficulty with focus that are often associated with ADHD can create challenges in communication, trust, and intimacy in a relationship.
Hyperactivity (talks a lot, fidgets, always on the go, etc.) Impulsivity (blurts out, interrupts, lies, angry outbursts, difficulty waiting, etc.) Inattention (forgetful, loses things, disorganized, makes careless mistakes, etc.)