if you have ADHD and dealing with grief, or know someone who is, it's important to understand how ADHD affects the grieving process: Unpredictable emotions – People with ADHD often feel emotions intensely, and they may react strongly in ways that may seem inappropriate. Some turn inward, while others will act out.
ADHD and grieving loss
Losing a loved one affects attention, emotions, and self-regulation, and can make managing daily life a major challenge for those who grieve. For people with ADHD, dealing with such an emotional crisis can be even harder.
In fact, there is evidence that children with ADHD who have a disturbing experience are four times as likely to develop PTSD than kids without the disorder. And they're likely to experience more severe trauma symptoms than kids without ADHD.
Treatment Options
ADHD and/or depression are typically treated with medication and talk therapy. ⁸ Psychotherapy, cognitive and behavioral therapy, and psychoeducation can introduce coping skills for symptoms, help build self-esteem, and teach a person to reframe negative thoughts and interrupt destructive behaviors.
Exercise and spend time outdoors
Working out is perhaps the most positive and efficient way to reduce hyperactivity and inattention from ADHD. Exercise can relieve stress, boost your mood, and calm your mind, helping work off the excess energy and aggression that can get in the way of relationships and feeling stable.
Trauma and traumatic stress, according to a growing body of research, are closely associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD). Trauma and adversity can alter the brain's architecture, especially in children, which may partly explain their link to the development of ADHD.
Masking is when a person with ADHD acts in a “socially acceptable” way to fit in and form better connections with those around them. This usually involves camouflaging their symptoms by controlling their impulses, rehearsing responses, and copying the behaviors of those who don't have ADHD.
It is often characterized by feelings of overwhelming fatigue, reduced productivity, and a sense of hopelessness or despair. Those experiencing ADHD burnout may find it even more challenging than usual to initiate and complete tasks, maintain focus and attention, and regulate their emotions.
“Challenges with processing emotions start in the brain itself. Sometimes the working memory impairments of ADHD allow a momentary emotion to become too strong, flooding the brain with one intense emotion.” Thomas Brown, Ph. D., explains why (and how) ADHD sparks such intense anger, frustration, and hurt.
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.
Root cause of ADHD is a metabolic disorder in the brain which is triggered by genetic factors. Psychosocial factors: The following factors may encourage the development of symptoms: No structured daily routine.
Even when controlling for related comorbid conditions, individuals with ADHD experience disproportionate problems with anger, irritability, and managing other emotions.
That's not something most people associate with ADHD—but they should. In fact, it's quite common for adults diagnosed with ADHD to experience feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and/or worthlessness—all symptoms of depression—for days or weeks.
Most people with ADHD have a very low frustration tolerance. They can be overly emotional about the stressors they experience. They don't have a barrier that allows them to set aside uncomfortable emotions, and they often become completely flooded by a feeling, making it unbearable.
With ADHD, a child or teen may have rapid or impulsive speech, physical restlessness, trouble focusing, irritability, and, sometimes, defiant or oppositional behavior.
Intense emotions and hyperfocus
Kids with ADHD often feel emotions more deeply than other kids do, and love is no exception. When teens with ADHD fall in love, the good — and bad — feelings that come with it can be even more intense and more disruptive. New relationships or crushes are exciting and (mostly) enjoyable.
Mood swings are common in people with ADHD. People with this disorder can be hypersensitive, too. That means sensations, like touch, that may feel normal to another person can feel too intense for someone with ADHD.
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 ...
Researchers have not conclusively shown why ADHD causes fatigue in some people, but one possible explanation is the condition's effects on dopamine. ADHD can affect dopamine levels, making it more difficult for the body to respond to this important neurotransmitter.
ADHD is mentally, emotionally, and physically draining. When you feel thoroughly worn out by tough symptoms, recharge with a massage, a medication change, or these other strategies.
Many adults with ADHD use coping strategies that help them hide their symptoms. This practice is known as ADHD masking and is especially common in women with ADHD. One type of ADHD masking — known as mirroring — involves intentionally or unintentionally mimicking the speech, movements, or behaviors of someone else.
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.
High-functioning ADHD isn't a formal diagnosis. It's a phrase used to describe people living with ADHD who see little to no major impact on daily life. Just because you've reached great success or have found ways to work around ADHD symptoms doesn't mean ADHD might not be affecting you.