The Anxiety and Depression Association of America estimates that fewer than 20% of US adults with ADHD have been diagnosed and treated.
Undiagnosed ADHD results in various issues that can severely impact your quality of life. As such, you don’t want to leave this disorder untreated.
Understanding the symptoms of ADHD will help you figure out if this disorder is what you’re dealing with. Read on for five common ADHD symptoms.
Symptom 1: Lack of Motivation
Symptoms of ADHD include a lack of motivation. The disorder impacts your executive functioning skills, or skills that help you plan, initiate, and stick with activities.
Undiagnosed symptoms of ADHD that fall under this category include:
- Starting but not completing tasks
- Long to-do lists with tasks never attempted
- Inability to organize tasks into sequential chunks
All of these symptoms can make adults feel like they’re unmotivated when it’s actually ADHD at play.
Symptom 2: Hyperactivity
As with children, undiagnosed ADHD in adults manifests as hyperactivity.
While children may experience more overt hyperactivity, adults often present these symptoms more mildly. If you struggle with feelings of uncomfortable restlessness, you may be dealing with ADHD.
In adults, look for these symptoms:
- Fidgetiness
- Impatience
- Recklessness while driving
- Not sitting still through movies, meetings, or meals
- Monopolizing conversations by interrupting others
- Excessive talking
- Finishing people’s sentences
- Drawing conclusions too quickly
Symptom 3: Impulsivity
The list of ADHD symptoms includes impulsivity or acting without forethought. Adults with undiagnosed ADHD tend to suffer from this issue.
Some impulsive tendencies may align with hyperactive ones. Undiagnosed symptoms of impulsivity and ADHD include:
- Intruding on others, such as by taking over what others are doing without permission
- Struggling to wait their turn
- Excessive talking
- Interrupting sentences
Symptom 4: Disorganization
Undiagnosed symptoms of ADHD also include disorganization.
There are many subcategories of ADHD disorganization, including the physical environment, talking, and thinking & planning.
In the physical environment, symptoms of disorganization include:
- Clutter
- Losing belongings
- Storing items in piles rather than putting them away
- Forgetting to put things back
- Forgetting items you need at home
In talking, symptoms of disorganization include:
- Not reaching a point
- Incoherent stories with no progression from beginning to end
- Extraneous, irrelevant details
- Telling stories out of order
Lastly, in thinking and planning, symptoms of disorganization include:
- Struggling to maintain a routine
- Inability to breakdown long-term tasks into small steps
- Difficulty recalling information (“blanking”)
- Forgetting deadlines or appointments
Symptom 5: Irritability
Undiagnosed ADHD in adults may also manifest as irritability.
Nearly 70% of adults with ADHD suffer from emotional dysregulation, including anger.
Undiagnosed symptoms of ADHD and irritability include:
- Impatience when stressed
- Persistent, minor levels of irritability
- Intense emotions, sometimes out of proportion to the situation
- Misinterpreting or not reading others’ feelings
- Easier to express anger than other feelings
- Explosive bursts of anger
Undiagnosed ADHD: Getting to the Bottom of It
There are a few routes you can take to address potential ADHD. You can see your doctor for medication or consider a more holistic approach. This includes chiropractic work and diet management.
If you’re worried you have undiagnosed ADHD, don’t leave it untreated. ADHD impacts many aspects of your life and, when not remedied, can prevent you from living to the fullest.
If you want to manage your ADHD without medication, try Dody Chirporactic’s Neurofeedback Therapy. This non-invasive technique helps rewire your brain to overcome ADHD’s negative patterns. Let us help you today!
