In a meeting, you are still late. Are your emails full of shells, and your great ideas rarely end up? It may not be just fatigue or a “style of work”. On the occasion of the national day of the deficit disorder of attention with or without hyperactivity (ADHD), we are interested in its manifestations … in adults. A disorder often passed over in silence, but which would concern around 3 % of French people. ADHD (deficit in deficit in attention and hyperactivity) is not reserved for agitated children. Even if today is more frequently identified in young people, it can persist or be revealed in adulthood, often more subtle. “In diagnosed children, a third will see their symptoms disappear after adolescence, a third will have residual signs, and another third party will still experience notable difficulties“Summarizes Dr. Basile Gonzales, child psychiatrist at the Rouen University Hospital.
Situations that push to question adulthood
Doubt can arise suddenly: “Often, adults wonder when they discover that their own child is ADHD and that they recognize similar features at home“, explains Dr. Gonzales. Another frequent trigger: the appearance of associated disorders, such as addictions or compulsive behaviors, which had never been treated in childhood.
The manifestations of adult ADHD are rarely spectacular. They are part of everyday life, undermined the organization, nibble on self -esteem. And they are often confused with laziness, stress or a simple “head in the air” temperament.
Six adult ADHD signs that do not deceive
Certain behaviors, apparently harmless, can betray an unmatched ADHD. According to several American psychiatrists cited by the *HuffPost *, six of them frequently return to professional life:
- A time -consuming perfectionism: people with ADHD fight to concentrate effectively. Result: they compensate by seeking to do everything perfectly, in the hope of “being able to start” once everything is nickel. An endless circle;
- A paralyzing procrastination … or ultra-productive: waiting for the last minute to act is a common strategy. It often stems from a difficulty in planning or prioritizing. In some, this urgency pressure even becomes the only source of motivation;
- Repeated delays, despite a good will: this is called “blindness of time”, that is to say systematically underestimate the time necessary to prepare, leave, or complete a task;
- Drafts during stressful periods: when pressure rises, ADHD people can find themselves completely overwhelmed. Their prefrontal cortex – the attention and emotional management center – reacts more raw;
- Mail sent too quickly, with errors: read diagonally, zap words, forget an attachment … attention disorders can transform simple tasks into a fighter’s route;
- An overflowing creativity, but without realization: the brain ADHD is full of original ideas. But the disturbed executive functions often slow their concrete implementation.
When to consult and how to get diagnosed with?
These signs are mainly cognitive, according to Dr. Gonzales: “Fatigability, distractibility, oversight, procrastination, difficulty doing several things at the same time …“As for impulsiveness, it tends to fade over time, or camouflage itself.
“”A child who did not hold in place will become an adult who will choose a physical or outdoor profession“.
The right reflex? Talk to a psychiatrist. “”The management of adult ADHD is more and more accessible. Many professionals are now trained in this disorder, and the legal framework has evolved to allow suitable drug prescriptions“, Says the child psychiatrist. But before arriving there, support by psychoeducation or psychotherapy is generally proposed. Medication treatment only intervenes if necessary.