4 Things You May Not Know About ADHD

I have been learning a lot lately about ADHD and it is really fascinating to me that there is so much we are learning and continue to learn about this disorder. I wanted to share just a few quick facts with you that might be surprised to learn.

ADHD can present like anxiety and depression which can often lead to being misdiagnosed and not properly treated.

The criteria used to diagnose ADHD are outdated, such as the person must have experienced the symptoms as a child. Many girls don’t get flagged for assessment as children because they tend to present as “daydreamers” rather than hyperactive. People with ADHD who think they just have depression or anxiety often find antidepressants unhelpful, and only feel better once they start the correct medicine to treat ADHD. That being said, SSRIs can be a great place to start, and not everyone with ADHD has to be on medication.

There are gender differences in the way that people with ADHD typically present, and therefore diagnoses amongst females often happen much later in life compared to males

Males are typically diagnosed around age 5-7 due to the typically hyperactive presentation, while females are typically diagnosed at age 35 or later as they tend to present inattentive rather than hyperactive in school. An important factor that has been recently discovered is that hormonal changes play a huge role in ADHD symptoms. Changes in estrogen levels affect executive functioning, or your ability to complete a task. So if you are a female going through a major hormonal (or life) shift such as your period, having a baby, or menopause, the symptoms of ADHD may spike, causing someone to decide to get assessed.

There are 7 areas of executive functioning that ADHD affects

Self-awareness, self-control, non-verbal working memory (how well you can picture things), verbal working memory (inner monologue), emotional regulation, motivation, and problem solving. Those with ADHD struggle with most or all of these areas.

ADHD can be treated in many ways in addition to medication

Exercise, vitamins/supplements, nutrition changes, therapy, mindfulness and neurofeedback to name a few!

For more resources check out https://www.additudemag.com/