What Causes Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults?
Left untreated, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity
Disorder, commonly referred to as ADHD, can last throughout our lives affecting
our careers and marriages. What? You thought ADHD was something that only kids
had, that somehow you could “outgrow” it? Wish that it were so, but it isn’t.
In fact, finding adults with ADHD who were never diagnosed as kids is not as
rare as you might think.
What causes Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder in adults?
We know there are some disorders that can develop at different stages of our lives, including adulthood. For example, a person may suffer from depression or anxiety as an adult, even though they did not have any symptoms as a child.
This is not the case with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. It doesn’t lie dormant until we hit puberty or adulthood. Research indicates that adults with ADHD had it to some degree as kids even if they were never diagnosed with the disorder; they were able to work around or through the symptoms one way or another.
Stress appears to trigger many symptoms of ADHD. Stress is often thought of as a bad thing, as something to avoid. Truth is that we cannot avoid stress. Sure, we no longer have to fight off saber-tooth tigers, but there are all kinds of stressors that we do face each and every day.
Can you think of positive things that are stressful? Or having the family in for the holidays and all the preparations that involves? What about getting accepted into a prestigious University, or receiving a big promotion? Let’s not forget finding out that you are going to be having a baby! Or moving into a new house! All of these are exciting, and usually happy, events, but they are also extremely stressful and can trigger a tsunami wave of symptoms that can put us over the edge. It may be that for the first times in our lives, these stressors put us in a position of not being able to handle our ADHD.
If you weren’t actually diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder as a kid, you might want to go through an assessment as an adult. Personally, I found it reassuring to have the diagnosis. Maybe it seems strange, but having the diagnosis freed me up from trying to live up to other people’s expectations. I learned how to use my ADHD to my advantage, how to treat myself better and create a successful life. Some people think having ADHD is a bad thing, but I believe that learning how to live with my Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder actually allowed me to become the successful entrepreneur that I am today.
What causes Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder in adults?
We know there are some disorders that can develop at different stages of our lives, including adulthood. For example, a person may suffer from depression or anxiety as an adult, even though they did not have any symptoms as a child.
This is not the case with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. It doesn’t lie dormant until we hit puberty or adulthood. Research indicates that adults with ADHD had it to some degree as kids even if they were never diagnosed with the disorder; they were able to work around or through the symptoms one way or another.
Stress appears to trigger many symptoms of ADHD. Stress is often thought of as a bad thing, as something to avoid. Truth is that we cannot avoid stress. Sure, we no longer have to fight off saber-tooth tigers, but there are all kinds of stressors that we do face each and every day.
Can you think of positive things that are stressful? Or having the family in for the holidays and all the preparations that involves? What about getting accepted into a prestigious University, or receiving a big promotion? Let’s not forget finding out that you are going to be having a baby! Or moving into a new house! All of these are exciting, and usually happy, events, but they are also extremely stressful and can trigger a tsunami wave of symptoms that can put us over the edge. It may be that for the first times in our lives, these stressors put us in a position of not being able to handle our ADHD.
If you weren’t actually diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder as a kid, you might want to go through an assessment as an adult. Personally, I found it reassuring to have the diagnosis. Maybe it seems strange, but having the diagnosis freed me up from trying to live up to other people’s expectations. I learned how to use my ADHD to my advantage, how to treat myself better and create a successful life. Some people think having ADHD is a bad thing, but I believe that learning how to live with my Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder actually allowed me to become the successful entrepreneur that I am today.
