Seemingly simple questions are often the hardest to answer. In the How’s it going? we try every week to find the answer to such questions. This time: only busy kids have ADHD, right?
What are the characteristics of ADHD?
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This English term encompasses 2 important characteristics of ADHD: concentration problems and hyperactivity. Psychologists roughly distinguish 3 main forms of ADHD. First, if you have it, you may be mostly inattentive and have trouble concentrating. The 2nd form is predominantly hyperactive/impulsive and expresses itself in busy behavior. The latter form is a combination of both symptoms. Those who have severe ADHD can experience serious disruption at school and work. It can also have social consequences. Think of reduced independence, aggressive behavioral disorders, sleeping problems, depression, burn-outs, anxiety disorders and difficulty building relationships.
How does ADHD arise?
If someone has ADHD, it can have several causes. You can be hereditary, but environmental factors can also play a role. This concerns the number of incentives you receive at a young age, but also your upbringing. For example, did you learn from home to build regularity and structure into your day? Or were you raised very freely, without rules? That can make a difference in your later life.
Can adults have it too?
Elementary school children who ‘bounce’ in all directions is perhaps the best-known form of ADHD behavior. But the disorder has different manifestations. Adults can only discover that they have it at a (much) later age. It is not without reason that the month of October is traditionally dominated by ADHD awareness. On October 14 there is even a special day for women with ADHD.
Is there a difference between men and women?
The focus on women with ADHD is relatively new. For children, more boys than girls are diagnosed with ADHD. At that age, the disorder manifests itself mainly in physical behaviour, which is more noticeable in boys than in girls. Boys usually process incoming stimuli through active exercise. Most girls, on the other hand, do that in their heads. There is a much smaller difference in diagnoses between adult men and women. Only women usually find out relatively late. Moreover, ADHD is not characterized by physical, but by inner restlessness at a later age. Although it can lead to physical complaints, such as extreme fatigue, without adequate treatment.
What are typical ADHD characteristics for women?
For example, Jorna Postma only discovered when she was 38 years old that she suffers from ADHD. For most women it does not translate into (hyper) active and impulsive actions, but rather into fatigue and procrastination. “Task initiation is difficult. You know you have to do something, but you just can’t. You don’t physically manage to start something,” says Postma at coffee time. “Planning and structuring is very difficult if I don’t just do it. The day is one big improv show, if I don’t have good routines. Other things are emotion control and impulse control. I always say yes to something before I think about it. And you can go from 0 to 100 in a millisecond, which you explode in one go. It’s very tiring.”
How can you deal with (someone with) ADHD?
That is perhaps the most important question for people with ADHD and those around them. Depending on the severity of the disorder, they may take medications such as Ritalin. But that only has a temporary effect and also carries the risk of addiction. Psychological help can also help. Through conversations with experts and/or fellow sufferers, people with ADHD – and their loved ones – can better understand their disorder and give it a place. This can provide more peace of mind at home, at work and in social situations.
What are people with ADHD good at?
ADHD not only creates burdens, but also pleasures. Many ADHDers may be impulsive and easily distracted, but they are also above average creative and social. Moreover, they can throw themselves into a task with enthusiasm and energy, if it is in their field of interest. “The big difference is that we are more interest driven (acting out of intrinsic interest, ed.). And others more task driven (acting out of task awareness and a sense of duty, ed.)”, explains Postma. “So if something interests us, we can go into hyperfocus. And, for example, create a website in 3 days.”
(Source: GGZ Standards, Coffee Time, Mentally Better, PsyQ. Photo: Shutterstock)