A slightly closer look at ADHD and ADHD characteristics

Brief history of ADHD

The first descriptions of inattentive type symptoms, in medical literature, can be found as early as the 18th century. In 1902, Sir George Frederic Still recognised that some children displayed a “defect of moral control” and this could be seen as the first description of what we now know as the combined type of ADHD. When the first edition of the DSM came out in the early 1950’s there was no mention of a condition like ADHD, but said that a child displaying hyperactive symptoms may have some form of brain damage. What we now call ADHD was known as ‘hyperkinetic impulse disorder’ and was included in the second edition of the DSM. As the disorder became more well-known Ritalin became the medication of choice. By the 80s the condition finally became known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Examples of ADHD characteristics

Characteristics	Examples
Difficulties with planning and staying organised.	People often have problems managing their time. They often procrastinate and leave things till the last minute. Sometimes they have difficulty knowing what tasks to priorities or have trouble breaking larger tasks down into more manageable chunks, or following the steps involved to complete a task. Some people might prefer ‘organised chaos’ over a tidy workspace.
Having an interest based nervous system making it hard to focus on things that do not interest you.	Let’s say you’re studying Physics. Your first assignment is about astronomy, which you love, you become so hyper focused, the assignment practically writes itself. The next assignment however, is about electricity, something you’re not so keen on, you struggle to read even a sentence, never mind keep the information in your head long enough to write about it. Or this might cause problems with friends and family. When you’re with your mate and they’re talking about your favourite TV show the conversation flows. But when they change the subject to a problem they’re having in work, you zone out because it doesn’t interest you. They might get upset, thinking that means you don’t care about them.
Sleep problems	People often have difficulty getting to sleep because they struggle to switch their head off. In the morning they struggle to wake up and drag themselves out of bed.
Problems regulating emotions such as being very sensitive to criticism	People often find their emotions feel overwhelming and find moods hard to get out of. People might say that you take things to heart too much or that you’re too sensitive, or that you can’t let things go. That joke someone made about how you’re not very good at sport is still upsetting you a week later. Or you’re still worrying about the colleague you accidently cut off mid-sentence in last week’s meeting – so you go find them to apologise but they can barely remember it; it didn’t upset them at all.
Regularly forgetting or misplacing things.	Some people might have trouble remembering appointments or birthdays. Others might lose their glasses or their keys a lot.
Hyperactivity/restlessness.	This could look like not being able to sit still, being very active, and on the go all the time. Or fidgeting a lot. It could manifest as being a ‘chatterbox’. For some people it could be more of an internal feeling. Such as not feeling able to relax, feeling tense, or like they should be doing something.

Types of ADHD

There are 3 main types of ADHD:

Inattentive: People with this type are easily distracted, struggle to concentrate and have difficulties with organisation.

Hyperactive-impulsive: People with this type struggle more with impulsive behaviour such as taking risks or interrupting others and hyperactive behaviours such as not being able to sit still, fidgeting, and excessive talking.

Combined: People with this type exhibit characteristics of both inattention and hyperactive-impulsive.

Women and ADHD

Women with ADHD have historically been underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed. This is because ADHD tends to present differently in females. Women and girls tend to experience more internalised symptoms. Some of the most common characteristics of ADHD in Women and girls include:

·       Inattention – many women have the predominantly inattentive type of ADHD which is more easily overlooked than the hyperactive type.

·       Low self-esteem – when undiagnosed women can feel like a failure because of their difficulties and this can lead to misdiagnosis of anxiety and depression.

·       Social problems – women may have difficulty picking up on social cues.

·       Emotional dysregulation – experiencing intense and overwhelming emotions has been an overlooked part of ADHD.