The symptoms of adult Attention Deficit Disorder
The symptoms of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder seem to describe half the people in New York City: restlessness, impatience, impulsivity, procrastination, chronic lateness, and difficulty getting organized, focusing and finishing tasks.
Adult ADHD Video
How do you know you have ADHD, which experts compare to having a mind like a pinball, with thoughts flitting in multiple directions. Maybe you’re just over-caffeinated and overworked? And if you do have it, will there be a stigma? Should you try medication? Will it work?
Generally, ADHD can make life very difficult. It’s thought to be an imbalance in neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that relay signals in the brain, particularly in the frontal cortex that governs planning and impulse control. Children with the disorder, particularly boys, are likely to be hyperactive, with an intense need to move constantly, which can interfere with learning. (Girls tend to be talkative and dreamy, but they are often overlooked because they aren’t as disruptive.)
Adults more typically have trouble with paying attention, focusing and prioritizing. Managing time and money are particularly difficult.
“We see people from all of the professions who have managed to succeed despite the limitations, but they have often done it at significant cost,” says Dr. Solanto. “They don’t have time to enjoy life. They don’t get their work done in the course of a day. They have to stay late after hours, or they are doing without sleep, frantically trying to meet deadlines. It ultimately takes a toll on their well being and a toll on the people around them.”
Once ADHD is diagnosed, most experts recommend treatment with both medication and behavioral therapy.
As counter intuitive as it may seem to give stimulants to people who can’t sit down, drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta and Vyvanse increase neurotransmitters in parts of the brain that help people focus and control impulses. “They wake up the parts of the brain that are sluggish, so they regulate the brain at a more normal level,” Dr. Jaksa says.
There are some concerns that stimulant medications can be abused by people who don’t need them. Dr. Goldberg notes that drugs for ADHD can make anybody focus better. But for people with true ADHD, they bring significantly more mental clarity. “My brain felt like it was screwed on more tightly. Everything came into focus. I could be active and do things with my life,” Ms. Bauman says.
Rather than just masking the problem with drugs. More and more adults are turning increasingly to the non-drug treatments recommended by Integrative Medicine Practitioners who focus on nutrition and lifestyle changes that may help correct or prevent biochemical imbalances that cause ADHD.
Some medical professionals are using a new technology in their practice to help ADD/ADHD patients with consistent energy and focus and mental clarity. There are reports of patients that are totally off medications due to the effectiveness of these tiny holographic chips.
Note: CieAura Holographic Chips – Pure Relief, Rest Quiet, Pure Energy Plus, CX2 and EMF – do not diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or illness.
Steven Wilson has joined with others to help reduce their dependence on medications for pain relief, sleep disorders and low energy.
