I wake up and it starts: There’s no better way to put it. If I don’t have a strategy in place to reign myself in, I open my eyes and I’m immediately “open for business”—my mind leaping and mentally grabbing onto one thing after another.
Contrary to what the name Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) implies, the majority of us do not have a deficit of attention. In fact, the ADHD mind pays too much attention to too many things at once. It has a wide-open focus, registering large swaths of input from wherever we are. And, without the filters that allow neurotypical people to blur out the background stuff, our bright minds swim in a rich distracting sea of all types of awareness.
The name ADHD is also misleading because not all people with ADHD are hyperactive. And, in the majority of us who are, the hyperactivity almost always operates internally, creating what’s called hyperarousal.
Most experts sum up ADHD as a neurobiological condition that stems from uncommon levels of distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
Without awareness or support, this neurological wiring can result in a range of traits that includes difficulty deploying our attention on demand; getting motivated to take action; remembering all the parts of a task; regulating our strong emotions; doing or saying things without thinking; fitting into society’s step by step, linear way of thinking; and more.
In turn, these traits can generate distressing behaviors that make it a struggle to make plans; follow through; accomplish what you long to accomplish; keep track of the time; organize your belongings; or remember what you promised you’d do.
With support, however, the same ADHD traits that challenge us can generate great assets!
For instance, the same wide, unfiltered focus that is so distracting for ADHDers also fuels the ability to improvise and innovate. The same love of novelty that leaves you with a mountain of commitments can also have you walking into a new discovery. And, the disorganization that keeps you scrambling after items you’ve lost is the same energy as the creative chaos that leads to producing imaginative new works.
It’s important to understand that ADHD is known as a spectrum disorder because each of us is affected by some of the many characteristic behaviors that are used to define it, and not others! The National Institute of Mental Health includes a large umbrella of traits under ADHD and some of us have some of the traits while others of us have other ones. (see the entry What ADHD is, Officially.)
Not only that, but all people experience the same traits that people with ADHD do, but to a lesser extent.
Part of getting diagnosed involves ascertaining how strongly and for how long a person experiences the many characteristics grouped under the disorder.
There’s no single, conclusive test that proves you have ADHD. Diagnoses are made by a mental health professional (psychiatrist, psychologist, neurologist, clinical social worker, or therapist) taking a detailed evaluation.
Still, you can get an idea of where you stand by taking a look at the classic characteristics you experience with regularity.
A quick look at the most characteristic behaviors of people with ADHD:
- Difficulty prioritizing, deciding, and choosing, which results in a general feeling of being overwhelmed.
- Highly aware of their surroundings; imaginative and creative.
- Easily distracted from a task at hand.
- Passionate and enthusiastic for the new and the unknown.
- Difficulty getting motivated to start on a chosen task.
- Tendency to misplace things often and feel disorganized.
- Ability to see outside the boxand be innovative.
- Having oversized emotional responses.
- Able to focus hard, work fast, and accomplish a lot, especially when they love what they’re doing.
- Losing time: slipping into an alternate time zone, running late, feeling rushed.
- Empathetic, enthusiastic, optimistic, and big-hearted.
- Difficulty taking a step-by-step approach to a problem.
- Ability to see the whole picture: highly intuitive.
Sound familiar?