Signs and symptoms of ADHD in adults
Trouble with attention is the most common symptom of ADHD in adults, but there are many other signs.
If you get distracted, feel restless, lose track of things, or forget an appointment once in a while, it probably doesn’t mean much. It’s another story if these things happen all the time.
Trouble with focus and organization are key signs of ADHD. But there are other ways this lifelong condition can show up. First, ADHD symptoms range in degree. They can change over time and often look different in men and women. So, the way you experience ADHD may be very different from how others do.
ADHD is common, affecting around 3 percent of adults.1 The symptoms you have determine the type or “presentation” of ADHD you have. Mental health professionals look at the main symptoms to make a diagnosis.
Knowing what ADHD often looks like in adults can help you understand yourself better. It can also lead you to get evaluated if you haven’t already been.
3 types of ADHD and their symptoms
The three main symptoms of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Almost all people with ADHD have inattention as a symptom.2
The three types of ADHD are:
Predominantly inattentive: You have trouble with attention, focus, and organization.
Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive: You may feel restless or act without thinking.
Combined: You have parts of the two other types.3
Signs of ADHD often start in early childhood. But many kids aren’t evaluated or diagnosed, especially girls. A major reason has to do with what symptoms tend to look like in girls and women.2
Girls and women mostly are diagnosed with the inattentive type of ADHD. Their main symptoms don’t stand out as much as the obvious hyperactivity and impulsivity that boys are more likely to show. That means their challenges are more easily overlooked.
If you struggled as a child without having a diagnosis, you may not have gotten the support you needed at home or at school. But even in adulthood, it’s not too late to learn strategies and treat ADHD symptoms.
The most common type of ADHD in adults is the inattentive type. If you had hyperactivity as a child, chances are it’s greatly reduced by now. But that doesn’t mean it’s disappeared entirely.1 Also, symptoms can change over time, and can be more or less severe.
Here’s what the three key ADHD symptoms often look like in adults:
Inattention
Trouble with attention is the most common symptom of ADHD. It can appear differently in different people. These are some of the ways inattention can show up:
Being spacey or daydreamy
Getting distracted frequently, especially while reading or listening
Making mistakes that come from not paying attention to details
Struggling to finish tasks or projects, even when they’re mostly done
Avoiding tasks or projects that require sustained focus
Having trouble planning and staying organized
Losing things, like your wallet, phone, keys, or glasses
Having a space that is messy and cluttered
Forgetting to return calls, go to appointments, or run errands
Impulsivity
Impulsivity (acting without thinking) and hyperactivity (constantly being active, fidgeting, or being talkative) are considered part of the same “type” of ADHD. But while hyperactivity often lessens in adulthood, impulsivity can still be a problem.
Here’s what impulsivity in adults might look like:
Risky behavior, including risky sexual behavior
Inability to resist temptation, like too much snacking or overspending
Getting easily frustrated
Being quick to anger
Interrupting people
Answering questions before they’re finished being asked
Jumping into tasks or projects without planning
Making decisions without thinking about the consequences
Hyperactivity
Some estimates say that only around 8 percent of people with ADHD have hyperactivity alone.4 It tends to be more common in childhood and to lessen or change as kids grow up.
Here’s what hyperactivity in adults might look like:
Feeling restless or needing constant movement (like foot tapping, squirming, pacing)
Fidgeting and grabbing things to touch and fiddle with
Trouble with quiet activities
Frequently needing to get up or check your phone
Trouble “shutting off” at night
Trouble sleeping
Trouble waiting your turn
Talking nonstop or interrupting others
Jumping from one task to another without finishing anything
Executive function challenges
ADHD symptoms and signs are problems with executive function, a set of mental skills you use to learn, work, and manage everyday life.
Here are some common executive function challenges you may see with ADHD:
Being disorganized and messy
Losing and misplacing items
Trouble starting tasks and staying focused on them
Difficulty managing emotions
Losing track of what you’re doing
Not seeing other viewpoints or ways of doing things
Trouble switching gears from one activity or situation to another
Quickly forgetting information
Trouble managing time/being late
Difficulty following directions
Signs at work
ADHD can cause trouble at work, especially when it comes to focusing, staying organized, and managing emotions.
Here are some ways ADHD might show up at your job:
Rushing through tasks and making mistakes
Misplacing important items or documents
Having trouble judging how long things take to complete
Crying or getting angry when frustrated or after bad feedback
Struggling to connect with co-workers because you’re sensitive to rejection
Putting off doing tasks or projects because they feel overwhelming
Being easily distracted by notifications, co-workers, noises, and even lights
Everyday life
Symptoms of ADHD can cause challenges in your personal life. That might include your daily tasks, your home, and your relationships.
Here are some signs of ADHD in your everyday life:
Overindulging in snacks, desserts, or alcohol
Having trouble setting limits with TV, video games, or social media
Spending money irresponsibly
Not keeping up with bills, which can lead to bad credit
Having trouble getting up in the morning and getting places on time
Holding on to everything, causing problems with clutter
Getting very angry with people and not letting go of it
Feeling hurt by even gentle criticism
Developing intense interests (bordering on obsession)
Procrastinating and doing things at the last minute
Co-occurring disorders and conditions
There are a few conditions that often co-occur with ADHD. Some of them have symptoms that overlap with ADHD symptoms. So it’s not uncommon for people with ADHD to be misdiagnosed. That’s especially true for girls and women.
For example, you might be diagnosed with anxiety disorder when you actually have ADHD. Or you might be diagnosed with just one of those conditions when you really have both.
If you don’t relate to many of the ADHD symptoms above, make sure to look into these other conditions that commonly co-occur with ADHD:
Autism: Both ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are differences in how the brain develops. Many people have both ASD and ADHD. You may hear the term AuDHD to describe this.
Anxiety: Many people with ADHD have an anxiety disorder as well. Also, the challenges that come with ADHD can cause stress and lead to anxiety. Anxiety is so common in people with ADHD that researchers are looking at whether there’s a genetic link.
Depression: Differences in brain chemistry that happen with ADHD may also cause feelings of depression. The challenges of living with ADHD, including struggling with low self-esteem, may also lead to depression.
Substance abuse disorders: Around 1 in 4 people with ADHD also have problems with substance abuse. It’s also fairly common for people with ADHD to have alcohol abuse disorder.
Eating disorders: Women with ADHD are more likely to develop an eating disorder. The most common are bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). In general, women are more likely to have depression and eating disorders, while men are more likely to have substance abuse disorders.
Next steps
To find out if you have ADHD, you’ll need an evaluation with a trained professional. This assessment should also look for signs of other conditions that may co-occur or that have similar symptoms.
You can start by talking to your health care provider or to a professional who’s trained to do ADHD evaluations. That might be a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or an advanced practice registered nurse.
As part of the evaluation, you’ll be asked to answer a lot of questions. This may be in a one-on-one interview. Or you may be given a questionnaire or use an ADHD rating scale. It’s possible to use online ADHD testing. But without face-to-face interaction, there’s a higher risk of being misdiagnosed.
If you have health insurance, the evaluation may cost as little as a co-pay. Seeing a specialist “out of network” could cost hundreds of dollars. If you don’t have insurance, or if your insurance doesn’t cover ADHD evaluations, look into free or low-cost evaluations.
Summary
ADHD is a common disorder caused by differences in the brain. It’s lifelong — and symptoms can change over time. Your symptoms may be mild or severe. And they may look different now than they did when you were a child.
The key symptoms of ADHD are:
Inattention
Impulsivity
Hyperactivity
Girls and women are more likely than boys and men to have inattention as their only key symptom. Hyperactivity and impulsivity are more common in boys and men. But the most common symptom for everyone with ADHD is inattention.
The symptoms and signs of ADHD are all problems with executive function. This is a set of mental skills you use to learn, work, and manage life. Executive skills let us focus, hold on to information, organize and plan, manage time, solve problems, and manage emotions.
ADHD often co-occurs with other conditions that can share some symptoms. This overlap can lead to misdiagnosis. Three conditions that often occur along with ADHD are anxiety, depression, and autism. If you don’t have many of the symptoms of ADHD, it’s important to look at other conditions, too.
Related resources
We have many resources to help you navigate your experience with ADHD. These include podcasts, videos, articles, personal stories, and more.
Listen: ADHD hacks with William Curb