Think you might have adult ADHD? Look for these 3 common symptoms

Atlanta - The pandemic, and the rise of telehealth, made it easier than for adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to get a diagnosis and help. At the same time, people found it more difficult to get by on the day-to-day with the disorder, Dr. Suvrat Bhargave with the Center for Family Psychiatry in Tyrone, Georgia, says.

"It created a scenario where everything you had done to compensate for your attention deficit, that you didn't even realize you were doing, was out the door," Bhargave explains. "Life looked completely different."

The shutdown meant the day-to-day structure of working in an office suddenly dissolved, leaving many of us working from home, surrounded by distractions, he says.

"All of those things that actually helped people with ADHD were suddenly gone," Bhargave says. "So, now symptoms were uncontrolled, and people are realizing this is a bigger deal than I thought."

Bhargave says it is a myth that people outgrow ADHD. He says the disorder in kids and adults usually involves the same three core symptoms.

"How they look, though, for a child and how they look for an adult can be very different."

The first symptom, Bhargave says, is being easily distracted.

ADULT ADHD: The first symptom, Bhargave says, is being easily distracted.

For a child, he says, distractibility can make it hard to follow directions.

"In an adult's life, not paying attention to detail might actually look like you're very forgetful," Bhargave says. "So, I have adults who have ADHD, don't know it, who think they have memory issues and maybe even have a dementia process."

The second symptom is being fidgety. This can make it hard for kids to sit still at their desks.

ADULT ADHD: The second symptom is being fidgety.

"But being a fidgety adult is someone who might be tapping his or her feet on the table right now and doesn't know that they're even doing it," Bhargave says.

The final core symptom of ADHD is impulsivity.

ADULT ADHD: The final symptom core symptom of ADHD is impulsivity.

For a child, who has become upset, it may be harder to filter his thoughts.

"In an adult, it might be the charming person in your office who's always interrupting, goes on and on about one topic and switches quickly to the next, and you're not sure where the connection was," Dr. Bhargave says. "So, it just looks differently in an adult than in a child.

Still, Bhargave says, being distracted, fidgety and impulsive does not mean you need to get help.

"But, when those symptoms are impacting either your interactions, your performance, or your self-esteem, then it is time to go start a conversation and find out."