Source: mladiinfo.eu
Imagine yourself sitting in a room with your colleagues and the meeting isn’t halfway through but you keep on fidgeting on your seat and having difficulty concentrating on the tasks that you have at hand? You decide to go out of the office and take a long way home. Passing by the park, you decide to take a seat on the bench and maybe just clear your mind and your senses in an attempt to bring back your focus on things.
Pay attention to signs
Retracing your life mementos, it has always been like this; in your childhood days, it may not have been so apparent when your teacher scolded you more often than she did your seatmate because you were not listening to her because you were busy squirming on your seat or doodling some characters where your notes should have been. “The reason ADHD is so commonly diagnosed when school starts is because until school starts, there are not too many demands on children. In the remote past, of course, there were no schools at all, so there were unusually distractible kids, but there was no disorder,” Michael Karson, Ph.D., J.D. explains.
Adolescent and college years came, somehow tried to overcome the odds by joining sports that involve physical skills just to channel that overflowing energy in you but again you had a problem in trying to focus on the instructions being called out by the coach causing the whole team to lose the game.
On your first day at work, you tried so hard to sit at your desk and finish the task, you finally succeeded for a couple of days, but soon your office mates find it unbearable to concentrate doing some tasks with you around as you keep on standing and walking into different directions while talking about that much-delayed project at hand.
Now, it looked clearer that something was not the usual in your behavior. It seems like your life is like a huge puzzle that you are trying to fit in, and when you are near completion, everything seems to look bland and gray, causing you to lose interest in what you are doing, and you then find yourself fleeting once more and searching for another thing that can spike up your interest and keep you glued for the moment.
Source: rd.com
Genes and those in between
The big question then comes to mind: was I born this way already? What could have caused it? Is it acquired? Before we launch our missiles directed to unending worry, let me sum it up for you.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder affects approximately 4.1% of the adult population and mostly affects men compared to their female counterparts. It affects children from 3 to 6 years old but can persist through adulthood.
It is brought about by genetics, exposure to chemicals such as high lead-containing paints, and environmental toxins in the perinatal phase. Cigarette smoking, alcoholism, and drug use, especially during pregnancy, play a major role in the development of ADHD.
Slowly but surely
Diagnosing a child or an adult with ADHD is one of the most difficult challenges that a clinician may face. There are no diagnostic tests or a single test that can help us arrive at that diagnosis. Results are mainly based on the statement or observation of the primary caretaker of the child or in cases of adults, recounting of events of the previous years can help make a concrete diagnosis. Lest we have to rule out any emotional disturbances prior to making the diagnosis.
For adults, this disorder can manifest in a person as one who has low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and difficulty in learning and communicating with colleagues. The bright side of it is that most of the individuals affected outgrow this difficulty and are able to carry on their work with utmost excellence.
“One take-home message might be that it is possible that different underlying mechanisms may cause similar symptoms in children and adults,” Eugene Rubin, M.D., Ph.D. wrote.
Seek Help
Children diagnosed with ADHD can have a hard time in concentrating on schoolwork and even participating in sports. Adept communication with the faculty and the parents can help devise a plan on how to minimize the effects of the disorder while helping the child learn on his own, this is especially true for children with concentration problems only and when they do not have any aggressive episodes.
Source: lifescript.com
Once the diagnosis is made, there are treatment modalities available, such as the use of psychostimulant drugs and psychotherapy. There are also drugs that help control inattentiveness and behavioral symptoms, such as clonidine (this drug has found its use in the treatment of hypertension), antidepressant drugs, and anti-anxiety drugs, alone or in combination.
Psychotherapy is also especially helpful for adults and individuals who experience negative symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and restlessness.
Conclusion
Seeking professional help is not too late to determine if you have ADHD or not. Although this is most commonly diagnosed in children, teens and adults may also have late diagnosis and treatment until they feel that the symptoms are already taking a big change in their lives. Scott Shapiro, M.D. points out that “When you treat ADHD, the person begins to acquire the ability to achieve their goals, improve relationships, meet deadlines, remember to pick up the children, avoid accidents on the road, remember their tickets before driving to the airport and feel a lot more competent, confident and happy.”