Feel as though you’ve developed the signs and symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? If so, you’re not alone. About 4.4% of the United States adults are diagnosed with ADHD. Yet, less than 20% of those individuals actually seek out help. ¹

Due to lack of awareness, we’re going to look into 20 signs of ADHD. If you find you or a loved one struggles with one or more of these signs, it’s important to consult your doctor, therapist, or counselor.

Different Kinds of ADHD Symptoms

People with ADHD will experience one of the following three sets of symptoms: ²

• Hyperactive/impulsive
• Inattentive
• Combination of both

While more research is necessary, the primary causes of symptoms are: ³

• Brain injury
• Complications with the infant during pregnancy
• Environment
• Genetics
• Personality
• Premature birth

While scientists continue to study what causes ADHD, they’re also looking into why people develop a specific set of symptoms.

The following 20 signs are specific symptoms. Many of these signs generally appear at an early age (between 4 and 6 years old), but some people don’t develop these symptoms until their late teenage to young adult years.

1.) Avoidance of Activities that Require Focus

Hate reading? Can’t get through an entire movie? Have trouble playing board games with your friends? People with ADHD are prone to avoid these kinds of activities.

Parents may notice their children showing off this behavior during school activities or when their child has a friend over. If this is one of the first signs you noticed, it’s important to act quickly. The sooner you address ADHD, the better chance you have at either curing or treating it.

2.) Constantly Losing Things

Can’t remember where you put the television remote? Always calling yourself just to find your cell phone?

It’s common for people struggling with ADHD to lose everyday necessities. As we’ll discuss later on, you’re likely to pick up multiple tasks at once. ⁴ Or you become easily distracted at the slightest of diversions. In both situations, you’re liable to lose things without thinking twice about it.

3.) Easily Distracted

Distractions are the most common symptom of ADHD and one often associated with the disorder. In today’s world, distractions are everywhere and it’s common for most adults to fall victim to them. However, if you notice yourself becoming distracted even in situations you know you shouldn’t be, that’s when you should be cautious.

For example, let’s say your significant other is trying to have a serious conversation. Within this conversation, you lose track of what’s they’re attempting to get across. Noticing something as small as a fly roaming around the room. And placing more attention in that fly than your loved one.

4.) Failure to Complete Responsibilities

We all fail to complete responsibilities from time to time. However, people with ADHD don’t just get distracted every now and then. Instead, they become distracted so frequently, it negatively affects their responsibilities.

5.) Difficulty Paying Attention at School or Work

Sometimes school and work can feel mundane and we naturally have difficulty paying attention. However, if this lack of attention results in consequences, you may struggle with an attention-deficit disorder. ADHD makes responsibilities such as school and work become a day-to-day struggle.

6.) You Appear Not to Listen

When you’re having a conversation, do people criticize you for not listening? Or do you feel as though it’s difficult to follow a conversation?

In the example above, if a fly in the room becomes more interesting than a serious conversation, then your distractions are making you appear as though you don’t listen.

If you have trouble concentrating on occasions or don’t always reply in a manner the other person expects, these aren’t necessarily signs of ADHD. It’s when distractions from a conversation have become so severe to the point where you’re ruining personal relationships.

Luckily, psychologists and counselors have developed ways to teach people struggling with ADHD how to pay attention, including children. ⁵

7.) You Find Yourself Interrupting People

Within distracted conversations, do you find yourself interrupting the person you’re talking to? Have you noticed you always have something to say and feel the urge to say it immediately? These are elements of ADHD that many have trouble controlling.

8.) You Can’t Help But Always Talk

Similar to the above sign, you might find yourself impulsively interrupting conversations to get your point of view across. However, you may also find it difficult to keep quiet during moments where quietness is necessary. ⁶

For example, let’s say you’re watching a movie in the theatres and facing difficulty holding back your commentary. You know you’re not supposed to talk in the middle of a movie, but you can’t help from doing so anyway.

This is a prime example of ADHD taking over the brain and can play out in numerous other ways. Whether it be during an important meeting or while the priest is giving a sermon during mass.

9.) You Can’t Control Your Fidgeting

Many people today struggle with constant fidgets in their bodies. Usually, this is a result of an anxiety disorder, impatience, or other illnesses. ⁷

However, some people fidget because their brain is always hyperactive. Fidgetting is simply a way to get rid of excess energy. In this case, the excess energy might be a result of ADHD.

10.) You Feel Restless

Do you feel you always need to be on the move? This sign is often seen in children who can’t stop running around, yelling at the top of their lungs, or need constant playtime. Still, adults can feel this symptom too. It may result in a constant need to work or participating in activies that always stimulate their brain.

11.) You Need to Multitask

When it comes to adults with ADHD, one of the most common signs is the need to always have a task on hand. Do you find yourself taking up numerous projects at once? Do you find you’re able to think of multiple things within a single moment and apply them to the real world?

This is one sign of ADHD which can be made to your benefit. Multitaskers often make much more progress in their schooling and careers in comparison to people who have trouble with this trait.

12.) You Forget Things Easily

People with ADHD often have trouble forgetting even the simplest of tasks, such as remembering to walk the dog. Forgetfulness is primarily due to the extra stimuli the brain produces.

When you’re asked to do something within, let’s say, an hour’s time, you’ll most likely experience hundreds of different thoughts before that task. Within these thoughts, it can be inevitable you forget about the initial task you were asked to do.

Luckily, mental health professionals have developed ways of treating people in this situation. It’s in your best interest to seek out this help because difficulty with memorization can lead to consequences in a professional workplace and through personal relationships.

13.) You’ve Developed a Poor Self-Image of Yourself

Many people struggle with their self-image. Due to this, it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint if this is a product of ADHD. However, if you struggle with any of the other signs on this list along with self-image, that could be a key indicator.

Throughout the many examples given in this article, it becomes apparent as to why someone has a poor self-image. The inability to hold a normal and constructive conversation, the lack of mental capacity to complete tasks, the result of consistent failures in responsibilities – when it all adds up, this can have highly detrimental effects on a person.

14.) You Experience Mood Swings

Mood swings aren’t always a result of ADHD. People with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder (BPD) are much more likely to experience this symptom. ⁸ Therefore, if this is the only sign you feel on this list, you may be struggling with another mental health condition.

Still, if you think you have ADHD, your mood swings may be a result of a lack of focus, a perpetuating restlessness, and confusion.

15.) You’re Disorganized

A lack of focus naturally comes a lack of organization. Unfortunately, this can be detrimental to certain aspects of life – especially, responsibilities related to work and school.

Still, the consequences of disorganization go beyond that. If your thoughts are disorganized to a point where it’s difficult for you to recognize where you’re going, this can lead to a number of personal issues most people don’t face. For example, you may face difficulty in socializing and maintaining relationships.

16.) Difficulty Sleeping at Night

People with ADHD are restless and have a tendency to struggle with insomnia. Considering the amount of sleep medication available on the market, this shouldn’t be too big of an issue. However, ADHD medication is a stimulant and can counteract sleep medication. ⁹ This interaction holds the potential to do serious harm both to your body and brain.

If you’re receiving medication and are in need of sleeping aids, it’s important to consult your doctor.

17.) You’re Easily Frustrated

When considering the other signs mentioned on this list, it’s no surprise some people with ADHD may also feel frustration. Whether you’ve missed out on a work opportunity or failed an exam, day-to-day life isn’t easy.

Topping this failure off with the fact that you feel full of energy can be difficult to control. As a result, you may naturally develop frustration.

18.) You’re Often Confused

A lack of focus makes it difficult to pick up things. Whether it’s a conversation or something your learning in class, you may feel as though you can’t keep up with everyone around you. Don’t think about this too much, it’s only natural for people with ADHD to be confused.

In order to counteract confusion, a doctor will prescribe you stimulant medication which helps hyperactive minds focus. ¹⁰ In turn, your ability to focus will allow you to better comprehend your confusion.

19.) You’re Frequently Bored

For parents of children with ADHD, it may seem absurd that anyone with so much hyperactivity can feel bored. However, consider some of the other signs, such as confusion and inability to participate in focus-driven activities. With this consideration it’s understandable ADHD makes it difficult for a person to figure out what to do with themselves.

When your mental health builds barriers between you and commonplace activities, you’ll find yourself feeling uncertain as to where there aren’t barriers. One moment, you think you can have a normal conversation. The next, you’re too focused on the fly buzzing around the room.

These barriers tend to appear at random. In turn, people with ADHD may develop introverted tendencies and, as a result, grow bored in their self-isolation.

20.) You Spend A Lot of Time Daydreaming

Going off the discussion of boredom, many people with ADHD daydream of a life outside their own. Sometimes, this looks like a life without ADHD.

We’re all prone to daydream from time to time. However, people with ADHD find themselves daydreaming on a regular basis and may feel more comfortable in those daydreams than reality.

References

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⁷ Mansur A, Castillo PR, Rocha Cabrero F, Bokhari SRA. Restless Legs Syndrome. 2023 Feb 27. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 28613628.

⁸ Sanches M. The Limits between Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder: A Review of the Evidence. Diseases. 2019 Jul 5;7(3):49. doi: 10.3390/diseases7030049. PMID: 31284435; PMCID: PMC6787615.

⁹ BROADBENT JL. THE INTERACTION OF SOME STIMULANT AND DEPRESSANT DRUGS ON THE FROG HEART. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1963 Aug;21(1):78-83. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1963.tb01503.x. PMID: 14066153; PMCID: PMC1703863.

¹⁰ Nazarova VA, Sokolov AV, Chubarev VN, Tarasov VV, Schiöth HB. Treatment of ADHD: Drugs, psychological therapies, devices, complementary and alternative methods as well as the trends in clinical trials. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Nov 17;13:1066988. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1066988. PMID: 36467081; PMCID: PMC9713849.