Is it really ADHD?
I’ve had a number of conversations with people recently who, when I tell them I support women with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), have responded along the lines of: “I think we’re all heading that way now”.
They then tell me about how everyone has a deficit of attention because we’re all being constantly distracted by our phones and children are always attached to their tablets or staring at a smart TV instead of running around outside with friends.
We’re living in an “always-on” world, where the slightest whiff of boredom can be reversed in seconds by checking our emails, loading YouTube, scrolling social media or completing level 257 of Candy Crush. With notifications pinging throughout the day, designed to grab our attention, it’s no wonder that people find it hard to focus on a single task for long.
But does that mean they have ADHD?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but no, that alone is not a signifier of ADHD. The attention deficit there is just a natural result of the time we’re living in and the number of stimuli we’re subjected to. It’s estimated that between 5 and 10 percent of the population have ADHD, so if you’re just easily distractible then that’s probably more to do with your environment than a neurological condition.
ADHD is so much more than “problems focusing” and I’d argue that “attention deficit” is actually a misnomer. Us ADHDers actually have an abundance of attention, when the conditions are right. In fact, if we’re in a hyper-focus, working on something we love, no amount of buzzing notifications will tempt us into picking up our phones - we probably won’t even notice them going off!
ADHD shows up differently for everyone, but common traits include:
impulsive behaviour (sometimes this works out for us, but most of the time it ends up getting us into a lot of trouble)
a brain that runs at a hundred miles a minute (and refuses to shut up when you want to go to sleep)
difficulty regulating emotions (having a complete meltdown over something that appears minor to the outside observer)
a special relationship with time (we’ll judge a 5 minute task as taking 5 hours to complete, and vice versa)
challenges sticking to task (we start to clean the living room, then spot a dirty cup and decide to wash it up, on the way we spot the overflowing laundry basket, so put the cup down to start a wash…but then…..and then….)
memory problems (the phrase “out of sight out of mind” MUST have been coined by an ADHDer!)
Overuse of parentheses in our writing (a bit tongue-in-cheek this one, but we do like to make sure we’ve been properly understood, so will squeeze loads of extra info between these handy brackets!)
Now, everyone can be a bit impulsive sometimes, or lose their keys, or show up late for an event - that doesn’t mean they have ADHD. But if these are regular occurrences for you and are having a negative impact on your life, then, yes, it’s probably worth doing a bit more research and maybe speaking to your GP.
So, in conclusion: if you’re just getting easily distracted then, no, it’s probably not ADHD. And no, we’re not all “becoming ADHD” in this modern world. But, it might be worth you putting in some boundaries around your phone usage to help you manage those distractions and give you proper time to switch off.
If you suspect you might have ADHD and want to pick my brain about the process of getting diagnosed, you’re very welcome to email me: hello@thebusybrain.co.uk