Many people suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in silence because they don’t recognize their symptoms in most “you might have ADHD if” articles.
These overlooked signs of ADHD are very common, but for some reason no one ever talks about them. Well, we are!
And it starts with discussing why there are so many under-discussed ADHD symptoms.
The Focus on Hyperactivity
The problem lies in society’s focus on the hyperactive side of the disorder.
People with hyperactive ADHD often display impulsive and disruptive behaviors, making it easy for teachers, parents, and society as a whole to spot. And since these behaviors impact other people in addition to the person with ADHD, they get a lot of attention.
Hyperactive vs. Inattentive
There’s another sneakier side of the disorder that many people don’t know about: the inattentive side.
People with ADHD can have three different types: Hyperactive, Inattentive, or a combination.
Overlooked Signs of ADHD: The Inattentive Side
If any of these common symptoms of Inattentive ADHD speak to you, you might want to see a medical professional. They’re the overlooked signs of ADHD that nobody talks about until they get diagnoses.
Hyperfocus
ADHD seems like a misnomer for some sufferers who get so caught up in a single task that they completely forget about everything else around them. It’s the opposite of attention deficit, it’s too much attention, but not on the right things.
Or Your Brain Refuses To Focus
Have you ever fought with your own mind, trying everything you can to force it to focus on the task at hand, yet it simply refuses to cooperate?
That’s a hidden sign of ADHD.
What Did I Just Read?
People with ADHD may struggle to read things their brains don’t find interesting. You may read an entire page but have no idea what you just read.
It happens to me all the time, even with books I enjoy! Then I have to fight with myself to go back and read the part I don’t remember. It’s a process.
What Do You Mean, Check My Work?
In school, they tell you always to go back and check your work. For some with ADHD, the brain refuses to do so. You’ll have to turn the assignment in as is because there’s no way you’re going back to look at something you just completed.
I really wish this overlooked sign of ADHD was talked about more. I would have done so much better in college if I had the ability to check my answers. My brain refused though, and I had no idea it was because I had ADHD until much later.
I Have No Idea What You Just Said
People with inattentive ADHD may struggle to pay attention in conversations. They want to listen, but their brain is off doing other things. Sometimes they don’t even realize it.
Pro tip: write down anything that’s important.
No Concept of Time
Time blindness occurs when you have no concept of how time passes. Five minutes and two hours are exactly the same.
Obsession with Time
Many who lived with ADHD time blindness, not realizing they had an actual disorder, developed unconscious strategies for managing time, like obsessively watching the clock and overcompensating to ensure they’re never late.
That’s me. I literally cannot do anything in the 30 minutes leading up to a meeting. I must hyperfocus on the fact that I have a meeting, because if I don’t, it disappears from my brain.
Stupid Mistakes
The inattentive ADHD brain is constantly searching for excitement. When you force it to do something mundane, it rushes through.
It’s why I always got the calculus portion right while messing up on the simple equations, like adding 2 + 3. I didn’t care about the addition, so it wasn’t worth my time.
It Just Goes Here Now
You meant to put it away; you really did. But once it left your hands, your brain completely forgot it even existed. Now, it lives wherever you happened to put it.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
I once put a cat carrier in the closet nearest the door, and then two months later, I tore my entire house apart looking for the carrier. I forgot the closet even existed.
A Bit Messy
My father once evicted me from my bedroom when I was a kid. He put a sign on the door saying the room was condemned.
I’m better as an adult, but I must force myself to see the messes.
And Disorganized
If you have trouble keeping track of your schedule, essential papers, and basically everything else in your life, you may have inattentive ADHD.
Easily Distracted
My parents tried really hard to get me to clean my room, but oh, look, a random book! I forgot what I was supposed to be doing.
Constantly Losing Things
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left my car keys on the counter at Starbucks. I even lose things if I put them in their proper spot – I forget they had a proper spot to begin with.
All the New Hobbies
Today, it’s scrapbooking; tomorrow, it’s making jewelry. And when you go to the store to grab all your new basket weaving supplies, you rediscover your love of pottery!
Meanwhile, all your half-finished projects lay abandoned in the closet.
Everything Feels Like a Rejection
People with ADHD often sometimes experience rejection dysmorphia. They always feel like everything is their fault, and everyone is upset with them.
I struggle with this so hard. If I text someone and they don’t respond right away? They must hate me. I can’t reach out to people because clearly they don’t want to hear from me. My friendships suffer because I’m constantly worried that people don’t like me. Sometimes it even becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it’s so hard to overcome.
Isn’t Everyone Like This?
The common struggle for those wrestling with whether to see a professional is the idea that everyone experiences these things.
Everyone can be careless, forgetful, or messy. What makes it a disorder?
How It Impacts Your Life
Though everyone does struggle with this stuff every now and again, the difference is people with ADHD have these problems all the time, and it impacts their lives.
They must try harder to finish their work, spend more energy forcing themselves to focus, and constantly risk their livelihoods over their carelessness.
Treatment is World-Changing
Many people who didn’t realize they had ADHD until adulthood find that treatment changes their lives. It’s like they were living life on hard mode, and treatment was the key to switching it back down to normal.
Only a Professional Will Know for Sure
If any of this sounds familiar, seek guidance from a medical professional. They can help you determine whether you do actually have ADHD or if you have something else, like anxiety or depression, that causes similar symptoms.
How To Improve Your Life
If you’re not ready for the hard work, take smaller steps that will help you improve your life starting today.
Find out more: How To Improve Your Life Right Now