Understanding How Adult ADHD Can Occur

 Adult ADHD is largely characterised by experiencing difficulty in maintaining focus and attention. ADHD can be difficult to diagnose and often gets confused with mental conditions such as anxiety and depression. 

Also watch: How do you relieve symptoms of anxiety?

The symptoms of ADHD can differ to some extent in children and adults. Hyperactivity may decrease in adults, but challenges with impulsiveness, restlessness, and difficulty focusing and paying attention may continue.

ADHD can be caused by multiple factors such as biological, environmental, and genetic factors. For children, it can occur due to premature birth, exposure to alcohol or other substances in the womb, poor nutrition in the womb, brain injury during birth, or other simultaneous mental health conditions.

Before we explore the potential causes of Adult ADHD, keep in mind that a collection of conditions and behaviours do not directly translate to ADHD. These are individual factors that may contribute to ADHD.

If you are unsure about your symptoms, speak to our mental health coach to understand your condition and to find out what can work best for you over a 30-minute free phone call.

Also read: Do I have ADHD? Understanding ADHD Symptoms

Genetics

Decades of research show that genetics play a role in ADHD. Family, twin, and adoption studies prove that ADHD tends to run in families. These are research methods used to explore the role of genetics in different traits or conditions. Scientists compare the similarities and differences between pairs of twins, as well as other family members, to see how their genes might be related to certain traits or conditions. By comparing the similarities and differences between family members with and without a particular trait or condition, researchers can gain insights into the role of genetics in that trait or condition. If the condition is overlooked in childhood, it can affect your adulthood in different ways. To help your therapist and psychiatrist get a better understanding, you can consider sharing your family history with them.

Also read: How to Talk to Your Loved Ones About Your Mental Health Diagnosis

Stress

Today, there are many sources of stress in an adult’s life like work deadlines and challenges, personal relationships, maintaining a work-life balance, and so on. Stress has been one of the common triggers of Adult ADHD. 

Prolonged and unmanaged stress leads to low working memory performance. Working memory allows you to hold a small amount of information from time to time to perform the execution of cognitive tasks. When it doesn’t perform effectively, you can find it difficult to retain new information and process different bits of information.

Stress can also cause insomnia, which impacts your sleep quality. This can exacerbate feelings of nervousness and agitation while performing daily tasks.

Also read: 6 Tips For Managing Symptoms Of Insomnia and Depression Together

In some cases, the causes may arise during a specific developmental stage like when you’re a teenager due to brain injury, exposure to toxins in the environment, or heavy alcohol or other substance abuse.

Also read: Heal From Within: Establishing a Healthy Support System for Addiction Recovery

It can be helpful to discuss with your therapist or your psychiatrist what could be causing you distress because of your ADHD symptoms.

After all, getting to understand the causes of ADHD can be overwhelming. If you are looking to share your thoughts and seek support, join your community. Remember, regardless of the symptoms, it is possible to live a fulfilling and productive life with ADHD.

Also read: ADHD is my superpower…or is it?

Sources: 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6477889/ 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/digital-world-real-world/201906/does-excessive-screen-time-cause-adhd