Many people notice behaviours in themselves that make it difficult to function on a daily basis. They have problems concentrating, lose things, forget things repeatedly, feel internally anxious and have a sense of not being able to grasp reality. The source of these difficulties may be ADHD, which is not just a childhood disorder. Psychologist Sabine Bernau, who treats ADHD sufferers, explains what their daily life is like and the challenges they face. The following are excerpts from her book ‘ADHD in adults‘. “The following are excerpts from her book ‘ADHD in adults’.
- ADHD is a disorder with which up to 6 per cent of the adult population struggles
- Among the most characteristic symptoms of ADHD are impaired concentration and attention, frequent forgetfulness, lack of time management and planning skills and motor hyperactivity
- These symptoms do not necessarily occur together and are also more or less severe
- The onset of ADHD is determined by biological factors, the person suffering from the disorder has no control over its onset
- ADHD therapy takes place under the supervision of a psychologist and psychiatrist
Everyday life for adults with ADHD
This is the last chance. The crumpled pages of his thesis lie on the table in front of him. Markus H. wants to get to the end at last. He even has to. At the university, he’s already used up all the postponement options – if he doesn’t drop the finished thesis in the university letterbox by next Friday at midnight, he’ll lose everything.
Markus has reached his twentieth semester – if he doesn’t hand in his work on time, he faces being struck off the student list. He nervously leafs through the manuscript. Three more days to go, and then it’s over! He moves the binders aside. He calls Marga first, she can give him encouragement like no one else. There’s a programme going on TV, Markus glances at it out of the corner of his eye. And in general, he needs something to drink first. Outside the window a rubbish truck is making noise. It’s hard to get down to work.
This can only happen to Hanna. As usual! The 36-year-old woman, an expert by trade, is continually haunted by bad luck. She is failing at her job. At home: the battlefield. Professionally: just before disaster strikes. Partners: fleeing after a short time. Hanna lives in chaos – externally and internally. She only manages to concentrate with great difficulty and for a short time, everything bores her. She has a sharp tongue and can’t keep it in check. This does not please her colleagues at work. She has already been reprimanded by her boss. If it goes on like this…
Petra can’t sit still, she spins around, sways in her chair, drums her fingers on the table, doesn’t listen to what is being said to her, gets irritated, asks nervous questions in the middle of a speech. Even at school she always sat in a separate bench.
Since childhood, Stefan has lived at a bewildering pace and no one can keep up with him. Even the fact that he is eminently gifted did him no favours. He annoyed everyone around him and got angry himself for any reason. He “messed up” the car his father bought him. Without his parents, he would not have managed anything at all. They support him and encourage his sporting abilities, because that’s what he’s really good at. Stefan has no idea what he wants to be in the future.
Markus, Hanna, Petra and Stefan already know what is happening to them. Their suffering is due to ADHD – attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This syndrome of symptoms, named and defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is now the most common neurobiological disorder among children and adolescents.
And what happens afterwards? Do you grow out of it? “Unfortunately, no,” says Dr B., who works with many young people. “Many adults suffer from ADHD, it lasts from early childhood until old age. As people get older, they learn to live with it, which is seen as a diminishing of symptoms.” Apparently, however, this does not happen very often, as evidenced by the number of patients coming to see him.
When the ‘fidgeting’ grows up….
Heinrich Hoffmann first described the “fidgeting” as early as 1845. This description is a quasi-metaphor for a child with a concentration disorder, hyperactive and impulsive. This paediatrician and neurologist presented the many nuances and forms of ADHD in the youngest in his children’s book.
His Struwwelpeter was written with the intention of presenting the most common mental illnesses and behavioural disorders in children to the public of the time. Dr Hoffmann knew what he was writing about, for in his daily work with children he often had the opportunity to observe the phenomena described.
More than 170 years have passed since then. However, we still come across children such as Pawel the Wacky, Dyzio the Dreamer, Kasia thinking of blue almonds or naughty Karolek. Thanks to modern research, however, we now have a clearer picture and more knowledge about the causes and course of the disorder. Also outside the field of clinical research, among doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists, knowledge about ADHD is becoming more and more widespread. Many times these specialists are able to offer competent help to people with ADHD.
Parents of children such as Pawel the Wacky or Kasia the Blue Almond Thinker are reaching for books and attending lectures and seminars on ADHD. Existing support groups create helpful discussion forums, provide help and new information. The Internet provides wonderfully compiled, expert knowledge about ADHD, given in a compressed form – moreover, it is knowledge that is supplemented on an ongoing basis and organisation – often goes unrecognised.
According to expert estimates, however, up to 6 per cent of the adult population suffers from more or less troublesome ADHD symptoms. This 6 per cent includes, according to US data, many American artists, politicians, managers and journalists (in the US, the picture of ADHD in adults has long been known).
Today, we know that in about one third of ADHD patients, the disorder loses its intensity after adolescence and therefore there is no need to undergo therapy in adulthood. However, in about two-thirds, the disorder, as well as disorders that are a consequence of ADHD left untreated in childhood, persist and should be treated. Children and adolescents have a range of qualified therapists available, but for adults it is difficult to find a specialist. Distances and long waiting times for appointments have to be reckoned with.
At the root of ADHD is biology
Without the appropriate filters and blocking processes of our brain, we would lack orientation and be incapable of any action. We would be threatened by the dominance of irrelevant stimuli over important ones. The thinking process would be chaotic and abrupt. We would be incapable of taking purposeful action and making decisions. Due to the simultaneous influx of sensory impressions, our concentration would be severely impaired. The brain can only learn on the basis of purposeful choices of relevant stimuli.
The fact that the brain has the ability to learn is of enormous importance to every human being. For example, remembering the information: “Before you cross the street, look left and right” in long-term memory translates directly into the ability to survive in traffic.
In the case of ADHD, there is a disturbance in the selection of data into relevant and irrelevant. This results in insufficient concentration, easily diverted attention and forgetfulness. ADHD does not arise from one individual’s life situation or another; its emergence is determined by biological factors.
Axial symptoms from a closer perspective
Child / adolescent / adult
- often fails to notice details or misses out on things when performing various activities;
- has difficulty in maintaining attention during prolonged work or play;
- does not seem to hear people who address him/her;
- often does not fully carry out tasks given to him/her and is unable to complete them
- seems to read a text superficially
- has difficulty in carrying out to completion tasks given to him/her;
- often forgets and fails to meet agreed deadlines;
- often has problems with organising his/her tasks and work;
- dislikes tasks requiring prolonged mental effort;
- often loses or forgets objects that are necessary for carrying out certain tasks or activities;
- is distracted by external stimuli;
- sometimes forgets things associated with everyday activities.
For adults, the following symptoms are particularly striking:
- failure to maintain attention on tasks, quick distraction;
- difficulty in following rules due to impulsive action;
- poorly developed insight and understanding of one’s own behaviour;
- difficulties in cooperating with others relying on an action-based pattern of functioning, often at the expense of making mistakes;
- suffering from symptoms;
- their achievements are often disproportionate to their opportunities in professional or social life.
Adult diagnosis
ADHD does not cause any outward signs and, therefore, its existence cannot be proven by a test performed with a medical apparatus. Hence the extreme difficulty in diagnosing it.
In the case of ADHD, we are always dealing with a so-called symptomatic diagnosis, and this means that it is made clinically on the basis of the symptoms described or observed by the diagnosing person. In the majority of cases, no testing procedures (medical, psychological or apparatus-related) are used to make a diagnosis without even the slightest doubt, although this is sometimes indicated when symptoms are reported that may not be due to ADHD (differentiation). This is why such great importance is attached to a solid examination of all available data.
The best solution in this case is close cooperation between different specialists (psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, psychotherapists). Making an accurate diagnosis is very labour-intensive and requires many hours of work (many visits). In addition to the medical history, curriculum vitae, special tests (attention, concentration skills or intelligence), the accounts of friends, partners, parents and siblings play a major role. School certificates provide information on possible behavioural abnormalities that may have already emerged during childhood.
Źródło
- https://www.medonet.pl/choroby-od-a-do-z/choroby-i-zaburzenia-psychiczne,adhd-coraz-czesciej-diagnozowane-jest-u-doroslych–jakie-objawy-swiadcza-o-zaburzeniu-,artykul,71585664.html
