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Signs and Symptoms of ADHD you probably didn't know!

Nov 19, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Sep 15

ADHD is rarely just those recognizable symptoms such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and problems with focus. Often those very signs and symptoms show up in ways that we don't realize.


The lists below are meant to encourage you by showing that you are not alone because others experience the signs and symptoms below too!


You'll want to write this down!


Overhead of a sunlit desk: a person writes in a notebook while a video call on a monitor shows a woman's face.
Write it down


Take note of the signs and symptoms you notice in yourself.


Even if you never look at the list again, writing it down helps it stick.


Are you Forgetful?


Key hanging in a door lock against a blurred green outdoor background, suggesting a home or entryway scene

  • You know that feeling when you walk into a room and forget why you're there? ADHD can feel like that, only all day, every day.

  • It isn't early dementia. Working memory is the culprit!

  • Another reason we are "forgetful", is that we are always thinking, which means we are often not paying attention to what we are doing. When you arrive home, set your keys down while our thoughts are occupied, you essentially "forget" where you put them.


Do you fidget?


Young woman holding a strand of hair in front of pastel yellow, peach, and blue lockers, with a pensive expression
Did you know ADHDers hair twirling is calming?

Using fidgets is a way to sooth and add focus.


Hair twirling, tapping, hand play, gum chewing, leg shaking, nail picking, foot tapping, pen clicking, and skin picking are some examples.


What ways of using fidgets do you notice in yourself?


Do you have sleep issues?


Woman in bed checks her phone beside a glowing 1:05 alarm clock in a dim blue bedroom, looking tired and pensive.
Sleep issues in ADHD are common

Sleep challenges might include bedtime revenge(feeling wide awake at night in order to claim some me time), sleeping late, trouble feeling awake, frequent waking and insomnia. Many ADHDers experience sleep challenges. You are not alone.


This can be a result of an active mind, being hyper-focused, rumination, sleeping late, feeling bored and family culture, such as lack of routine, or beliefs about how and when sleep should happen.


ADHDers are often:


Person lying in a crowded closet or laundry pile, pulling a blue shirt over their face beside a wicker basket.
Overwhelmed with your stuff?

  • Overwhelmed

  • Disorganized

  • Tired

  • Night owls

  • Keep irregular hours

  • Empathetic

  • Time Blind

  • Curious

  • A Jack of all trades

  • Idea people

  • Forget to eat

  • Clumsy

  • Hypermobile

  • Unfiltered

  • Sensitive

  • Told they're too sensitive

  • Highly Sensitive People (HSP)

  • Told they're lazy

  • Hard on themselves

  • Addicted to exercise


ADHDers often:


Blonde woman in gray coat and black outfit descends stone steps, carrying a folder outside a columned building.
ADHDers are often running late

  • Run late

  • Don't wear a watch

  • Lose track of time

  • Pay bills late

  • Pay late fees

  • Pay higher interest rates because of poor credit

  • Hyperfocus

  • Leave the stove or oven on

  • Leave the cupboards open

  • Leave the drawers open

  • Leave the lid off

  • Over Pack

  • Under Pack

  • Have piles

  • Ruminate

  • Interrupt

  • Need more sleep

  • Over-share

  • Have a lead foot

  • Forget to take medication

  • Forget why they walked into the room

  • Forget the clothes in the dryer

  • Have lots of interests

  • Return items late, such as library books or clothing returns

  • Forget to pay for parking

  • Forget about perishable food in the refrigerator

  • Tried all the planners

  • Appear shy

  • Misplace or lose phone, keys, wallet

  • Buy more because they can't find the thing they're looking for

  • Love to putter

  • Over promise and under deliver

  • Don't remember names

  • Look younger than their age

  • Have difficulty making decisions

  • Keep all the stuff because everything is a possibility

  • Become Entrepreneurs, Artists, Designers, Photographers or Writers

  • Become medics, firefighters and emergency room personal

  • Good in an emergency

  • Make plans and immediately regret making plans

  • Don't like to be told what to do

  • Need Freedom

  • Need Flexibility

  • Self-medicate

  • Self soothe with exercise, drugs, alcohol and other addictions

  • Put a lot of pressure on themselves

  • Find money in their coat and pants pockets

  • Feel overwhelmed in grocery stores

  • Forget the grocery store list

  • Get take-out

  • Wash laundry and forget to dry it

  • Have lots of unfinished projects

  • Own books but don't read them, or not entirely

  • Are generous with their time and money

  • Buy gifts but never send or give them

  • Do anything but that task that feels too hard


ADHDers often find:


Young woman in a cafe rests her head on her hand, staring down at a Nautica backpack and menu, looking bored or pensive.
Decisions feel like pressure

  • Large menus are hard to choose from

  • Difficulty following recipes and forget ingredients

  • If they can't see it, it doesn't exist

  • Eating enough or healthy eating is challenging


ADHDers often feel:


Close-up of a woman cuddling a sleeping black cat on a white bed, with a green pillow in the background.
ADHDers connect well with animals

  • A connection to plants and animals

  • Alone

  • Sensitive

  • Boredom is mentally and physically painful

  • Inner restlessness

  • Overwhelmed by cooking

  • Easily overstimulated

  • Afraid they'll forget what they want to say

  • Afraid they are too much and not enough

  • They aren't meeting their potential


Remember, we all experience ADHD a little differently.


Feel free to add to this list!




 
 
 

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