The Quick Read
- ADHD is more than distraction. Look for long-term patterns with focus, time management, emotions, and relationships.
- Procrastination and hyperfocus can both be signs of adult ADHD. The key is how often they disrupt everyday life.
- Adult ADHD testing can provide clarity. A comprehensive evaluation looks at your history, symptoms, and their impact over time.
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People keep telling you that you probably have ADHD. While part of you agrees, another part wonders: Doesn’t everyone procrastinate? Lose track of time? Spend too much time on their phones?
While adults with ADHD tend to procrastinate, the truth is: ADHD isn’t identified by whether you procrastinate or not. ADHD is about a pattern over a longer period. As an ADHD specialist in Columbus, Ohio, I often hear individuals wondering what makes ADHD unique from general focus and productivity issues.
So, when is it worth considering ADHD testing? Here are seven patterns we frequently hear about from adults seeking ADHD testing in Columbus, Ohio.
Relationship Struggles
People with ADHD long to do right by other people. At the end of the day, we want to meet everyone’s expectations. In fact, many people with ADHD are people-pleasers and will spend excessive amounts of energy burning out trying to seek approval from others.
ADHD can impact people in unexpected ways. Here are a few:
- Becoming overwhelmed and shutting down during conflict
- Promising to complete a task and forgetting it
- Zoning out in conversations
- Interrupting others despite trying not to do so
- Getting defensive when criticized
- Experiencing emotional dysregulation when criticized
While some people experience these traits in all relationships, what makes ADHD different? Intention. Adults with ADHD want to do things differently, but they can’t put their ideas and intentions into action.
Hyper-Focus
“What do you mean I have ADHD? I can focus for hours!” -Everyone with ADHD ever
ADHD isn’t a condition of no attention span; it’s a condition of a dysregulated attention span. Adults with ADHD can spend hours lost in a task, especially one they enjoy, but can struggle to focus for even a minute on daunting or mundane tasks. Here are some examples of Hyperfocus:
- Running late because you got over-focused on a task
- Losing an entire night to a hobby
- Getting irritated when having to shift your focus from one task to another
- Being consumed by a goal and losing sight of your daily life or other priorities
ADHD isn’t a clear cut problem with focus; it’s whether someone can focus constantly on the tasks needed to meet the goals of their life over time.
Where Did the Time Go?
Are you constantly blindsided by time? Do you think you have more time to complete a task than you do? Does this leave you feeling chronically behind in your time management?
Many adults with ADHD struggle with time blindness.
In fact, a meta analysis of 55 studies showed that adults with ADHD have a skewed perception of time. ADHD and time blindness go hand in hand. ADHD is a condition of executive function, the part of the brain responsible for regulation. This spans many parts of brain function, including regulating emotions, impulses, and one’s internal relationship to time.
Your Emotions Go From 0 To 100
A 2020 study showed that adults with ADHD experience emotional dysregulation at a higher rate than those without ADHD. This is in line with what we observe at our ADHD testing and counseling practice. In fact, we find emotional regulation is the main reason many adults seek testing for ADHD. They wish they could find ways to slow down how quickly they feel and share their feelings. For example:
- You’re easily frustrated
- It’s hard to reset when feeling big feelings
- You say things you don’t mean when overwhelmed
- Big feelings can derail an entire day
- You often don’t even know what you’re feeling; you just know you’re overwhelmed and irritated
Many psychiatric conditions involve emotional dysregulation. Individuals who feel depressed have a hard time getting out of bed due to intense sadness. People who experience anxiety have chronic worries that they struggle to control. ADHD affects emotional regulation differently. For adults with ADHD, their emotions fit the situation; they just struggle to manage those emotions. The complexity involved in teasing out ADHD emotional dysregulation and that have other conditions is one of the main reasons individuals are referred for ADHD testing in Columbus, Ohio.
Being Labeled as “Too Sensitive” or “Too Much”
The list of negative labels people with ADHD hear since childhood goes on and on. Without an accurate diagnosis, ADHD is even more likely to be misunderstood. Teachers talk about not “applying yourself,” parents rant about “meeting your potential,” and friends can be touch-and-go as we struggle to express ourselves with clarity.
The trauma of growing up with ADHD is real. ADHD testing for adults will take your full history into account. Because ADHD doesn’t start at age 35. Your journey began a long time ago.
It started with the little kid feeling alone in a world built for someone else.
Feeling Behind and Alone
Jazmine was invited to hang out with her work friends. As the date quickly approached, she still hadn’t gotten back to them. What would she talk about? What if she overshared again like at her last job? Suddenly, painting her bathroom felt a lot more pressing.
As Jazmine allowed the friend date to come and go, she felt defeated. Would she ever overcome her crippling fear of rejection?
Many adults with ADHD experience something called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). RSD is one part emotional dysregulation and another part ADHD trauma. The subtle and not-so-subtle criticisms add up over the years. As an adult, you might feel terrified of being rejected. When something doesn’t go your way, you almost always think you’re the problem.
When you live your life feeling inadequate, you tend to avoid risks. You stop putting yourself out there and hardly ever share your true thoughts and feelings. As the years roll on, you develop something called ADHD masking, a way of concealing your ADHD traits from the world around you. While nothing is lost, nothing is gained. As a result, many adults with ADHD who are perfectly lovable, likable, and extraordinary people lead lives of quiet desperation.
Staying safe in the short term can lead to feeling lost and alone in the long term.
Procrastination Has Become a Way of Life
Procrastinate much? Let me guess, doesn’t everyone procrastinate? Yes, most people put things off from time to time.
People with ADHD can spend hours, days, or even years wrestling internally with daunting tasks. Executive functioning includes the brain’s ability to turn an intention into action: seeing what needs to be done, breaking it into steps, figuring out where to start, and getting moving.
Because ADHD affects the brain systems involved in motivation and executive functioning, knowing what to do doesn’t always translate into being able to do it. It can feel like there’s a wall between thought and action.
Another big difference between procrastination and ADHD procrastination is tied to the consequences. Are you late or almost late on home and work projects? Do you constantly stay up late trying to finish things last minute? When procrastination has a negative impact on your life and mental health over time, it’s worth investigating the source.
So, When is it Time to Get Tested for ADHD?
One of two ADHD-like experiences doesn’t mean you have ADHD. The proof is in the history and the impact over time. Here are some specific questions to ask yourself:
- How far back do you remember these experiences? Even if you were an A student growing up, did you tend to put off homework? Daydream in class?
- Do you have a lot of coping skills to manage these traits? For example, 2-3 calendars, complex systems and routines around the house? Sometimes the intensity of systems in place is evidence that you are coping with underlying executive functioning.
- Does focus impact your self-esteem? A big sign of ADHD is that you are easily upset with yourself for minor mistakes (ie forgetting your keys, etc. ). Because you’ve spent so long experiencing true criticism for focusing issues, you may have a strong emotional reaction inside.
The question isn’t whether you procrastinate, lose track of time, or get distracted. The question is how often it
happens and how it impacts your life and/or well-being.
Begin Adult ADHD Testing in Columbus, OH
Still wondering if you have ADHD? You don’t have to live your life feeling scattered and stuck without knowing why. Comprehensive ADHD testing can help you find answers. Our Columbus, OH, counseling practice has caring therapists who specialize in ADHD treatment. To start your counseling journey, follow these simple steps:
- Fill out the contact form to schedule a free 15-minute phone
- Meet with one of our caring therapists.
- Stop feeling distracted and overwhelmed and start finding focus and calm.
Other ADHD Services Offered at Focused Mind ADHD Counseling
Adult ADHD testing is not the only service we offer at our Columbus, OH, counseling practice.
At Focused Mind ADHD Counseling, we offer a variety of mental health services, including, ADHD treatment, anxiety treatment for ADHD, counseling for men with ADHD, counseling for women with ADHD, ADHD-focused couples therapy, teen ADHD testing, and depression counseling for ADHD. You can also view our blog for more resources and helpful info.
About the Author
Billy Roberts, LISW-S, LCSW, is the founder of Focused Mind ADHD Counseling and a licensed psychotherapist specializing in ADHD. Based in Columbus, Ohio, he provides ADHD testing and therapy to help adults better understand challenges related to time management, focus, emotional regulation, and relationships. He held a position at the NYU Child Study Center and has been a practicing psychotherapist for over a decade. His holistic approach to ADHD to assessment and treatment has been featured in TimeMagazine, CNN, HuffPost, and Forbes, where he shares insights on helping individuals with ADHD manage their relationships, emotions, careers, time, and more. He is also author of the upcoming book: Wired to Please: Unmasking the ADHD People-Pleaser.
