People with ADHD are often more externally oriented, seeking stimulation in their environments. This pursuit of stimulation can result in being disconnected, dismissive, and unaware of important internal cues that are essential in healthy functioning.
People with ADHD may be seen as insensitive, self-absorbed, or disengaged with the world around them. Emotional detachment, or the act of being disconnected or disengaged from the feelings of others, is a symptom of ADHD.
You might start feeling numb or emotionally unavailable. You might also begin to feel a sense of unreality, as if the world around you or even you aren't real. Often, you'll find yourself “checking out” involuntarily or “spacing out” in the middle of doing something.
Men with ADHD may feel bombarded with constant critiques of their underperformance at home and at work. The struggle to become reliable in the face of distraction and planning problems causes many men to retreat from conflict. This may lead to cover-up behavior, like lying, and being emotionally distant.
Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.
Some signs that you might be understimulated include: Lack of motivation. Physical hyperactivity. A sense of unease, making you feel "flat" or irritable.
An ADHD “Brain dump” is a phrase used to describe the process of transferring information from your brain to another medium. You could write the contents down on paper, type them into your computer or speak them into an audio recording… whatever works for you.
A person with Inattentive ADHD type can easily feel embarrassed due to inattention, so they may choose to stay quiet and avoid any possible wrongdoings or mistakes ❌. This trait is often seen in children with this condition, but it can still affect adults later in their lives.
If that felt like a personal call-out, you're not alone. It's a common ADHD experience that I call 'involuntary ghosting' - a phenomenon that describes the disappearing act that happens when ADHDers forget to respond to texts.
The Mini ADHD Coach Medical Advisor says: “Zoning out is a common core symptom of Inattentive-type ADHD when your brain involuntarily shifts focus from the task at hand. The reason this occurs is due to the differences in connectivity between brain networks that conduct where you should (or want to) focus.
Zoning out is considered a type of dissociation, which is a feeling of being disconnected from the world around you. Some people experience severe dissociation, but "zoning out" is considered a much milder form. Daydreaming is the most common kind of zoning or spacing out.
Symptoms of ADHD can have some overlap with symptoms of bipolar disorder. With ADHD, a child or teen may have rapid or impulsive speech, physical restlessness, trouble focusing, irritability, and, sometimes, defiant or oppositional behavior.
Individuals with adult ADHD may appear as one of two extremes: withdrawn and antisocial, preferring to spend their time alone; or overly social and unable to easily endure even brief periods of solitude.
Forgetting to check or reply to messages. Perfectionism; overthinking your texts, sometimes erasing them completely. Misinterpreting tone of voice (sarcasm, joking, etc.) General social anxiety.
Many people with ADHD tend to talk faster than others, too, which can lead to them inadvertently cutting off others while speaking.
ADHD burnout is often something a little deeper. It refers to the cycle of overcommitting and overextending that leads to fatigue in people with ADHD. It involves taking on too many tasks and commitments, and then the subsequent exhaustion that happens when we're unable to fulfill all of our obligations.
Some find small talk boring, while others find it mystifying or even terrifying. People with ADHD may struggle with recognizing how to start a conversation. Or they may dive right into sharing personal information after a quick chat about the weather. Anyone with ADHD can learn the skill of making chit-chat.
Some introverts with ADHD may experience conflicting characteristics. For example, they may be cautious in some situations and highly impulsive in others. They may find it hard to focus in some situations and experience periods of hyper-focus at other times.
People with ADHD will have at least two or three of the following challenges: difficulty staying on task, paying attention, daydreaming or tuning out, organizational issues, and hyper-focus, which causes us to lose track of time.
ADHD is associated with abnormally low levels of the neurotransmitters transmitting between the prefrontal cortical area and the basal ganglia i.e., dopamine and noradrenaline. Dopamine is closely associated with reward centers in the brain, and also interacts with other potent neurotransmitters to regulate mood.
Bored or under-stimulated ADHD brains may become restless and demand an immediate reward and more stimulation. While you may think your child's fidgeting, noise, laughter, yelling, or conflict-making behaviors are inappropriate and unprovoked, their under-aroused brains, needing stimulation, are demanding it.
Because children and adults with ADHD struggle with focusing, organizing tasks, and feeling restless, they might experience sadness, guilt, irritability, low self-confidence and helplessness. In some cases, these symptoms can signal depression.
Vocal stimming involves making sounds with your mouth or breath. Examples of vocal stimming include: verbal noises. humming. shrieking.