Individuals with adult ADHD may appear as one of two extremes: withdrawn and antisocial, preferring to spend their time alone; or overly social and unable to easily endure even brief periods of solitude. Neither of these extremes allows much room for flexibility in daily living.
Individuals with ADHD often experience a flood of thoughts and emotions, making it challenging to concentrate or make decisions. Solitude can provide an opportunity to sort through these thoughts and emotions, reducing stress and anxiety and improving overall mental health.
Research also suggests ADHD, neurodiversity, and social isolation are closely linked. If you are neurodiverse, you are more likely to become socially isolated (for a few different reasons). In this post, we'll take a closer look at why that might be the case and what you can do about it.
In my experience, living alone while having ADHD can sometimes be a struggle and an overwhelming task. For me, the hardest part of managing my place is that there isn't anyone around to help me aside from myself. ? I have to do everything, so it's easy to get stressed out.
Coping strategies can ease ADHD symptoms like hyperactivity, impulsive urges, and difficulty focusing. Taking exercise breaks and setting timers can help refocus your thoughts if your mind wants to wander.
Restlessness and fidgety behavior associated with ADHD can be reduced by taking exercise breaks. Walking and running, and activities like yoga or meditation that incorporate deep breathing and mindfulness can be beneficial and induce relaxation and calm.
Untreated ADHD in adults can lead to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. This is because ADHD symptoms can lead to focus, concentration, and impulsivity problems. When these problems are not managed effectively, they can lead to feelings of frustration, irritability, and low self-esteem.
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.
These may include hyperfocus, resilience, creativity, conversational skills, spontaneity, and abundant energy. Many people view these benefits as “superpowers” because those with ADHD can hone them to their advantage. People with ADHD have a unique perspective that others may find interesting and valuable.
As we've discussed, unfortunately, many people with ADHD tend to have a lack of empathy. This can be addressed, though, through identifying and communicating about each other's feelings.
Many people with ADHD experience a physical hypersensitivity to a variety of things, including touch. Being hypersensitive may mean that stimulation of their genitals might be uncomfortable or even painful in someone with ADHD. This sensitivity may also extend to other senses as well.
Mood swings are common in people with ADHD. People with this disorder can be hypersensitive, too. That means sensations, like touch, that may feel normal to another person can feel too intense for someone with ADHD.
People with ADHD have less diffusion of dopamine in the brain's synapses than do people without ADHD, so they do not get the same degree of satisfaction from doing ordinary tasks. That lack of satisfaction is felt as boredom, and it saps a person's motivation to continue.
It's just that according to research, ADHD and Learning may be connected. In fact, 30 to 50% of children with ADHD may have some sort of learning difficulty. As a result, children may become shy because they think they're not doing as well as the others.
Many adults with ADHD may have trouble staying focused and paying attention. But, even though they have possible symptoms of ADHD, they still can enjoy life and relax. A common misconception about ADHD is that adults who have it cannot relax at all.
Some people with ADHD enjoy socializing with friends but often get bored with them, feeling the need for a break. They find it hard to be consistent in regularly enjoying their company and regularly paying them attention.
The five gifts of ADHD include creativity, emotional sensitivity, exuberance, interpersonal empathy, and being nature-smart (The Gift of Adult ADD, 2008).
Studies using the Big 5 Personality Factors show that ADHD is strongly tied to both extraversion and to neuroticism.
The mind of a person with ADHD is full of the minutiae of life (“Where are my keys?” “Where did I park the car?”), so there is little room left for new thoughts and memories. Something has to be discarded or forgotten to make room for new information. Often the information individuals with ADHD need is in their memory…
High-functioning ADHD could mean: you experience severe symptoms but have developed “work arounds” to carry on with daily tasks and responsibilities. your symptoms are mild, and you're able to function with minimal impairment. symptoms are greatly impairing in some areas but you're highly functional in others.
When we feel like we are constantly unable to do tasks asked of us, it can lead to feelings of anxiety and worthlessness, which can lead to a meltdown, too. Meltdowns may occur when deep breaths and time-outs aren't working and angry outbursts are imminent ? .
Lack of consistency. Toxic communication — such as contempt, criticism, and sarcasm. Controlling behavior and distrust. Abusive — this is also inclusive of emotionally abusive behaviors, such as gaslighting, love bombing, breadcrumbing etc.
Physical and mental health problems.
The symptoms of ADHD can contribute to a variety of health problems, including compulsive eating, substance abuse, anxiety, chronic stress and tension, and low self-esteem.
ADHD can reduce life expectancy by as much as 13 years, but its risk is reversible.