How to Tell If You Have ADHD - Physical, Emotional, and Behavioral ADHD Symptoms
Last week I dropped a brand new, unopened quart of paint down my basement steps.
Yep. You’re right. It was a mess.
Especially since I’m the kind of person who doesn’t keep paper towels on hand. 😬
And if you’re thinking “how in the world did you end up with a quart of white paint all over the walls and floor at the bottom of your steps.” Well, in an impulsive move and despite the fact that I already had an armload of stuff, I decided to grab just one more thing so I didn’t have to make another trip.
A thing that slipped out of my full arms and subsequently tumbled down the stairs.
And believe it or not, this is another way ADHD impacts my life.
Which is why I wanted to discuss how ADHD symptoms can impact our physical, internal, and external life.
There were so many “aha” moments about my behavior that suddenly made sense after my ADHD diagnosis. Random bruises I couldn’t explain. Why my brain wouldn’t stop spinning when I tried to sleep at night.
Previously, I share how ADHD and lower dopamine levels can affect your executive function.
Click here to learn more about ADHD and executive function.
In this post, I’ll show other ways your lower dopamine levels and neurodivergence can impact you physically, behaviorally, and in your relationships.
ADHD Symptoms: Physical
Clumsiness
I feel like I have spent my life covered in random bruises that I can’t account for. I also manage to run into door frames or door knobs regularly in the home I’ve been living in since 2009.
And we haven’t moved any doors.
While clumsiness isn’t directly related to executive function, motor control and sensory processing do rely on dopamine. And if we are low on dopamine…well, that could explain our struggles with spatial awareness.
Hyperactivity
I actually believe “hyperactivity” bit of a misnomer. Or maybe the concept is just misunderstood.
Because the word hyperactivity brings to mind (well, my mind any way) the kind of behavior 8 year olds display after stuffing their faces with cake and ice cream at a birthday party.
But, in actuality, any restless or fidgeting behaviors can qualify as hyperactive.
For me, this looks like foot tapping. It can also show up as interrupting conversations or excess talking. Even aggression can have it’s roots in hyperactivity.
But why is it some of us ADHDers exhibit hyperactivity?
It could be due to low dopamine levels leading to higher impulsivity and lower self control. It could also be your brain and body stimming, which is our next symptom.
Stimming
Stimming is reward seeking or dopamine producing behavior. And ADHD brains are on a constant hunt for large, immediate, repeated rewards.
It can actually become physiologically uncomfortable for an ADHDer to be understimulated.
And because the rewards system which releases dopamine in our brain tends to be underactive compared to our neurotypical counterparts, it’s “Go Big or Go Home”.
We might be satisfied with food, sex, exercise, or competition but many of us ADHDers need more. We may be drawn to more high risk behaviors like riding motocycles, sky diving, or drugs.
We seek a dopamine burst from compulsive shopping, reckless driving or gambling. But more or bigger is not always better as we will see in our next symptom…
Sleep Issues
ADHD and sleep deprivation symptoms are very closely related.
Both experience forgetfulness or difficulty focusing. Both typically have need increased time to fall asleep, have a higher likelihood of disrupted sleep, and struggle to wake up in the morning.
And obviously, not all people with sleep issues have ADHD. Like many of the symptoms we discussed, it’s just one piece of the diagnosis puzzle to consider if you haven’t yet sought a diagnosis.
Eating Issues
Many of us with ADHD also struggle with eating. And to be clear, I’m not speaking about eating disorders…that’s another topic all together.
What I’m referring to is how our low dopamine levels impact our food choices. Because food can be a great quick and easy source of dopamine.
We will often forget to eat until it is an emergency, perhaps due to our hyperfocus on a task, and then seek an immediate dopamine boost typically from food with sugar or high carbs because it provides a quick yet unsustained dopamine release.
And because those dopamine levels are low, our impulse control is probably also low. This could lead us to make choices based on craving, which may not always be the healthies choice, and binge larger quantities than recommended.
It probably doesn’t help that creating a meal plan is not particularly fun and exciting, is packed with decision making, and requires consistency, which means many of us with ADHD struggle to keep up with regular meal planning.
ADHD Symptoms: Emotional
Emotional Dysregulation
Those of us with ADHD may experience more intense emotions, including frustration, anger, or sadness, which can be challenging to manage. This could be due to emotional regulation being an executive function. Or it could be due to Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria or RSD, where those of us with ADHD feel criticism, negativity, and shame more deeply than our neurotypical counterparts.
Wanna learn more about RSD? Check out ADHD RSD Signs and Symptoms by clicking here.
Emotional dysregulation is also part of the reason ADHD is missed or misdiagnosed as depression or anxiety for many of us. And while depression and anxiety can totally be comorbic conditions with ADHD, there are times that when a person receives treatment for ADHD, the other symptoms lessen. This is what happened with me and my anxiety.
Low Self-Esteem
And as a result of our emotional dysregulation, many of us with ADHD also experience low self esteem.
This may be a result of how other ADHD symptoms impact your life and relationships…
…You may be frustrated that you procrastinate and can’t seem to get your work done on time.
…You may feel disappointment that they forgot someone’s birthday or to follow through on a commitment.
…You may have had teachers and parents ask “why can’t you just settle down”, “why can’t you sit still” or “why don’t you ever shut up” more times than you can count.
…You don’t understand why there are times when you can’t do the simplest things.
I feel like my ADHD diagnosis really helped me process these feelings and understand that it wasn’t that I didn’t try hard enough to “behave” or “be quiet”, it’s that my poor brain needed more dopamine to control my urge to contribute to every conversation.
ADHD Symptoms: Behaviorial
Perfectionism
Those of us with ADHD can often find ourselves stuck on the hamster wheel of perfectionism.
This could be due to a fear of failure, hyperfocus, or an attempt to control outcomes.
I mean if you create a perfect report or room in your house or cake for your kid’s birthday, you are clearly reliable, motivated, and responsible, right?
There are 3 ways perfectionism can lead to procrastination as an ADHDer…
You won’t start if you can’t do it perfectly or the “right way”.
You won’t start if you struggled or failed with the same or similar task in the past.
You don’t start because you’re focusing your time and effort on something that you do well (remember reward seeking behavior from earlier) and avoiding what scares you.
And that fear of failure or attempt to control outcomes is more understandable when we consider our previous discussion about emotional dysregulation.
Difficulty with Relationships
And finally, our hyperactivity, forgetfulness, hair-trigger tempers, and impulsivity can sometimes make it difficult for us ADHDers to create and maintain friendships and romantic relationships.
It isn’t that we are actively trying to be difficult or loud or unreliable. We just may be hyperfocused, impulsively talking, or distracted.
But as I will say over and over, knowing you have ADHD or suspecting you have ADHD isn’t an excuse for acting aggressively, being chronically late, or rudely interrupting conversations. It does, however, explain why we may behave this way. And, if we choose to do so, it shows us where we may need to develop from coping strategies to help in our family and work relationships. Or where our loved ones may need to show us some grace.
A benefit of the recent spotlight on ADHD and other neurodivergent diagnosis is that it helps the public start to understand that us ADHDers operate on a different OS than what has been deemed typical by society. If they don’t know much about or understand what life is like with ADHD or ASD or OCD, they may not understand why we behave the way we do or struggle where we struggle.
So what happens if you feel like this sounds really familiar or I’ve been spying on you through your house windows?
First, I want to encourage you to learn more about ADHD. I personally love the book Driven to Distraction by Drs. Edward Hallowell and John Ratey,* who coincidentally both have ADHD along with being two of the world's leading experts on the subject.
If reading isn’t your thing, there are plenty of webinars and podcasts and YouTube channels where you can start to understand ADHD better.
Next, I would encourage you to seek an official diagnosis, if possible. And actually, that is what I’ll be talking about next week.
And if you’re feel like you could use some extra support in setting goals, following through, and seeing the success you know is possible, I’d like to help you get there.
Click the button below to book your free, no-obligation call with me to discuss my ADHD coaching program, your goals, and how I can support you!
*This is an Amazon affiliate link, meaning that I make a small commission if you purchase the book through this link. Thank you in advance for your support.
