What are the symptoms of ADHD? Ibiza

In adults, ADHD symptoms must be present since childhood and affect the person’s ability to function in daily life. These symptoms must create significant difficulty in at least two areas of life, such as home, social settings, school, or work. Increasingly, researchers are studying ADHD in the context of executive functions—the brain functions that activate, organize, integrate, and manage other functions. Impairment of these executive functions is considered highly interrelated to symptoms associated with ADHD. There are three primary subtypes of ADHD, each associated with different symptoms.

ADHD-Primarily Inattentive Type:

• Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes
• Has difficulty sustaining attention
• Does not appear to listen
• Struggles to follow through on instructions
• Has difficulty with organization
• Avoids or dislikes tasks requiring sustained mental effort
• Is easily distracted
• Is forgetful in daily activities

ADHD-Primarily Hyperactive/Impulsive Type:

• Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in chair
• Has difficulty remaining seated
• Runs around or climbs excessively
• Has difficulty engaging in activities quietly
• Acts as if driven by a motor
• Talks excessively
• Blurts out answers before questions have been completed
• Has difficulty waiting or taking turns
• Interrupts or intrudes upon others

ADHD—Combined Type:

• Meets both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive criteria

What causes ADHD ?

Research has demonstrated that ADHD has a very strong neurobiological basis. Although precise causes have not yet been identified, there is little question that heredity makes the largest contribution to the expression of the disorder in the population.

In instances where heredity does not seem to be a factor, difficulties during pregnancy, prenatal exposure to alcohol and tobacco, premature delivery, significantly low birth weight, excessively high body lead levels, and postnatal injury to the prefrontal regions of the brain have all been found to contribute to the risk for ADHD to varying degrees.

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ADHD: A Complex Condition

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) says that ADHD is a condition characterized by trouble focusing, excessive movement behaviors (like fidgeting or not being able to sit still), and being impulsive. All of these can create issues for children and adults alike, whether at school, work, or at home.

Additionally, there is no known clear and specific cause of ADHD, and there is no lab test that can diagnose it either. Instead, it is a condition that requires gathering a lot of behavioral data while also ruling out other medical issues that could be contributing factors

The Connection Between ADHD and Addiction

For children with ADHD that continues into their adult years, there is a risk of developing an addiction as pointed out by research connecting these two issues.

For example, a 2014 study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence looked at 1,276 individuals from seven different countries (Hungary, Norway, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Sweden, and Spain). These participants ranged in age from 18 and 65, and all were seeking help for their substance abuse. Researchers found that while the average rate of ADHD in the general population is between 6 and 9 percent, the number of addicted study participants with this condition was sometimes much higher. For instance, 31.3 percent of addicted persons from Norway were also diagnosed with ADHD.

One common area of study is the connection between ADHD and alcohol abuse. And use of this particular substance tends to start early, with one piece of research indicating that teens around 14 years of age who have ADHD are almost two times more likely to use alcohol than teens without this condition (40 percent versus 22 percent).

read more about this from Walter Keenan, Ph.D. & David Cohen, M.

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