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What struggles do people with ADHD face?

154 Answers
Last Updated: 06/27/2023 at 9:10pm
What struggles do people with ADHD face?
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Top Rated Answers
Anonymous - Expert in ADHD
October 20th, 2016 2:55pm
I have the longest answer for this. I apologize in advance. I wrote this on a particularly hard night, and it captures the struggles of someone with ADHD perfectly (or so I've been told by others who have it) _____ So it's 2:35 in the morning and I hate myself. If anyone asked me to honestly answer the question "If you could be 'cured' of ADHD, would you?" my answer would have to be yes. No doubt about it, no long debate. Simple and pure, yes, I would. Honestly, I would give it up in a heartbeat for a shot at normality. It's so exhausting having ADHD; it's so exhausting being me. Do you really think I like it? Some parts, maybe. But not the constant self-analysis of everything I'm doing. Not the feeling of inadequacy when I can't do simple tasks everyone else has no issues with. Not the constant churning of my mind at ridiculous hours when I'm tired both mentally and physically, yet am unable to sleep for all the noise in my head. Not the constant feeling of not doing enough, or of being enough. Not the loudness of thoughts that scream so loudly I have to speak them out loud or, I think, go insane. Not when I feel so angsty on the inside because I'm stuck inside and I just NEED to be outside. Not the tidal wave of emotions that come crashing down one after the other so I never quite know how I'm feeling until I either explode or implode – and I'm not quite sure which of those two I fear more. Not the constant over-analysis of everything and anything I've said and done and how it means I'm a failure. Not being turned away by yet another friend because I'm too annoying for them, or speak out of turn, or say things that are inappropriate because I can't filter thoughts. And, most of all, not the way nobody can seem to understand that all this is something I honestly and truly just cannot control, as though I'm actively choosing to be this way instead of hating it with every fibre of my being and fighting till I can fight no more, and having it happen any goshdarn way. Hardly anyone understands. Because apparently, the only fight that counts is the visible one. The one that leaves scars or marks, or some physical sign that it took place and that I've won. So what happens if I'm fighting simply to keep afloat? They don't see the war in my head that happens every single moment I'm awake. Without fail, it's probably the most predictable thing in my life. How's that for irony, huh? I want some sort of consistency, and it comes in the form of "hey cool let’s try and make you hate yourself for eternity because you’re a failure at everything ever yea?" I laugh, but humour is my defence mechanism, so that doesn't really mean much.
Anonymous - Expert in ADHD
January 4th, 2018 5:33pm
People will experience ADHD a little differently per individual as with all experiences, however common struggles are being easily distracted, intrustive thoughts, impulsiveness, difficiult staying focused on what they want to do, trouble following or remember directions, difficulty reading lists or doing things in sequence, sometimes it is hard to keep up with promises even with best intentions, difficulty organizing activities; an adult who has struggled with adhd since childhood without assistance may also suffer from self-esteem issues and restlessness. It's not uncommon for people with adhd to have general anxiety, social anxiety, depression, challenges managing emotions, or extreme stress. It is frustrating to experience for the person with ADHD and the person may feel they are a burden to those around them even though the ADHD is not their fault. Imagine in a simple scenario, you wake up in the morning - you are now attacked by all of the things you can do that day all at once, it is immense pressure and hard to prioritize what you should do first - get dressed? pay bills? make a phone call? check on an app? eat something? Imagine that you are hungry, you go to the kitchen but on the way, you are thinking about what is happening tomorrow, what happened yesterday, what else you could be doing on your walk to the kitchen, if you have your phone with you, you might be looking at web sites or apps on your walk to the kitchen, continually being distracted until finally you may forget why you went to the kitchen in the first place, you are already doing a million other things, the moment when you wanted to go to the kitchen feels like it was hours ago even though only a minute has passed. Imagine that you are in a relationship with someone whom you love very much, you want to make them happy and show them that you care, and you do your best, you are always doing little things for them, but you also forget things to do for them that you said you would, this makes you feel frustrated and when you see that your partner is disappointed, you feel even worse. People with ADHD need a lot of encouragement. Positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement does not help with ADHD at all, it only spirals the ADHD out and magnifies any other symptoms that the person has such as depression or low self-esteem. Patience, compassion, and love is key for both people in this situation. ADHD is not a bad thing. Many people with ADHD accomplish great things, can become innovators, motivators, or successful in many areas of their life. Having ADHD does not mean that someone is crazy. If you know someone with ADHD, let them know that you're there for them, that you accept them and love them. If you have ADHD, try to be patient with yourself, compassion for yourself. There is more and more reading material and research on ADHD than ever before, it's okay to do some research for yourself or speak to a professional about it. Good luck and be well.
Link22
- Expert in ADHD
June 24th, 2016 2:42am
It's hard to sit still. And your mind is often racing. You may act impulsively. You also may forget things easier.
potatofriend
- Expert in ADHD
September 24th, 2016 3:57pm
There are multitudes of symptoms but not every person's symptoms are exactly alike. Personally, I space out consistently, lose focus, have a hard time staying on task, and get overwhelmed easily. The list goes on and on, but sometimes vice comes with advantage. People with ADD/ADHD tend to excel in other ways. I have certain creative talents, a common one.
Anonymous
June 25th, 2016 10:17pm
Hi there :) Difficulty concentrating and sustaining attention, fidgeting, becoming bored and distracted easily, zoning out, forgetting things even when being spoken to directly, trouble keeping deadlines, and a general inability to capitalise on ones full potential. Hope that gave you a bit of insight there :)
7Cookies
June 21st, 2017 2:34am
Some of the many struggles those of us with ADHD face are not being understood, having trouble focusing on what the content of what someone's saying when they speak to you, and easily losing track of time.
AerinL
July 6th, 2016 2:27pm
For most people doing chores is simple, but with ADHD you start one thing the realize that something else needs to be done that kind of relates to the chore you are doing. By the end of the day you worked all day but didn't really accomplish any other the things you intended to.
Anonymous
June 25th, 2016 5:58pm
Focusing and remembering things are 2 things that are rally hard for people with ADHD. These struggles affect them in their everyday lives and makes it hard to do tasks sometimes.
KatNotCat
July 27th, 2016 2:54am
People with ADHD face many problems, aside from the attention issues and hyperactivity; I know firsthand. Firstly, they can sometimes feel below their peers. Because they don't learn the same, or as quickly, they can almost feel "dumber." Secondly, ADHD medications can cause severe depression and anxiety. But when they don't take the medication, they're hyperactive or distracted. It's like a game of "pick your poison." Lastly, the ADHD medications make you mellow, so that's what people expect from you. They learn to be friends with someone that you are not. Then when you don't take your medications one day, they don't like who you really are. People with ADHD face many problems.
shysoda
June 24th, 2016 4:04am
My biggest struggle is an inability to get easy tasks done. It affects me most when I'm doing something I don't like to do. I have trouble reading things that don't interest me. School was very hard for me.
Anonymous
July 4th, 2016 9:33pm
It is very hard for me to get started. Hard to get out of bed, into the shower, out the door to work and to work on time. That is struggle 9,999 of 10,000 so far :)
HttpSprinkle
July 6th, 2016 1:45pm
As with any mental illness, each person is different. Some common struggles are inability to focus and apply full effort to tasks as well as things like not recognizing social cues from lack of attention which can lead to social problems, depression or anxiety.
SmolAlien
July 13th, 2016 4:49am
Well I have ADHD and mostly none if you take your meds, but if you don't you do things on impulse, get distracted easily, impatient, things like that. Then you have to deal with people getting frustrated with you because then expect for you to act a certain way. It can lead to alot of problems if you are in school also. Like bullying, making bad grades, always getting trouble, things like that.
Hobbes123
August 25th, 2019 5:15am
Where to begin? From my personal experience ADHD can have many struggles. On he flip side I also believe it has many perks. But for the purpose of this question I will only address the struggles. ADHD has three different types. There is the inattentive type. This type is know for having trouble listening, difficulty not being able to focus on the current task or discussion. They get bored easily and it makes it difficult for them to remember details, responsibilities, conversations etc. It also poses the struggle of interrupting people. The second type is the hyperactive type. This type brings about struggles with feeling the need to move around, inability to sit still, no ‘filter’ (I don’t know what else to call it) where you may blurt things out at the wrong time etc. This is more the general stereotype of ADHD (however it is only part of the diagnosis) and lastly the third type is a combination of both. These all have their own struggles and can cause others to view you as: not paying attention, forgetful, flaky, hyper, sometimes annoying and rude- constant interruptions etc, some ppl may view it as lazy too. People with ADHD generally have trouble managing their emotions as well. Their sense of time is that there are only two times; “Now” or “Not Now” so things can seem very urgent for the. Emotions can hit much harder than they would to someone without ADHD. I could talk about ADHD for hours lol. So that’s my brief answer. Please feel free to message me with any direct questions you may have. :)
Anonymous
July 20th, 2016 5:31pm
I've struggled most with accepting the fact that I have this condition. Sometimes, strangers, and even friends, will comment on my darting attention or my inability to stay attentive for long periods of time. It gets tiring explaining to them what ADD is, the chemistry behind it all, and that's one of the biggest struggles I've faced.
alexxhere
July 16th, 2016 10:50pm
It can depend on the age. A child with ADHD is normally fidgety, can't stop moving, tendencies to daydream, goes into things without going through them, has problems following even the easiest of instructions etc. whereas adults normally have things like speeding, difficulty organising, bad concentrations, starting things without listening to instructions, making sudden impulsive decisions. It can all be treated thought normally with either medications (usually stimulants) or behavioural interventions.
amandathepanda13
July 20th, 2016 12:29pm
People with ADHD have a problem with concentration and attention. They are also impulsive and hyperactive. When you're having a conversation with someone instead of focusing on their words you start to look at how fast or slow their lips or moving, their hand gestures, everything that is not what you should focus on. Or you just get lost in your mind, maybe what the person said brought up a memory that you start to think about instead. This can make the other person very upset as they think you're not listening. It's hard to focus on things that you find boring, but when you find something interesting it's hard to stop doing it and you hyper focus on it instead. It's hard to sit still, you always want to move. You forget small things, example where you put your phone, because you never really focused on the phone, you focused on the interesting thoughts in your mind.
TiredWithJoy
July 8th, 2016 10:12pm
Struggling with ADHD, thingss that healthy people find easy are really hard. Submitting and expense, sitting through a movie, remembering things can all be daily challenges.
TheLovingListener5
July 28th, 2016 10:14pm
Trouble getting organized. Poor listening skills. Get distracted easily. Always hyper. Trouble relaxing. Trouble making friends. Over reacts to situations. Not very reliable.
VinylFly
July 29th, 2016 5:35am
Not being able to focus on any single topic for very long, having their mind wander during conversations, lectures, movies, etc, being very forgetful, getting frustrated easily, having a "short fuse", difficulty sitting still, just to name a few.
delicateEars36
August 8th, 2016 7:01pm
One of the biggest problems that I would say is starting many projects but not finishing them. Although ADHD people are great at multi-tasking, it is better to start projects that have quicker results.
amazingGrotto88
September 9th, 2016 10:25am
My little one as ADHD he is 7yrs and find's hard keeping friends that he as had since nursery due to there wanting to play football , rugby etc and he loves still playing dinosaurs or games that they did year before it is so sad as he was so popular , he also struggles with random shouting out and whistling , as well as nail biting we do many activities together and he goes to classes out of school which I thought would be great for him to build other freindships .. I accept his ADHD and that he is unique but somepeople are narrow minded because they can not see it they think it doesn't exist ... I applaud you all for the struggles you go threw as my son and me do too.
lovelyLake48
September 22nd, 2016 4:17pm
Sometimes we have a problem with keeping our attention on something that needs to be done. I sometimes feel that I jump from one activity to another without finishing anything. Also, silences sometimes are hard to deal with like you have to talk or make a sound or do something. In order to stay put, I have to focus on making myself stay put.
luminousMermaid37
June 23rd, 2016 8:27pm
Well it effects people many different ways, for example struggling to get out of bed and needed a distraction, also it's very common for people with ADHD to have very mixed emotions as its very hard for some people to deal with.
compassionateBeauty81
August 18th, 2018 4:01pm
A person with ADHD faces several problems on a daily basic. A person with attention deficit/ hyperactive disorder have a very hard time staying on track on and can become very difficult to handle. To have ADHD it’s hard to do simple more than one thing at a time. This is disability and should be taken seriously. Especially if they are young and in school. Having this disability results in failure to behave or decreased grades even if the person tries there best it’s still very hard on them. This is treatable with prescription medication. But just a heads up some medication can make a decreased or nonexistent appetite when in the system so please make sure you are eating!!! It is so important for a healthy bodyy! I hope you find the help you need:)
NoNameTwo
January 27th, 2017 3:54pm
People diagnosed with ADHD can face struggles focusing on any task, ranging from work and study to even conversations in general.. They may zone out mid talk/task and drift into their own world. They also can have a lot of energy and you will notice they re often unable to sit still, and constantly fidget, tapping their fingers or feet, playing with their hair and so on. They also may experience hyper activity in their emotions, when they are happy they are really really happy and excited and vise verse.
xXxEmpathyDollxXx
February 11th, 2017 2:58am
ADHD is different in every individual so it's hard to name specifics bu there are generally two types. There is predominately Hyperactive/Impulsive which would mean constantly needing to be on the go, having problems slowing down, getting too excited, getting easily distracted, not being able to focus, or participate in things quietly, as well as excessive talking. There is also Predominantly Inattentive which would be problems with attention to detail, difficulty sustaining tasks, often seems "gapped out", very forgetful and loses things often. Generally people will have some symptoms of both but have a lot more of one trait. If you had equal traits for both, you would be combined.
Anonymous
August 15th, 2018 6:35pm
People with ADHD struggle with a lot more than just not being able to focus or sit still. We also often time have a good amount of emotional issues (personally i've been told that i am too sensitive). This is due to a disorder called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or RSD, and most people with ADHD also have RSD. It can be set off if a person feels they have been rejected, even if that might not be the case. a good example i like to give is if someones voice changes slightly during a conversation. most people without ADHD wouldn't notice or react, but someone with ADHD and RSD might feel that because of the slight tone change, the persons feelings have shifted and the person is mad or annoyed
Anonymous
July 20th, 2017 6:29pm
Different. The brain is often racing, and people with ADHD experience the world in a way that others don't easily understand or related to. Overwhelmed, secretly or overtly. Keeping daily life under control takes much more work than others realize.
katieee1234
June 19th, 2019 5:23pm
It it honestly depends on the person. Both my brother and I have ADHD but in some ways are very different. I struggle with concentration, you could be talking to me about something and i would listen for a few seconds but literally forget to listen any more. I can't sit still, i forget things very easy, I can be very unorganized, I also have hyperactivity and hyper focus. On the contrary, my brother has constant mood swings, he talks a lot, literally always has to be doing something with his hands, and cannot ever sit down. We also both suffer with night terrors, his more often and severe than mine. So again, it really just depends on the situation. Hope this helps :)