You Might Want to Get Assessed For ADHD If …

Dr. Amanda Craig, Ph.D, LMFT

Dr. Andre Burey, MD

There are some common thoughts and behaviors people who are diagnosed with ADHD report. Doing the behaviors listed below does not mean you have ADHD but that you might want to get a formal assessment to determine if a diagnosis of ADHD fits for you. To know will help you identify ways to cope better, improve the way you feel about yourself and how you impact close relationships.

You may have ADHD if:

• You never know where your keys are
  
  

• You have 15 tabs open and three carts full of purchases
  
  

• You just had a conversation with someone but have no idea what it was about
  
  

• You try really hard to be on time, start getting ready early, and you’re still late
  
  

• You just did a ton of things but have nothing to show for it 
  
  

• You’ve put together a process to stay organized but somehow never use it/forget you have it
  
  

• You’ve been meaning to start that project and haven’t
  
  

• You’ve been meaning to clean up that project but you haven’t
  
  

• You honestly did not know you had that scheduled

Why this happens... 

In the brain of someone with ADHD, you’re dealing with a frontal lobe that is under-responsive to dopamine and norepinephrine – neurotransmitters crucial for problem solving, organized decision making, maintaining the motivation to carry out a task, and for blocking out distractions from the environment. In individuals who do not have ADHD, their brains are better able to pump the brakes on making rash decisions, making easier for them to resist the many distractions around them and to think more mindfully. The ADHD brain is functioning as if the brakes have been cut and less able to slow down the urges to act on each thought that comes to mind.

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