Do you leave things until the last minute? Have trouble getting motivated? Flake out on boring chores? You may have grown up with people telling you to “just try harder.” Parents, teachers, coaches, and other authority figures may have told you that you have a lot of potential but that you need to apply yourself. They may even have called you lazy. But is your problem just being lazy, or could you have ADD/ADHD?
LAZINESS VS. ADD/ADHD
People with ADD/ADHD have brains that work differently than those who don’t have the condition and differently from lazy people. People who are lazy typically don’t make an effort to complete tasks at work, school, or home. ADD/ADHD people, however, may try really, really hard but still can’t tackle what they want to accomplish. This can lead to frustration, low self-esteem, and feeling bad about your abilities.
Do you leave things until the last minute? Have trouble getting motivated? Flake out on boring chores? You may have grown up with people telling you to “just try harder.” But is your problem just being lazy, or could you have ADD/ADHD? Click To Tweet
COMMON SIGNS OF ADD/ADHD
To understand if your issues are due to ADD/ADHD, which affects an estimated 4.4% of American adults, check to see if you have these common symptoms associated with the condition.
- Short attention span. People with ADD/ADHD have trouble keeping their attention on boring, routine, everyday tasks (such as washing the dishes, filling out reports at work, or emptying the trash). If you have a short attention span, you may forget about a task altogether, start it but not finish it, or do a rushed and careless job of it.
- Distractibility. People with ADD/ADHD are easily distracted. This is likely connected to a tendency to notice more in their environment than others. If you’re easily distracted, sounds (like the notifications on a phone), lights, smells, and moving objects may cause you to get off task.
- Disorganization. Having ADD/ADHD is associated with problems with organization of time and space. Being disorganized means you may have a habit of being late or struggling to meet deadlines. You may have a hard time keeping your things organized, so your office desk, drawers, and home may be messy.
- Procrastination. People with ADD/ADHD often put things off until the last moment. You may not start a project until a deadline is near or until someone else is angry with you for not doing it.
- Poor internal supervision. It’s common for people with ADD/ADHD to have poor judgment and impulse control. They tend to say or do things without considering the consequences, and they don’t always learn from their mistakes.
- Lack of motivation. People with ADD/ADHD may struggle with motivation, which is one of the key reasons why they are labeled as “lazy.”
You can also take this ADD/ADHD Quiz for adults to see if you might have it.
ADD/ADHD AND THE BRAIN
ADD/ADHD is a brain-based disorder. In the healthy brain, concentration causes blood flow to increase in certain regions, especially the prefrontal cortex, an area involved with focus, planning, organization, impulse control, judgment, and follow-through.
The brain SPECT imaging work at Amen Clinics reveals that when people with ADD/ADHD try to concentrate, blood flow tends to decrease in the prefrontal cortex, making it difficult to stay focused. This means that the harder ADD/ADHD people try, the worse it gets. If you have this condition, when you make a concerted effort to pay attention, finish a work project, or do your household chores, it backfires.
ADD/ADHD is also associated with issues with neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers in the brain. Some types of the condition—based on over 160,000 brain scans from patients in 155 countries, Amen Clinics has identified 7 types of ADD/ADHD—are tied to a relative deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Dopamine is a chemical heavily involved with attention span, focus, follow-through, and motivation. When its availability in the brain is low, people tend to struggle with the common symptoms of ADD/ADHD.
TREATING ADD/ADHD
The good news is that ADD/ADHD is treatable. With targeted treatment, people with this condition often get much better. Effective treatment does not make ADD/ADHD sufferers different people: It removes the barriers hindering them from being the people they already are. Effective treatment for this condition is like glasses for people who have trouble seeing. The glasses do not change people, they just make their vision more effective. With the right treatment plan, you can stop feeling like you’re lazy and start achieving what you want in life.
ADD/ADHD and other mental health issues can’t wait. During these uncertain times, your mental well-being is more important than ever and waiting until life gets back to “normal” is likely to make your relationships and symptoms worsen over time.
At Amen Clinics, we’re here for you. We offer in-clinic brain scanning and appointments, as well as mental telehealth, remote clinical evaluations, and video therapy for adults, children, and couples. Find out more by speaking to a specialist today at 888-288-9834 or visit our contact page here.
FAQs
Individuals with ADHD may forget a meeting or miss a deadline due to impulsive behavior and forgetfulness, which can make it challenging to stay on track. Contrarily, laziness often requires a person to actively choose not to participate in or complete a task, often without an understandable or productive reason.
Do I have ADHD or do I just procrastinate? ›
Although there is no direct relationship between ADHD and procrastination, some of the symptoms of ADHD can lead an individual to procrastinate. Procrastination is not a symptom specific to ADHD. That said, people with ADHD do commonly experience it due to the other symptoms of the condition.
Do I really have ADHD or am I making it up? ›
ADHD symptoms can vary from person to person and may be hard to recognize. Restlessness, memory issues, distraction, and disorganization can all be signs of ADHD. You're doing that weird tapping thing with your foot again. You just got another parking ticket you already can't afford because you forgot to pay the meter…
Do I have ADHD or am I just bored? ›
Boredom isn't a symptom of ADHD. It's a common result, though. Kids and adults with ADHD need more stimulation than most people. Not having it can lead to behavior that's confusing and challenging.
Do I have ADHD or am I just not focused? ›
Trouble with focus is a definite symptom of ADHD for those with the inattentive and combined presentation. But some people struggle much more with restlessness and not being able to sit still. Those symptoms can be a sign of hyperactive/impulsive presentation of ADHD, or could be a sign of a different concern.
Do I ADHD or am I just lazy? ›
Individuals with ADHD may forget a meeting or miss a deadline due to impulsive behavior and forgetfulness, which can make it challenging to stay on track. Contrarily, laziness often requires a person to actively choose not to participate in or complete a task, often without an understandable or productive reason.
What is commonly mistaken as ADHD? ›
Sleep apnea is a common culprit that's often misdiagnosed as ADHD — and vice versa. Fortunately, researchers are devising simple tests to definitively diagnose and get kids the treatment they need.
How do you 100% know you have ADHD? ›
The only way to know for sure is to see a doctor. That's because the disorder has several possible symptoms, and they can easily be confused with those of other conditions, such as depression or anxiety. Everyone misplaces car keys or jackets once in a while. But this kind of thing happens often when you have ADHD.
What feels like ADHD but isn t? ›
Anxiety, depression, learning disorders, physical health, and many other conditions can cause symptoms that look like ADHD but aren't.
Am I self diagnosing myself with ADHD? ›
No. Diagnosing ADHD requires extensive knowledge, skills and training and ADHD must be diagnosed by a certified professional like a medical doctor or psychiatrist.
The symptoms of ADHD — scattered attention or inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity — are also common signs of immaturity. "If a child is behaving poorly, if he's inattentive, if he can't sit still, it may simply be because he's 5 and the other kids are 6," Elder says.
How do I truly know if I have ADHD? ›
People cannot diagnose themselves with ADHD. Only a medical or mental health professional can do this by carrying out an assessment. However, not everyone has access to ADHD assessments, and diagnosis can take time. This leads many people to try to determine whether they could have ADHD for themselves.
What are ADHD silly behaviors? ›
Fidgeting, interrupting, losing homework, daydreaming — these are all common signs of ADHD. However, they can also have other causes. Whenever it looks like a child might have ADHD, it's important to rule out other issues.
What are the 5 levels of ADHD? ›
Here are the 6 different types of ADHD, each with different brain function issues and treatment protocols.
- Type 1: Classic ADD. ...
- Type 2: Inattentive ADD. ...
- Type 3: Overfocused ADD. ...
- Type 4: Temporal Lobe ADD. ...
- Type 5: Limbic ADD. ...
- Type 6: Ring of Fire ADD.
Many people may have trouble focusing when they feel bored, anxious, or tired. But people living with ADHD have trouble focusing most of the time — even if they're feeling ok in other areas of their lives. If you think your experiences are signs of ADHD, take our ADHD test.
What does high functioning ADHD look like? ›
While not an official diagnosis, high functioning ADHD may describe individuals with ADHD symptoms that do not affect their daily activities. Symptoms may include difficulties with focus, time management, impulsivity, and more. These individuals may develop strategies to manage their symptoms.
How do you tell if you have ADHD or just distracted? ›
You could be diagnosed with ADHD if, besides problems with focusing, you also have other symptoms of the disorder and your symptoms are affecting you in significant ways. You might have problems with relationships, with your work performance and/or your finances.
How do you know if its ADHD or not? ›
People with ADHD experience an ongoing pattern of the following types of symptoms: Inattention–having difficulty paying attention. Hyperactivity–having too much energy or moving and talking too much. Impulsivity–acting without thinking or having difficulty with self-control.
Am I procrastinating or just lazy? ›
Procrastination and laziness are two different concepts: procrastination involves delaying unnecessarily, whereas laziness involves being reluctant to exert necessary effort. Accordingly, procrastination is not laziness, and it's possible to procrastinate even if you aren't lazy, or to be lazy but not procrastinate.
