8 Things People Don’t Realize You’re Doing Because You Have ADHD

1. You accidentally interrupt others a lot.

When you have ADHD, you have a tendency to interrupt other people. You aren’t doing it because you aren’t interested in what they’re saying or trying to be rude, however. Frequent interruptions are a product of the impulsivity associated with the disorder, and often times when you do talk over people, you don’t realize you’re doing so until after the fact and always feel embarrassed after because it was sincerely a mistake.

2. You get frustrated easily.

ADHD does not lend a lot of patience, especially with your mind being “GO! GO! GO!” all the time. When a task takes longer than you expect it to, or if you’re having trouble learning a new skill, you feel frustrated more quickly than others who do not have ADHD.

3. You have low self esteem.

People often think that ADHD is a quirky catchall term for having a little trouble concentrating or having a bit of excess energy, but when you live with it, it’s truly difficult. Many of the symptoms associated with ADHD make navigating through school, work, and relationships much, much harder. And when these areas in your life suffer as a result of your ADHD, your self esteem does too because sometimes you attribute these issues to something wrong with you as opposed to being products of your disorder.

4. You feel misunderstood.

When you have ADHD, it’s often easy to feel misunderstood because often times the disorder isn’t totally taken seriously. It’s easy for you to feel like others think you’re just flaky and forgetful, when you’re truly doing the very best job that you can.

5. You’re forgetful.

And it’s not because you don’t care. ADHD makes it incredibly hard to keep it all straight because of the issues of inattention and hyperactivity. From missed deadlines to forgotten school assignments on your kitchen counter, you often feel frustrated with yourself for being forgetful (even though it’s not your fault).

6. You have difficulties staying motivated.

If you have ADHD, things like school and work tend to be a lot harder for you since these tend to require lots of attention, organization, and sitting still. You can find it absolutely draining, and in turn your motivation tends to fall short, too.

7. You have trouble slowing down.

Since you’re more hyper and restless than the average human, slowing down and taking your time in tasks for work, school and just life in general feels like torture to you. You like to move fast, and when something demands you to slow it down to do it properly, you tend to really struggle.

8. It takes you a long time to fall asleep at night.

With your mind constantly going at 100 MPH, turning off the light doesn’t necessarily mean your brain will shut off, too. You flip around a lot, wake up frequently, and tend to have racing thoughts right when your head hits the pillow. Living with ADHD is a lot harder than the world may realize, and lost sleep definitely doesn’t help.