5 Benefits of Adult ADHD Treatment
Adult ADHD symptoms can be both emotional and behavioural and they can hamper an adult’s ability to manage daily life. Going for an adult ADHD test and getting the right treatment can make a tremendous difference in someone’s life. When recommending treating adult ADHD, a mental health professional or psychiatrist examines the advantages as well as the disadvantages of medication and psychological interventions. Each of these interventions can either be used separately or together to create a treatment plan to help adults with ADHD.
Here are five benefits of ADHD treatment for adults:
1. Reduces overwhelm
Most ADHD adults feel overwhelmed frequently, and this further aggravates their symptoms of ADHD. Impulsiveness and hyperactivity is a volatile combination and when faced with daily stressors that adults encounter, ADHD causes adults to be susceptible to stressful situations. Adults with ADHD can easily be overwhelmed anytime they’re faced with challenges. This reaction will, in turn, lead to other symptoms such as:
- Problems concentrating
- Being distracted
- Agitation
- Acting recklessly
- Forgetfulness
- Restlessness
Stress can trigger a domino effect on ADHD symptoms in adults. This only ends up increasing the level of stress of the individual. When these reactions are triggered, they become a vicious cycle – stress triggers symptoms of ADHD, and the symptoms, in turn, will trigger more stress. Over time, this makes it extremely challenging for such individuals to function well in the workplace or any environment where they might be stressed.
ADHD treatment works by reducing the severity of symptoms and helps someone to feel less stressed and overwhelmed. Here are some tips for beating overwhelm and getting things done more efficiently A-Get-Things-Done Guide for the Overwhelmed and Overloaded
2. Easier to pay attention
Undoubtedly, taking in information and adhering to instructions comprises a significant aspect of our lives. For adults with ADHD, this is a challenge because ADHD makes it hard for them to pay attention, especially for a prolonged time. Because of this trait, Adults with ADHD often make careless mistakes that could easily be avoided. When such mistakes occur in the workplace, an adult’s confidence and self-esteem are affected and there may be other costly consequences.
For an adult with ADHD symptoms trying to further their education, the inattentiveness associated with ADHD can make learning a challenging experience. Struggling to pay attention can increase the difficulty of studying and make it more time consuming than it needs to be.
ADHD treatment can help someone reduce inattention, improving their performance in both the workplace and in their studies.
3. Helps with organisation
The three main adult ADHD traits of inattentiveness, impulsiveness and hyperactivity often make it difficult for adults to organise their daily activities. Some forms of organizational problems include:
- Procrastination
- Inability to complete tasks
- Forgetfulness
- Excessive tardiness
- Failure to complete a plan
- Scatter-brained
- Always starting new tasks and leaving the old ones unfinished
- Finding it hard to prioritise
Treating symptoms of ADHD can help people to become more self-disciplined and better organised. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy techniques provide people with the tools and strategies to remain on track, maintain focus and be on time. These are some of the benefits provided by our ADHD Coaching Programme.
4. Reduces hyperactivity
Although hyperactivity tends to be the most prominent characteristic of ADHD in children, it tends to take a more subdued form in adults with ADHD. Instead of squirming in one’s seat or non-stop running around as ADHD children do, adults usually experience hyperactivity internally and in different ways such as restlessness, difficulty concentrating, edginess and racing thoughts.
Also, the hyperactivity component of ADHD in adults makes them always need stimulation, which within a short time turns to boredom. It’s this need for stimulation that often drives an adult to engage in risky behaviours like attempting dangerous stunts or frequent partying.
ADHD medication is particularly effective at treating hyperactivity as it targets the neurotransmitter chemical imbalances in the brain. It helps the brain cells to connect more smoothly and process information more easily.
5. Improves social interaction
Adults with ADHD have a tendency to engage in behaviours that are considered inappropriate by others in social situations. They may struggle to pay attention while a friend, co-worker, or family member is talking or talk over others in the course of a conversation or blurt out inappropriate remarks. One further challenge which makes interaction with others difficult is that ADHD adults find it hard to pick up on nonverbal cues like body language or facial expressions; this can hamper interactions with others who don’t understand what ADHD is all about.
Adults who receive ADHD treatment are likely to see an improvement in their social interaction skills and in turn their self-confidence.
Untreated adult ADHD
Adults with untreated ADHD often find themselves exposed to daily disappointments that over time, will begin to affect their self-esteem. Always failing to satisfy work expectations, letting others down, and having lots of interpersonal conflicts can cause someone to feel overwhelmed for a long time. Unfortunately, the combination of these effects with the ongoing chemical imbalances can also increase the chances of other types of psychological problems.
It’s important to note that if ADHD in adults is left untreated, it can lead to depression as well as other ADHD psychological disorders that can worsen the severity of ADHD symptoms.
Adults who are late-diagnosed with ADHD may have learnt to ‘manage’ their symptoms by masking them and keeping them suppressed. Adults often feel relief following an ADHD diagnosis, as they learn to accept themselves and feel a strong sense of self-validation knowing that there isn’t actually anything ‘wrong’ with them. While there is no cure for ADHD, there are a variety of treatment options to explore such as Medication, ADHD Coaching and Mindfulness Therapy.
At The ADHD Centre, our specialist team of consultant psychiatrists, psychologists and behavioural coaches work with our clients to create a bespoke treatment plan that best fits the needs of the individuals we work with.
To find out more about our ADHD assessment and ADHD treatment options, then please contact us at the ADHD Centre on 0800 061 4276 or via enquiries@adhdcentre.co.uk.
Further reading
To medicate or not to medicate?
The Mindfulness Prescription for ADHD
Updated October 2021
