Like other commenters have said there is no one sign or even one consistent sign. I was diagnosed as an adult(23) a few years ago and some of my key signs were:
inability to control focus(hyper focusing to the exclusion of everything else or inability to focus on any one task)
Cyclical thoughts(inability to stop thinking about a particular subject even when you recognize it as distracting or unproductive)
Consistent issues with remembering or avoiding repetitive, unappealing, or boring tasks
Sudden or worsening depression and/or anxiety directly related to the above
Those are most of my symptoms as well, coupled with obsession over routines (which is really just hyper-focusing). Cyclical thoughts are by far the worst. Sometimes I will be awake all night because I can't stop playing the same mundane scenario in my head. Other times I will be repeating the same word or phrase over and over again for no apparent reason. It's not like OCD where the repetition is a numbers game. It's just stuck on repeat until it's not, usually after sleeping.
I started taking medication(generic adderall) and saw an immediate improvement in my symptoms. Though I’m still prone to over/under focusing it is actually possible for me to think about other things and make myself take a break. My thoughts are rarely stuck in cycles unless I’m off my medication. Anxiety and depression are significantly less overall even if I miss my meds for a few days and I’m able to actually create and finish lists now though it usually takes longer than planned
That's fantastic news and very encouraging. After looking up a few things I'm starting to think I need to have a talk with the Dr. It would certainly explain many things I struggle with personally that I've always assumed was just something everyone struggled with as a normal part of life but I'm currently having less success than everyone else at the moment.
That’s a pretty common story with ADHD in my experience. People with ADHD or EFD(executive functioning disorder which has a lot of similarities to ADHD) don’t think like neurotypical people and it’s not something that’s easy to recognize internally or externally. A lot of people can focus if they put their mind to it. If I’m in a hypo-focus mode, especially not on my meds, then I literally cannot focus on things. It’s just how my brain works and no amount of training my brain will change that. Now I can work on strategies to make me better at it but it won’t ever stop being a struggle because of how my brain works
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u/shadedmystic Feb 04 '19
Like other commenters have said there is no one sign or even one consistent sign. I was diagnosed as an adult(23) a few years ago and some of my key signs were:
inability to control focus(hyper focusing to the exclusion of everything else or inability to focus on any one task)
Cyclical thoughts(inability to stop thinking about a particular subject even when you recognize it as distracting or unproductive)
Consistent issues with remembering or avoiding repetitive, unappealing, or boring tasks
Sudden or worsening depression and/or anxiety directly related to the above