ADHD Symptoms Can Manifest in Different Ways

Alan, a salesman from Edmonton, Canada, was diagnosed with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as an adult. ADHD is a hereditary neurochemical imbalance usually regarded as a childhood disease.

Alan received his diagnosis more than 2 years ago, when he sought counseling to salvage his 3rd marriage. Relationship and interpersonal difficulties and multiple marriages can be ADHD symptoms.

"My wife was getting frustrated with what she perceived as my lack of attention to her," Alan recalls. "I would say I would do things and she was thinking I wasn't going to do them, but in my mind I was going to do them, but in my own time, type of thing. We were on two different time planes, something that kept boiling up with her." Procrastination is another sign of ADHD.

A psychologist provided Alan with an educational article on adult ADHD. Alan recognized parts of himself in the article, but his wife's agreement with the description was what was made the diagnosis official for him. About ten million American adults and about 1 million Canadian adults have ADHD, but many sufferers are unaware of it.