Everyday ADHD
Ever wondered whether some of your habits, frustrations, strengths or quirks might have something to do with ADHD?
​
Or found yourself wondering why a partner, family member or friend does certain things that don't quite make sense to you?
​
The examples below aren't diagnostic criteria, but they are experiences that many people recognise in themselves or others when they begin exploring ADHD.
Behaviour & Habits
You might recognise:
​
-
Parcels arriving from Amazon and barely remembering ordering them.
-
Cupboards full of gadgets, hobbies or projects started with great enthusiasm.
-
Spending an hour scrolling when you only picked up your phone for a minute.
-
Avoiding a five-minute phone call for days or weeks.
​
The same qualities can also bring:
​
-
Throwing yourself wholeheartedly into new ideas and experiences.
-
Having the courage to try things that others overthink.
Emotions & Internal Experience
Emotionally, it can feel like:
​
-
Thinking about criticism and what people say in the middle of the night.
-
Feeling overwhelmed by things that seem manageable on other days.
-
Becoming frustrated with yourself when you know what you're capable of.
-
A repetitive idea that you are lazy, careless or not trying hard enough.
​
It may also mean:​
​
-
Feeling joy, excitement and enthusiasm intensely.
-
Having strong empathy for people who are struggling.
.png)
Time & Organisation
You might often find yourself:
-
Putting food on to cook and remembering it much later.
-
Being the last one to get ready and out the door.
-
Buying loads but struggling to find planners, systems and apps that work.
-
Arriving at gym/work without what you need.
​
You might also be the person who:
​
-
Pulls everything together at the last minute when it really matters.
-
Knows exactly what to do crisis when others become overwhelmed.
Relationships
You might recognise:
​
-
A pile up of WhatsApp messages to reply to and people to contact.
-
Interrupting because you're afraid you'll lose the thought if you wait.
-
Forgetting birthdays, dates or plans despite genuinely caring.
-
Frequent falling out because of misunderstandings.
​
Beneath the misunderstandings, there is often:
​
-
Deep loyalty to the people you care about.
-
Bringing humour, spontaneity, great story telling and energy into relationships.
Self-Perception & Self-Awareness
Over the years, you may have found yourself:
​
-
Wondering why things that seem easy for other people feel so difficult.
-
Feeling lazy, disorganised or unreliable despite constantly trying harder.
-
Looking back and seeing a trail of unfinished projects and abandoned hobbies.
-
Feeling like you're capable of more than you're currently managing.
​
Looking back, you may also notice:
​
-
Being highly self-aware and endlessly curious about how your mind works.
-
Developing high levels of creativity, problem-solving and adaptability.
.png)
Thinking & Focus
Inside your head, it might look like:
-
Opening your phone to do one thing and getting lost in a doom scroll.
-
Finding it difficult to sit and watch a film without multitasking.
-
Reading the same menu three times and still not knowing what to choose.
-
Knowing what life admin needs doing but struggling to decide where to start.
​
Less obvious, but equally common:
​
-
Making connections between ideas that other people don't see.
-
​Falling deeply into subjects, projects and ideas that genuinely interest you.
.png)
Key Takeaways
-
Everyday experiences don't tell the whole story.
-
Patterns over time are often more important than individual examples.
-
A structured assessment helps work out whether ADHD may be part of the picture.
​
-
Doing a self assessment using the The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) Symptom Checklist will indicate if your symptoms warrant further investigation.