Everyone's talking about it, but how many of these 20 signs of ADHD do you know about?

Scroll down your social media feeds and you’ll likely see much more discussion of ADHD and neurodivergence than usual, especially amongst adults.

Gone are the days when it was almost solely, and stereotypically, associated with ‘boisterous’ boys, as more of us are finding the pressures of everyday life, parenthood or perimenopause are exposing differences in the way we process stimuli and express ourselves compared to the neurotypical majority.

Dr Simon Le Clerc, Medical Director of HealthCare in Mind, a dedicated service offering private autism, ADHD and mental health assessments, treatments and therapies, says, ‘Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often misunderstood and for many years has been stereotyped as a condition mainly affecting men and boys who show signs of hyperactivity, like fidgeting or restlessness.

A broader awareness of the full spectrum of behaviours associated with ADHD and a greater recognition by healthcare professionals of the common prevalence of the condition in women has recently led to an increase in adults discovering they have the condition.’

In fact, the NHS recently estimated that as much of 5% of the UK population may have ADHD. Accredited ADHD coaches Katie Friedman and Alex Campbell, co-founders of Gold Mind Academy and authors of new book ADHD … Now What? How ADHD Coaching Can Help You Take Back Your Power were diagnosed at different stages of life: Alex was diagnosed at age four in 1990, one of the first children in the UK to receive an ADHD diagnosis; while Katie wasn’t diagnosed until her 40s, after years of trying to hold everything together and eventually burning out of a leadership role in education. ‘Two very different timelines, shaped not by how ADHD actually shows up, but by who the world was looking for,’ they explain.

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Katie and Alex describe ADHD this way: ‘It’s a form of neurodivergence, but at its core, it’s about stimulation. People with ADHD have brains that are wired for interest, not importance. That means we don’t take action just because something matters. We take action when our brain finds something stimulating, novel, urgent, or emotionally engaging. Interest is a fuel that can be positive or negative.

‘Here’s an example. A utility bill comes through the door. It’s important – if it doesn’t get paid, there’ll be consequences. But for Alex (who has ADHD), it’s not interesting. So it sits on the side, unopened. More letters arrive. Still nothing. Then one shows up with big red writing, warning that something expensive might be repossessed. Suddenly, Alex’s brain kicks into gear and the bill gets paid. Why? Because now urgency and anxiety have entered the picture, and Alex’s brain uses that negative interest to take action.

‘But Alex’s partner, who doesn’t have ADHD, paid hers the moment it arrived. Why? Because her brain responds to the importance of the bill – and that’s enough. Most of the world is set up for brains like hers.

‘This difference between interest-based and importance-based wiring is a key part of how ADHD shows up in daily life. It can affect attention, memory, organisation, emotions, and how we experience time. Because it’s internal and invisible, many people with ADHD reach adulthood without ever realising why life has always felt just a bit harder.’

Serena Palmer is the founder of Serena Consulting, where she helps individuals and organisations understand and educate on neurodiversity, and the author of My Two Brains and Me, offering a relatable exploration of living with ADHD, detailing her personal experiences with self-medication, burnout, and the path to recovery. She says, ‘For adults, a big misconception is that ADHD requires some form of hyperactivity. This is not the case. There are three kinds of ADHD presentation: Predominantly Inattentive Presentation; Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation; and Combined Presentation.’

Serena explains that ADHD often runs in families and has a strong genetic connection, and that people with ADHD have a different brain structure and fewer neurotransmitters, like dopamine and norepinephrine, the chemicals that are important for motivation, pleasure, and reward.

In her experience, the most common symptoms that lead adults to seek a diagnosis are:

• Focus & Organisation Issues: Difficulty concentrating, poor time management, and disorganisation.
• Work Impact: Struggles or inconsistent work performance.
• Relationship Difficulties: Challenges with communication, intimacy, and managing conflict
• Other Challenges: Impulsive or addictive behaviours, and low self-esteem.

But there are many more, surprising signs of ADHD, especially in women. Katie and Alex say: ‘For decades, ADHD research and diagnostic criteria have been based largely on how it presents in boys and men. As a result, females have been overlooked. Boys with ADHD are often identified early, especially if they’re outwardly hyperactive or disruptive in class. But girls are more likely to internalise their struggles – they may be quiet daydreamers, people-pleasers, or perfectionists. They often mask their difficulties until they burn out.

‘Girls are often socialised to be ‘good,’ ‘neat,’ ‘kind,’ and emotionally self-contained, which means their ADHD can show up in ways that are misread or minimised. Many develop anxiety or low self-worth from constantly pushing themselves to meet expectations that feel harder than they should. The gendered expectations placed on women around caregiving, emotional labour, and organisation only increase this pressure in adulthood. It’s no wonder so many women only begin to explore ADHD when they’re exhausted, overwhelmed, or parenting a neurodivergent child.

‘The truth is: ADHD doesn’t look one way. It doesn’t belong to one gender. And it’s time the world stopped expecting it to.’

Dr Le Clerc agrees: ‘It's important to be aware that ADHD doesn't present itself uniformly across all individuals. Approximately three in 10 people with the condition experience challenges with concentration and focus without the accompanying hyperactivity or impulsiveness. This is commonly known as attention deficit disorder (ADD) which often goes unnoticed due to its less obvious symptoms.

‘Furthermore, there remains an imbalance in diagnosis as ADHD is more frequently diagnosed in men than women. Women are more likely to exhibit symptoms of inattentiveness without the elements of disruptive behaviour, leading to underdiagnosis or misdiagnosis. This difference emphasises the need for heightened awareness and tailored approaches.

‘Recognising the subtle signs of ADHD is essential, particularly as the condition rarely exists in isolation. Many adults with ADHD also experience co-existing conditions such as anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, or dyspraxia. In some cases, it overlaps with other mental health conditions, including mood disorders such as bipolar disorder, or anxiety-related conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Without recognition and proper management, these challenges can affect everything from performance at work to relationships with friends and family. Everyday behaviours you might perceive as forgetfulness, restlessness, or difficulty focusing could be signs of neurodivergence, and understanding those can be the first step toward gaining control and enhancing well-being.’

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Do you think you might have ADHD or ADD?

Read on and see if you recognise any of these traits:

1. Constant internal (or external) restlessness

‘Many adults with ADHD don’t ‘look’ hyperactive,’ say Katie and Alex. ‘Instead, there’s often an intense mental churn – racing thoughts, inner urgency, and a sense of never being able to fully rest. You might always feel like you’re behind, even if others see you as accomplished.’

Conversely, says Dr Le Clerc, ‘A constant need for movement, such as tapping feet, drumming fingers, or shifting around in a chair, can be subtle signs of hyperactivity. However, this restlessness isn't always intentional. People with ADHD may have an internal feeling of agitation or an inability to relax, which can be particularly noticeable in environments requiring prolonged stillness such as long meetings, flights, or social gatherings.

An individual with ADHD may, for example, struggle to sit through a lengthy presentation at work without fidgeting, feel physically uncomfortable for prolonged periods at the cinema or a concert, or find themselves pacing the room while on phone calls. While these behaviours might seem like simple habits, they can often be a way of self-regulating energy and maintaining focus.’

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2. Feeling frozen

Not all ADHD looks like bouncing off the walls. ‘For some, it’s the opposite, a kind of paralysis that makes it incredibly hard to get started, even on the simplest tasks,’ says Katie. ‘One of Alex’s former clients held deep shame about not being able to vacuum the house. It wasn’t that she didn’t care, it was important to her, but it just wasn’t interesting to her ADHD brain.

‘Then she discovered what made the difference: a friend who’d come over for coffee once a week. That visit created the spark of interest she needed, and she would literally vacuum around her friend while they chatted. Once the brain has something to connect with – emotional energy, urgency, a sense of connection – it can act. Until then, many ADHDers feel stuck, and wrongly assume it’s laziness or failure. It’s not. It’s wiring.’

Dr Le Clerc adds, ‘Some simple tasks can overwhelm individuals with ADHD, making it more challenging and leading to feelings of shame and negative self-view. This can be contrasted with periods of hyper focus and high concentration for specific interests and tasks.’

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3. Overcommitting

‘ADHD can come with an enthusiasm that makes you say yes to everything,’ say Katie and Alex, ‘but keeping up can lead to exhaustion, shame spirals, and self-blame. This boom-and-bust cycle is often mislabelled as poor boundaries rather than being linked to executive functioning and regulation challenges.’

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4. People-pleasing

It’s not just an ‘eldest daughter’ thing. Katie and Alex explain: ‘Many ADHDers feel emotions deeply, especially around perceived criticism or disapproval. This can lead to chronic over-apologising, people-pleasing, or shape-shifting in social situations to avoid conflict – a form of ‘masking’ that’s emotionally draining.’

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5. Creative problem-solving

Some people only notice their ADHD when they realise how differently their brain works. ‘You might always find workarounds or have ten ideas at once, which can be both your genius and your overwhelm,’ say Katie and Alex. ‘Others may have called you chaotic, but underneath it is powerful lateral thinking.’

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6. Feeling ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’ – or both

Katie and Alex say, ‘This emotional tug-of-war is common in late-diagnosed ADHDers, especially if your intersecting identities (e.g. gender, race, class, or mental health) have shaped how you’ve been seen and supported. ADHD isn’t a fixed idea – how it shows up is deeply affected by your environment and lived experience.’

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7. Procrastination

‘You have a looming and important work deadline, and yet you will suddenly complete everything else on your to-do list or clean the house from top to bottom,’ says Serena. ‘You will be extraordinarily productive, energised, and dedicated for hours with no breaks – but that one important task remains to be completed! This is very common and associated with ‘Demand Avoidance’.’

Dr Tom MacLaren, consultant psychiatrist at Re:Cognition Health says, ‘This is not laziness or lack of intelligence, it’s often a neurological difficulty in initiating tasks. Adults with ADHD may describe a mental ‘brick wall’ when trying to start something, even when the task is important or personally meaningful. The brain struggles to prioritise, initiate and transition between tasks, especially those requiring sustained attention or delayed rewards. This is known as executive dysfunction and can cause shame or confusion, particularly in high-achieving individuals.’

Dr Le Clerq adds, ‘The frequent inability to commence simple, low intensity day-to-day activities like cooking a meal, booking an appointment or doing the washing up due to feelings of overwhelm and avoidance of the task makes simple things more challenging. Left unmanaged or undiagnosed these feelings and procrastination around responsibilities can lead to feelings of shame and negative self-views for the individual, as well as the challenges of missed deadlines or incomplete tasks whether at work or completing personal life admin.

Equally, individuals with ADHD may also experience periods of hyperfocus, spending a significant length of time concentrated on a single task and neglecting other responsibilities.’

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8. Ignoring basic physical needs

Serena says, ‘You may go days without a shower, forgetting to eat or drink during the day. Maybe you seem to wait until you are DESPERATE for the loo before going. Many clients are so used to this, they often don’t recognise that this is a symptom. Being disconnected from our physical bodies and essentially living in our brain is common, having a general view that our bodies are an ‘inconvenience’ and stop us when we are in flow, by needing to pee for example.’

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9. Having a hobbies graveyard

‘People with ADHD often have a lifetime of being extraordinarily interested in learning a new skill, buying all the gear, teaching themselves, or starting lessons, then finding their interest has gone, and moving on to a new and exciting fascination,’ says Serena. ‘It is common for adults to realise they have started to learn multiple instruments, new sports, crafts, and skills, creative activities etc., and many people have a house full of equipment they no longer use!

Instinctively, they also feel bad about this as if they have failed. When in fact a great gift of ADHD is a fascination to learn through experience and under your own steam, most ADHDers are lifelong learners and explore an eclectic range of skills and knowledge in a lifetime.’

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10. Chronic forgetfulness

Dr. Daniel Glazer is a Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in trauma and has worked for many years in the NHS and private practice. Daniel is also the co-founder of several health technology platforms, including UK Therapy Rooms. He says, ‘In adults, ADHD often interferes with the parts of daily life that depend on mental organisation. Planning, prioritising, remembering what needs to be done – these are the areas that tend to break down. Tasks get delayed. Deadlines are missed. Objects go missing. Over time, this creates a low-level chaos that’s hard to explain to others and even harder to step out of.’

Dr Le Clerc adds, ‘Regularly misplacing everyday items like phones, keys, or wallets may be more than simple absentmindedness. Individuals with ADHD struggle with a short attention span. This has an impact on the brain’s working memory, affecting the ability to hold and manipulate information in the short-term, which can lead to frequently forgotten appointments, deadlines, or tasks, causing daily life to feel overwhelming at times.’

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11. Time blindness

Serena explains: ‘You start something that you are interested in, and suddenly an entire day has passed – how? Or you find that you seem to be inexplicably late for everything, despite your planning. Sometimes your fear of being late means you have adapted, and you now seem to be ridiculously early for meetings, which causes frustration that you are now waiting and wasting time… Time perception/estimation is the ability to accurately judge how much time has passed or how long a task will take. Individuals with ADHD often underestimate or overestimate time significantly.’

Dr Glazer says, ‘Time can feel unpredictable if you have ADHD. People describe hours disappearing into a single task, or entire days derailed by something minor. There’s a pattern of jumping between urgency and avoidance. Things either demand immediate attention or get pushed aside indefinitely. The result is often a constant effort to catch up.’

Dr MacLaren adds, ‘For those with ADHD, the future may feel abstract, making planning and goal-setting difficult. This isn’t a matter of irresponsibility, it’s often a neurological difficulty in accurately perceiving and managing time.’

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12. Being great in a crisis

Serena says that people with ADHD often respond like a pro in any sort of crisis. ‘Imagine a sudden, unexpected emergency, like a burst water pipe flooding the kitchen. While others might freeze or panic, an adult with ADHD often springs into action, quickly assessing the situation, problem-solving, and directing efforts to mitigate the damage. This ability stems from their capacity for hyperfocus under pressure, a natural inclination towards novel, high-stimulus situations, and a knack for unconventional thinking that allows them to find immediate, practical solutions.’

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13. An addictive personality

‘Over 60% of adults with late-diagnosed ADHD will already have one or more addictions,’ says Serena. ‘This can range from serious drug and alcohol dependence, gambling, shopping, and sex addiction, through to seemingly milder compulsions like sugary food and drink overconsumption or Dermatillomania (skin picking disorder). ADHDers are often born with a predisposition to lower dopamine levels in their brains. Over time, they unwittingly develop self-medicating behaviours that provide a temporary ‘dopamine hit’ or a sense of calm, which unfortunately can then evolve into entrenched addictive patterns.’

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14. Misjudging conversations

‘Impulsivity, a common trait in ADHD, can often make social interactions challenging,’ says Dr Le Clerc. ‘With no malice intended, individuals will often interrupt, talk over people, or have difficulty staying engaged in conversations. While some people may consider it rude, someone with ADHD will not always recognise the social cues and may instead try to get their point across without considering that they need to take their turn in the conversation. On the reverse, sometimes a lack of impulsiveness and engagement by zoning out during discussions can indicate underlying neurodivergence.’

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15. Strong emotional responses

This may be one of the signs you’re most aware of in your day-to-day life. Dr Angela Kingdon is a bestselling author and host of the award-winning Autistic Culture Podcast. She says, ‘Some adults with ADHD describe a strong emotional response to things like criticism or perceived rejection. This can feel overwhelming and hard to explain, especially if it’s been misread as being overly sensitive or reactive.’

Dr Glazer agrees. ‘Emotional responses tend to be rapid and difficult to modulate,’ he says. ‘Frustration builds quickly. Patience runs thin. The nervous system stays active even in quieter moments. Many adults talk about a sense of internal restlessness – hard to name, harder to turn off.’

Dr MacLaren adds: ‘People with ADHD may feel emotions more intensely and react more strongly than others. This can lead to disproportionate responses to everyday frustrations and a sense of being emotionally overwhelmed. While this may be mistaken for a mood disorder, the emotional reactivity in ADHD tends to be more situational, brief, and reactive rather than persistent or cyclical, as seen in anxiety or depression. Individuals often return to an emotional baseline relatively quickly – though the intensity of the moment can feel extreme.’

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16. Long-term gut problems

Dr Kingdon points to a link between gut health and neurodivergence. ‘There’s growing awareness of the link between ADHD and nervous system regulation, which might help explain why some people experience gut issues alongside more recognisable symptoms. It’s not something everyone connects to attention at first, but for some it’s part of the bigger picture.’

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17. Poor sleep

Dr Giuseppe Aragona at Prescription Doctor has over 30 years in diverse medical fields including general practice and lifestyle medicine. He says, ‘There are so many things people think are normal that are actually signs of ADHD! One is chronic restlessness. It doesn’t always mean someone is physically on the move. It can be a constant sense of being unsettled, even when sitting still. People might describe feeling unable to relax or always needing to be doing something, even if their body isn’t showing it.

Then there's difficulty sleeping. Many adults with ADHD struggle to fall asleep at night because their thoughts are still racing. They might feel alert at exactly the wrong time and then exhausted the next day. This cycle can become frustrating and can easily be mistaken for general stress or poor sleep hygiene.

‘These kinds of signs can easily blend into daily life so it’s common for people to overlook them or assume they’re just part of their personality. But if they’re ongoing and affecting your ability to focus or function, it’s worth looking into.’

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18. Fluctuating energy levels

‘Mornings often begin with low energy and reduced clarity,’ says Dr Glazer. ‘Across the day, energy levels fluctuate – periods of high engagement are followed by difficulty sustaining focus. This variability can interfere with occupational functioning, strain interpersonal dynamics, and gradually erode self-confidence, even when the effects aren't immediately visible to others.’

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19. Being a perfectionist

Dr MacLaren says, ‘Many adults, particularly women, may present as quiet, highly self-critical and overly perfectionistic. These individuals often develop strong coping mechanisms to mask symptoms, such as over-preparing, avoiding risk or controlling their environment rigidly. While they may appear organised and successful externally, this is often driven by internal chaos, anxiety and exhaustion.’

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20. Sensitivity to criticism

‘Many adults with ADHD experience an intense emotional response to perceived criticism or failure,’ says Dr MacLaren. ‘This is known as rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) – a common but under-recognised feature of ADHD. It can cause people to avoid feedback, isolate themselves or experience sudden drops in mood following relatively minor setbacks.’

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