A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with adhd and I’m having a hard time understanding how it works, being a child of the 80s/90s it was always just explained in a very simplified manner and as just kind of an auxiliary problem. Thank you in advance.
In: Biology
It doesn’t help that as an adult you have a lot more responsibilities and many times a schedule you have to adhere to. Staying on task and finishing basic chores can really be difficult. The biggest takeaway I learned with ADHD is that *edit: due to a lack of neurotransmitters* your brain is always looking for stimulus, that’s why ADHD people are prescribed stimulants *edit: because they affect neurotransmitter function*. (Edit: For a more in depth explanation of medication see the edit below my example.)
Example:
I need to empty the dishwasher. Puts away a stack of bowls and silverware. Notices the kid’s tablets aren’t plugged in. Plugs them in. Speaking of the kids, they are going to want a snack in a few. Grabs 2 plates from the dishwasher and starts prepping snack. Wait, I need to finish the dishes, the kids aren’t asking for food yet so that can wait. Starts putting away cups. I need to use the bathroom. Replaces TP with last roll from pack. Goes out to garage to grab a new pack. Notice I forgot to put away a few tools from yesterday. Puts tools away. Why did I come out here? I know there was a reason before I saw the tools. Shrug. It’ll come to me later. Go back inside. See half made kid snack. Finish making snack. “Kids! Snack is ready!” Sit down with kids. Chit chat, eat a snack. Puts dirty dishes in sink. Oh yeah, I need to finish the dishes. Finishes emptying dishwasher. Oh that’s right! I went into the garage to grab a new pack of TP. Grabs new pack and puts in bathroom. What should’ve taken 10 minutes to both empty and fill the dishwasher has taken an hour and the sink is still full of dirty dishes.
Edit: some of you have pointed out my over simplification of medication above. Here is a more in-depth look.
Generally, it’s a 2-fold problem. The reason your brain seeks the extra stimulation and is easily distractable is because of the lack of neurotransmitters in your synaptic pathways, specifically dopamine and to a lesser extent norepinephrine. Certain functions, including attention, are affected by the lack of binding neurotransmitters. Your brain may be “seeking out” stimulation in order to stimulate the release of more neurotransmitters but is also easily distracted due to the impacts of low neurotransmitter binding. This may be because you are either not producing enough dopamine and/or the neurons are reuptaking it before it is able to bind to the receptors. (This is an example of why many ADHD people can play video games for hours, they’re stimulating the extra release which in turn allows them to focus.) Stimulant medication either floods your brain with neurotransmitters or slows down the reabsorption. Either way this allows for the dopamine to remain in the synapse longer to allow for receptor binding. This helps people with ADHD in 2 ways: your brain now seeks less stimulation to release said neurotransmitters and it is now able to function more “normally” (what is “normal” anyway…) as influenced by neurotransmitter function in the brain. ADHD medication simply helps to regulate how neurotransmitters are absorbed in the brain which can mitigate certain symptoms. They do not restore missing executive functions but rather increase the effectiveness of messaging pathways affected by these neurotransmitters. You can still be distracted and unfocused even with medication. All that being said, medication is not for everyone.
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