ADHD Many adults unconsciously suffer from it

Many adults have ADHD and know nothing about it

28.08.2012, updated

Increasingly, the diagnosis of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (AHDS) is also being asked in adults. Many older people have been living with ADHD for years, without being aware of it, said the chief physician of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Borromäerinnen clinic in Trier, Germany. Alexander Marcus, opposite the news agency „dpa“. ADHD can strongly influence the professional and private lives of those affected. For example, many patients suffer from drug addiction or a non-constant working life.

ADHD is generally considered a mental illness of children and adolescents, which disappears on its own with age. But this is not necessarily the case. According to the experts, today more and more adults suffer from ADHD - often without suspecting their illness. Not infrequently, ADHD has a significant influence on the CV of those affected, which can be expressed for example in increased drug addiction or unstable careers. Therapeutic support, however, could help adult ADHD patients. Alexander Marcus.

Up to three percent of adults suffer from ADHD
According to the Chief Physician of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Trier Klinikum, two to three percent of adults nationwide have morbid difficulties with concentration and attention. For children, Dr. Marcus's share at five to six percent. Only in recent years has the experts become aware, „that ADHD also plays an important role in adulthood.“, explained the expert. Originally it was assumed that ADHD worsened with the end of puberty. Today, however, it is clear that the recognizable motor unrest declines, but the „inner tension, this distractibility, this restlessness, the not-permanent-with-something-disputing-ability“ remains, so the doctor on. Most sufferers can be helped with a combination of psychotherapeutic treatment, medication and counseling. Prerequisite, however, is a corresponding diagnosis.

Possible signs of ADHD
Indications of ADHD in adults, according to the 61-year senior doctor of children. and juvenile psychiatry, for example, the disordered behaviors of those affected. Teenagers who are constantly leaving their education and starting another, housewives who are constantly pursuing new jobs without completing one, or professionals who are strikingly likely to change jobs - all of these can be signs of ADHD. Those affected are constantly under pressure and think they are doing nothing, they have „a lot done, just nothing brought to an end“, so Dr. Marcus, whose clinic currently cares for over 100 ADHD patients. In addition, adults with ADHD are at an increased risk of drug addiction and legal conflicts, because „it is simply tried without being aware of possible consequences“, explained the expert. The crimes can also come in other ways, for example, when in business simply forgot to pay. Under certain circumstances ADHD is also the reason here. Actually, the victims wanted to pay normally, but they have simply forgotten this due to their lack of concentration to checkout. „Of course nobody believes that“, explained Dr. Marcus.

ADHD also causes problems in dealing with emotions
A higher intellect helps sufferers to compensate for their ADHD-related difficulties longer, but eventually occur here, the typical symptoms, reports the expert. Although the patients carry the disease since childhood, but „the smarter somebody is, the later it will stand out.“, stressed Marcus. In the study, for example, those affected finally reach their limits when studying for the exam. „Then suddenly it does not work anymore. You can not get that“, explained the head physician from Trier. Also, ADHD could cause significantly more in the patients than a reduced concentration and attention. According to the expert, those affected often have „a huge problem“ to regulate their emotions. For no apparent reason „she suddenly became sad, angry, angry or anxious“, so Dr. Marcus. According to the expert, ADHD patients also often have problems following conversations and often forget important appointments.

ADHD therapy in adults
However, most can be helped with therapeutic treatment, with adult ADHD patients still having a hard time finding a doctor to treat their condition. „There is still too little number“ by physicians for ADHD treatment in adulthood, Dr. Marcus. In 2010, the research group on psychotherapy for attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood and adulthood had conducted a study that concluded that those used to treat ADHD „In children and adolescents established treatment methods also useful in adults“ are. However, sustained drug therapy is rated critically from adolescence to adulthood. Because the long-term consequences of continuous treatment with the common drug methylphenidate (Ritalin) are so far unclear. Which side effects threatened by the decades-long intake, can hardly be estimated so far.

Questionable prescription practice for ADHD medications
Ensuring the diagnosis is particularly important in the case of ADHD, because of the subsequent medication that continues for years to come. It is not without reason that the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) in 2010 decided to change Ritalin's prescribing practice. Too often this has been based on a false diagnosis. In the view of the G-BA, general practitioners without additional training should therefore no longer decide on the prescription of methylphenidate-containing medicines. (Fp)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann, Pixelio