Understanding ADHD Part 1: How ADHD Affects Relationships

Many people assume they have a basic understanding of what ADHD is, what it looks like, and how it can impact a person’s life. But, we often look at ADHD as a children’s disorder. While it’s often diagnosed in childhood, that doesn’t mean it goes away as a person grows. 

In fact, ADHD can affect an individual’s life throughout adulthood, touching everything from that person’s career to how they see themselves. It can even impact relationships. 

Today, we’ll take a closer look at how ADHD affects relationships, and what you can do if you have the disorder to strengthen the important relationships in your life. 

Difficulty Paying Attention And Remembering

Having a hard time focusing is probably the first symptom that comes to mind when someone thinks about ADHD. While it’s easy to see how these issues might impact you at school or work, you might not always think about how they could be affecting your relationships. 

People with ADHD might have difficulties staying focused during a conversation. If you’re chatting with a friend, family member, or romantic partner, it can make that person feel like you’re not listening or that what they say doesn’t matter to you. 

Additionally, if you forget important things that were said to you, or important events or dates, it can cause hurt feelings, or even resentment and anger. Everyone wants to feel valued and understood, and when you neglect to do that because of your condition, it can put a strain on even your closest relationships. 

Impulsivity

It’s not uncommon for people with ADHD to engage in impulsive — and sometimes reckless — behaviors. Remember that these decisions often affect more than just you. 

If you do something dangerous, you could be putting extra stress on the people who care about you. If you put someone else’s life at risk with your behaviors, they’re likely to become angry, fearful, and tense when they’re around you. 

Time Management

Struggling with time management can certainly impact your work life, but when you have a relationship with someone and you’re always late or you have a hard time keeping dates, it’s going to cause problems. 

People can be lenient about being on time. But, if it happens frequently and causes disruptions, it will quickly create problems in your relationships. People will start to think that you’re unreliable or that the time you’re scheduled to do something isn’t important to you. 

Emotional Outbursts

There’s no denying that ADHD can be extremely frustrating to live with. It’s especially as an adult trying to navigate healthy relationships. 

Unfortunately, people with the disorder tend to deal with mood swings and irritability. They might also feel like they’re constantly criticized by the people in their lives. That leads to resentment, feelings of rejection, and low self-esteem. Your feelings might start to become stronger, leading to more outbursts and more feelings of self-loathing. It’s a vicious cycle that’s often very difficult to break away from on your own. 

What Can You Do?

If you deal with ADHD and you’ve noticed that it’s taken a toll on your relationships, it’s never too late to get the help you deserve. Maybe you’ve never had an official diagnosis but these problems seem all too familiar. 

Whatever the case, you don’t have to deal with relationship struggles forever. ADHD is often manageable with medication, therapy, or a combination of both. Talk to your medical doctor about getting the right diagnosis,. Additionally, don’t hesitate to reach out to a mental health professional for more long-term help on symptom management. Feel free to contact me today for more information or to set up an appointment for ADHD testing.