I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was in high school but I never actually followed through with taking medication. I made it through school (with a whole lot of stress) and I'm feeling like I'm really struggling now between my job and trying to manage my home life. I always thought that I'd just outgrow this ADHD thing now that I'm an adult. Why can't I seem to move past my ADHD?

A common misconception is that ADHD can simply be treated in childhood and eventually go away. While that would be great, most adults don't outgrow their ADHD symptoms. ADHD affects 6 to 9 percent of children, and clinically significant symptoms persist into adulthood in 60 percent of cases. Unfortunately, untreated ADHD can have some pretty rough consequences for adults.

Untreated ADHD can lead to challenges with maintaining a household and trouble managing emotions due to impulsive decision-making. This can also cause strained relationships, making it harder to maintain friendships or romantic relationships. Untreated ADHD symptoms can also damage your career as it becomes increasingly difficult for you to meet deadlines, stay focused at work, and manage all of your responsibilities. And if you allow this pattern to persist, you're derailing your professional goals and hindering your true earning potential.

Another commonality among adults with untreated ADHD is the tendency to self-medicate and overuse substances like drugs and alcohol, which can lead to addiction. This study from 2020 indicated that 34-46% of individuals who seek treatment for a cannabis use disorder also have ADHD.

Not only does untreated ADHD negatively impact your physical health, but left untreated, ADHD can also lower your self-esteem. In a Washington Post article, a mother reports her experiences of feelings "less-than" due to her undiagnosed ADHD symptoms. Going through your daily life, constantly being told you're lazy, messy, or scattered can eat away at your confidence, as you start to believe that you're fundamentally flawed. 

If you're opposed to medication, there are other treatment options to manage your ADHD. Among those options include therapy and executive function coaching. After all, executive function challenges are the core of ADHD. Getting the support you need to manage your condition can have life-changing effects on both you and your family. ADHD does not simply go away with age. You don't need to struggle. There's a better way!

For as long as I can remember, I've been told, "you're just lazy," "you're scatterbrained," or "get your act together." These types of negative messages have had a deep impact on me after all these years. Now that there's so much awareness around ADHD, I've been wondering if it's time to find out if there are some underlying causes for my problems that have been overlooked. Where do I start? 

I've just been diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 42. Am I too old to do anything about it? I've always thought ADHD was just about hyperactive kids and problems at school. I am wary of taking medication. So, what do I do now?

I'm almost 40 years old and starting to realize I have executive function challenges. I hadn't heard of the term until recently when researching my symptoms. It's apparent that there are resources to improve executive function skills but at my age, I feel like it might be too late. I'm already set in my disorganized, scattered ways and I'm wondering if change might simply be too hard now. Can adults still improve their executive function skills?

My job recently transitioned into a hybrid situation, meaning I only go into the office 3 days a week. This is great and I love being able to work from home twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays but I'm starting to notice some productivity problems. I'm great when I'm in the office but I find myself rudderless on the work-from-home days. If I'm not getting caught up running errands or doing housework, I'm sitting in front of my screen on Twitter letting hours pass by, having no work to show for it. This hybrid work model is still new for me but I'm afraid my trouble adjusting will fester into a real problem sooner or later. Any tips?

It sounds like you're having trouble in two areas: flexibly adapting to transitions in your work environment because it changes each day and establishing structure in your routine on the work-from-home days.

It can be difficult to transition back and forth during your week: Is this the day I need to bring a lunch? Is this the day when I can wear more casual attire? Is this the day I need to get up early? The key to managing these changes is preparation. Regardless of where you're working the next day, have an established routine the night before that starts you off on the right foot, including an alarm that gets you up at the same time each morning. Maybe you check the weather and plan your outfit, or prepare your snacks and a lunch, or check your calendar to note any meetings you'll be attending. This consistency will help the WFH days not seem so different and set you up for greater productivity because your brain is not struggling to process all the differences between WFH and going into your office. 

One of the quickest strategies you can implement on your WFH days to immediately give yourself a sense of structure is using a daily task calendar. Each morning, identify the work tasks you need to accomplish and allocate reasonable time frames to complete each of them. Essentially, you are planning your entire workday by "scheduling" all of your tasks. This strategy provides you with a clear agenda and lets you hold yourself accountable as you work through tasks.

Another solution for creating structure at home is to limit your distractions by treating WFH days the same as you would the days you're in the office. Keep the social media feed off-limits, resist house chores, and save errands for the evening when your workday is complete. These are all things you wouldn't be able to do from the office, so it's best to limit these activities during your home workday, too.

It's in your best interests to remember that working from home is still work. Create a work environment at home that mimics the structure of being in the office to hold yourself accountable and maximize productivity. Remember that it takes time to adjust and you won't seamlessly transition overnight. Implement these strategies and adjust your WFH mindset to see improvement over time.

Lately, I find myself having a short fuse in situations that normally wouldn't cause me to get upset. Just the other day, I couldn't find where I left my keys and I became so frustrated that I snapped at my wife. I apologized but I felt pretty bad about it. I think these heightened emotions have something to do with my stress from work as I have a large project I'm working on. Frankly, I've been pretty overwhelmed with managing all the elements of this project. I can tell my temper is starting to affect the people around me. Is something wrong with me?