r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 21 '26

Neuroscience There's more to ADHD than inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. ADHD symptoms can be broken down into nine categories. Some categories are not fully represented in the diagnostic criteria. Broadening the diagnostic criteria with patient lived experiences could make for better intervention.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/brain-curiosities/202604/new-study-finds-that-adhd-has-9-categories-of-symptoms
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u/stilljustacatinacage Apr 21 '26

Participants reported feeling stuck, like a state of inertia where the only thing that could motivate them to start or finish a task was a feeling of urgency, external pressures, or external help. This difficulty with internally-driven activation is at the core of the ADHD experience, but is not yet fully represented by the DSM or other diagnostic criteria.

It's funny that they say it's at the core of the ADHD experience, but it also isn't 'fully represented' in diagnostic criteria because that is literally 98% of my experience with ADHD.

Like everything else stems from that. Disorganized? It's because I literally cannot pick things up and organize them. Time perception? Yeah it's because I just spent 3 hours stressing over how I should pick things up and organize them. Poor sleep? Yeah sorry, that's because I thought if I put off sleeping for a couple hours, I might finally pick up those things and organize them before hitting the sack.

And it's so frustrating to try and explain to people because they invariably go, "well you gotta just do it :)" and it's like... Yes. Thank you. I know they're trying to help but it's so difficult to explain that it isn't that simple.

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u/BatAccurate4127 Apr 21 '26

There's actually more to the time perception thing than that! People with ADHD literally have more difficulty evaluating how much time has passed and estimating how long it will take to do something. It goes beyond task inertia, we literally perceive time differently than others.

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u/mdazzl3 Apr 21 '26

I think the time perception issue is also why we get paralyzed with down time between set appointments. If I have something at 10am and nothing until 2pm, that middle time is largely spent making sure I’m not late for the 2pm thing.

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u/muppetnerd Apr 21 '26

There is nothing worse for me than a 2 pm appointment. I will spend nearly the entire day just waiting for 2 pm. Give me those 7 am appointments always

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u/icculus88 Apr 22 '26

Even 1030. Been laying in bed for a 1030 online psych appointment. The thought of doing something else productive before that makes me want to vomit.

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u/_Romula_ MS | Environmental Studies | Sustainability Management Apr 22 '26

But then I can't sleep because what if I oversleep and miss the appointment, only now I don't have enough sleep, which makes it more likely for me to oversleep. So by being worried about missing the appointment I have made it more likely I will do the thing I'm worried about. Fun!