DO I HAVE ADHD?
Why this question matters
You’ve probably always known you’re a bit different, but never quite been able to put your finger on it. Coping with these traits can be exhausting, as can constantly making an effort to fit in. However hard you try, it often feels like it’s not enough.
Diagnosis of ADHD isn’t about getting a label; it’s about understanding the past and empowering you to find alternative systems that work with your brain rather than against it.
Common signs in adults
ADHD isn’t just about distraction; it’s a pattern that affects time, focus, and regulation.
Cognitive and emotional patterns:
- Chronic distraction or constant background noise in your head
- Hyperfocus on the wrong thing while important tasks stall
- Losing track of time or living in crisis mode
- Strong emotions that come fast and fade slowly
- Difficulty switching off or resting, even when exhausted
Physical and behavioural clues:
- Sleep that feels chaotic or reversed. Tired at 10pm, wired at midnight
- Periods of high productivity followed by a crash or avoidance
- Irregular appetite, caffeine or sugar dependence
- Restlessness that shows up as overworking, overthinking, or overhelping
How ADHD shows up
differently in men and women
ADHD doesn’t wear one face.
In men, it often appears as visible restlessness, impulsive decisions, irritability, and inconsistency.
In women, it often hides behind anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and emotional overload.
Hormone changes can also reveal the truth. Pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause all shift dopamine and executive function. Many women discover ADHD only when those shifts hit and old coping systems fail.
When life brings
symptoms to the surface
ADHD often becomes visible when external structure disappears or demands change. You might notice it after:
- Starting a new job or promotion
- Becoming a parent or carer
- Burnout or health collapse
- Menopause or chronic sleep loss
- Ending a relationship or a major routine
- Bereavement
The ADHD didn’t appear suddenly; it’s just that the scaffolding that held it in place fell away.
Recognition vs. Diagnosis: What makes it ADHD?
Many people recognise traits in themselves when reading about ADHD. But clinical diagnosis requires two critical factors:
Functional impairment:
- Symptoms must significantly interfere with your daily life, not just be present
- This means measurable impact on work performance, relationships, home management, or personal well-being
- Occasional forgetfulness isn’t ADHD; consistently missing deadlines, losing jobs, or damaging relationships because of these struggles is the level of impairment that warrants assessment
- The impairment must be present across multiple areas of life, not just one stressful situation or job
Childhood onset:
- ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition. Symptoms must have been present (even if unrecognised) in childhood, typically before age 12
- You may not have been diagnosed as a child. Many people, especially women, developed elaborate coping mechanisms that masked their struggles.
- Looking back, the patterns were there: school reports mentioning “not working to potential,” friendship difficulties, messy bedrooms, or forgetting homework.
- If symptoms only appeared in adulthood, it may be another condition like anxiety, depression, or burnout that deserves attention, but it’s not ADHD.
Preparing for assessment
NHS waiting lists can be several years long. Our screening tool provides a starting point to help you decide your next steps.
Download the screening tool
Our downloadable form uses the same pre-diagnosis criteria established by the World Health Organisation.
Answer it honestly, and it will show how many underlying ADHD patterns you have, and enable a more informed appointment with your GP.
This form should not be viewed in place of a formal diagnosis; it’s for information purposes.
Discussion with your GP
Complete ADHD assessments require a GP referral on the NHS, or you can go private. Your GP will decide whether to refer you for a full clinical assessment based on the evidence you present.
Presenting a completed ASRS-v1.1 screening form and clear examples makes the conversation more direct. Mention any significant life events that amplified symptoms.
What happens in a full assessment
A comprehensive clinical assessment involves a structured interview that explores your current symptoms, childhood history, and how ADHD traits impact your daily functioning.
Clinicians use validated tools and may gather evidence from school reports or family input to inform their assessments. The process can take several hours across one or more sessions.
Action you can take now
At the dojo, we focus on the three fundamental areas that ADHD symptoms are most amplified by: poor sleep, not regulating RSD, or drinking too much. The current advice within the healthcare system is not fit for ADHD purposes; so we created our own systems built on neuroscience, lived experience, and testing.
Typical outcomes for our courses:
- Sleep: fall asleep quicker, fewer disruptions, wake up refreshed
- Alcohol: gain control of the frequency and the quantity you drink
- RSD: more balanced emotions and the ability to engage your logical brain quickly
What they also help resolve:
- Brain fog that makes simple tasks feel impossible
- Time blindness and living in constant deadline panic
- Emotional overwhelm and reactivity that damages relationships
- Task paralysis and procrastination that pile up into a crisis
- Crash cycles that wipe out days or weeks
- Impulsive decisions you regret later
- People-pleasing patterns that drain you empty
These tools enable you to accelerate your transformation to a more stable life, characterised by increased energy, control, focus, and self-trust.