Uncommon ADHD Symptoms to Recognize

Time blindness

Do you find yourself continuously late, no matter how often you remind yourself, write sticky notes, or get texted by people? This might be time blindness, a lesser-known and not well-researched ADHD symptom.

It’s not that you’re necessarily blind to the passage of time. Rather, you might have difficulty prioritizing or measuring how much time a given task will take or forget to plan for other aspects of a task (such as driving, scraping your car, etc.) that could cause delays.

Tips to help manage time

• Program alarms and reminders (perhaps multiple, if it’s early morning and you’re not a morning person).
• Use digital calendars that sync across devices.
• Set your clock slightly ahead in your car or on your personal watch, as long as you don’t start compensating for the extra time you know you have.
• Tell yourself, “I have time for that. It’ll be fine.”

Memory lapses

Do you tend to forget little things, like partner requests, small chores, or taking out the trash?

You might have some difficulties with working memory, which relates to short-term information and not long-term memory.

People with ADHD may experience memory-related issues, either forgetting things quickly or only remembering at inopportune times.

How does ADHD affect your memory?

Get more tips on managing memory loss if you or a family member lives with ADHD.

Ways to cope with this ADHD symptom

You might try establishing long-term habits like loading the dishwasher after dinner, trying to clean 20 minutes a day, or always taking medications at night.

Using a habit tracker, including handwritten lists to cross off or a mobile app to scan and remind yourself, is a possible way to avoid breaking those habits.

Emotional reactivity and sensitivity

This particular symptom can be partially rooted in difficulties with impulse control, which is a large part of ADHD for some.

Peers with ADHD, as well as clinicians, also speculate that individuals with ADHD may be more emotionally sensitive than the general population.

Have you ever had to take a moment when someone said something because it upset you so much? That action of being able to stop, breathe, and resist the impulse to lash out or say something you might not mean can be hampered by ADHD.

How you can cope

One way to help train yourself to take those moments to pause can be using a “cool-down jar.” You can make one at home with clear glue, glitter, and a mason jar or pick one up online.

Making them can be fun because you can customize them. Cool-down jars tend to be marketed to kids, but they may be immensely soothing for adults to look at, help take a break, and slow down. This website has examples.

You can also set a timer on your phone and put yourself in a “time-out.” Yes, even adults need the space to chill out now and then.

The takeaway

While symptoms may not be as common as other ADHD symptoms, they can be just as debilitating as the ones most often discussed.

Raising awareness and educating yourself about these symptoms can be a first step in learning to address them and improve your life with ADHD.