The 3 Types of ADHD (And Why You’re Not ‘Bad at Life’)
This post is about awareness and self-discovery. If you’ve ever wondered what ADHD looks like in adults, keep reading.
ADHD can look like distraction or procrastination, but it’s really your brain reshuffling priorities on its own terms. One moment, you’re paying a bill & the next, researching chicken coop ventilation feels more urgent — despite having zero chickens.
And it’s not just about bouncing off the walls, either. ADHD is mental hyperactivity, too: thoughts racing, ideas colliding, and impulses acting before you even catch up.
This isn’t reassurance — it’s a reality check. If you don’t understand ADHD & this sounds like you, you may be stumbling through life blindfolded in a room full of Legos.
Let’s fix that.
Why Understanding ADHD Matters
ADHD isn’t just a little inconvenient. It’s having a brain that refuses to follow basic instructions.
Maybe you’ve noticed some things about yourself — or maybe other people have pointed them out to you:
- You’re always running late, even though you genuinely tried to be on time.
- You’re weirdly sensitive to sounds, smells, or textures. (That shirt feels illegal on your skin.)
- You hyperfocus for hours but somehow can’t remember to drink water.
- You made a to-do list and immediately lost it.
And yet, you’ve managed. You’ve built systems, powered through, brute-forced your way into functioning.
But here’s the truth:
What works won’t always work. Life changes.
Your job changes.
Your responsibilities pile up.
And one day, your duct-taped survival strategies stop holding everything together.
That’s when understanding ADHD isn’t just helpful. It’s straight up essential.
Millions of Adults Have ADHD & Don’t Know It
… Because society has spent decades pretending ADHD is just a little boy bouncing off walls in a classroom.
- Based on self-reporting surveys, 6% of U.S. adults (nearly 16 million people) have been diagnosed with ADHD.
- 2.6% of adults worldwide have ADHD — but when you include adults with current ADHD symptoms, that number jumps to 6.8%.
- Only 20% of U.S. adults with ADHD actually know they have it. Less than 25% of those diagnosed receive treatment.
Translation: Millions of people are out there wondering why they suck at “adulting” when the answer was in their brain wiring the whole damn time.
You don’t need a diagnosis to create systems that work for you. Meds can help, but so can learning to work with your brain — because unchecked ADHD can get chaotic.
ADHD Is Genetic — Not a Trend, Not Your Fault
Let’s get one thing straight: ADHD is not caused by screen time, sugar, or bad parenting.
While excessive screen time doesn’t cause ADHD, it can make symptoms worse, especially for kids. But blaming screens for causing ADHD is like blaming spoons for obesity.
ADHD is genetic. If someone in your family has it, there’s a damn good chance you do too.
- Heritability estimates range from 60-90%.
- If just one of your parents has ADHD, you’re more likely to have it.
- If you’ve got kids, start paying attention — they might have it too.
And before someone tells you ADHD is just a modern problem? Tell that fucker the first documented case was in 1798.
That’s right — we’ve been running late and hyperfocusing on niche topics for centuries.
ADHD or Just an Overworked Nervous System?
ADHD doesn’t just show up one day because life got stressful.
Yes, stress and trauma can make ADHD symptoms worse. But if you have ADHD, you were born with it.
That said, not everyone who struggles with focus has ADHD. Other conditions can mimic ADHD symptoms under specific circumstances:
- Trauma: If your nervous system is stuck in fight-or-flight mode, focus and memory go out the window.
- Anxiety & Depression: If your symptoms are situational, ADHD might not be the cause.
- Insomnia: Trouble with sleep can for sure make you lose focus.
The key difference? ADHD isn’t situational — it’s lifelong & can affect almost every part your life.
But it doesn’t define you… unless you let it.
Now, let’s break down the three types of ADHD so you can understand them better.
The 3 Types of ADHD
If you’re still calling it “ADD,” it’s time to retire that term.
The DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition), it’s like the bible for mental health pros, classifies ADHD into three types or “presentations”:
1. Inattentive ADHD
What it can look like:
- You miss details, no matter how hard you try.
- Messy spaces overwhelm you & thinking about all the steps to tidying up keeps you from even starting.
- You hyperfocus on what interests you and abandon everything else.
Reddit Users’ Experiences:
🗣 “My attention has its own mind, like a dog off its leash.”
Most common in adults, especially women.
2. Hyperactive-Impulsive ADHD
What it can look like:
- You can’t sit still for long stretches of time.
- You interrupt people mid-sentence because you’re tired of waiting for them to finish their sentence and/or are afraid your thought might disappear.
- You make impulsive decisions and regret them minutes later.
Reddit Users’ Experiences:
🗣 “If I can’t get up and walk around every 20 minutes, all motivation goes out the door.”
Less common in adults, but still significant.
3. Combined ADHD
What it can look like:
- You start 15 projects at once — but finishing them? lol.
- You talk too much but also forget what people just said.
- You bounce between laser focus and complete burnout.
Reddit Users’ Experiences:
🗣 “I take a lot of pictures. Where I parked my car, what size crochet hook I’m using, where I put just about anything I don’t want to lose.”
62% of adults with ADHD have the combined type.
Final Thoughts
ADHD isn’t a cute personality trait, and it’s not a flaw.
It’s a different way of thinking — and if you don’t figure out how to work with your brain, you’ll spend your life trying to brute-force your way through systems that weren’t ever built for you.
So, no more fighting against yourself. No more feeling like you’re falling behind.
You got this.
Want More ADHD Insights?
Next week, I’m breaking down executive function strategies I’m testing, what actually helps, & how you can apply them to make your life easier.
Because let’s be real, life with ADHD is messy, nonlinear, and often hilarious. Let’s embrace it together!
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