In recent years, the terms ADD and ADHD have been confusing to people. They either have a hard time understanding the key differences between the two and do not know when to use the former or the latter. Or they use them interchangeably, which is not exactly accurate. So what is the difference between ADD and ADHD?
What Does ADD Mean?
ADD refers to Attention Deficit Disorder and, in fact, it is an outdated term that is not used medically anymore.
ADD symptoms included having a hard time paying attention and getting easily distracted along with having a poor working memory. As for adults, they have a harder time focusing on any task at hand for long periods. They also lose track of time, miss schedules often, and overall executive function and self-regulation become challenging.
What Does ADHD Mean?
ADHD refers to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is considered a developmental disorder. It must show, even if not on the surface, during childhood first for it to appear during adulthood. However, the symptoms still differ between kids and adults, which makes it harder to recognize for both and even from one person to another.
For kids and teenagers, symptoms can include being impulsive, inattentive, or hyperactive. As for adults, it is harder to define because there is still a lack of medical research in that area. Some people can go a lifetime without realizing they have ADHD. Besides that, the symptoms can differ between males and females.
The symptoms still include being inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive; only they affect adults on a much different scale. Hyperactivity for some adults fades as their responsibilities increase and demand more physical effort, but it can manifest in the form of racing thoughts. On the other hand, inattentiveness starts messing with their daily life and makes it more challenging to focus when needed. As for impulsivity, it can manifest in indulging in dangerous whims without any notion of safety, being impatient, having anger outbursts, or dealing with severe mood swings.
The Key Difference Between ADD And ADHD
Today, ADD is no longer considered a medical diagnosis itself. Instead, it falls under the broad term ADHD. Previously, ADHD referred strictly to a Predominantly Hyperactive manifestation, but now the term covers three other subtypes:
- Predominantly Inattentive type (formerly ADD)
- Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive type (formerly ADHD)
- Combined type
Learning more about ADHD symptoms helps people understand what they are facing better, puts a name to their struggle, and directs them to seek help from the right department to take better care of their mental health. Understanding, and being understood, is the first step to getting help and being helped.
About the Author
Tabti Fatima Zohra is a dedicated writer and an English language teacher. She holds a Master’s Degree in English Literature, and she is striving for a PhD in the near future. She has a fascination with storytelling and believes the stories we write will always find the people who need them.
When she is not writing, she is trying new recipes from all over the world. She finds cooking and baking to be very therapeutic and gives her a much-needed break from the world’s noise for a while. If not, she is enjoying any form of media to, again, write about it afterwards.
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