ADHD Symptom: Forgetfulness
Life Tips: Learning to Remember
Forgetfulness, such as forgetting where you put your car keys, is a common symptom of ADHD in adults. Often, it's not related to a problem with memory but to having something else going on in your mind as you set down your keys.
If you said out loud, "I'm putting my keys on the kitchen table" instead of thinking about the good looking girl (or guy) you saw on the way home, you'd probably remember where you put them. A spouse might be leaving for work in the morning when their spouse askes them to pick up clothes from the cleaners on the way home that night. However, if they are thinking about their work day and don't really "hear" what their spouse says, "forgetting" to stop at the cleaners is not a problem with memory because it didn't get into the person's memory in the first place.
TIP: Put a hook by the door for your keys, or a basket where you toss your wallet, keys, and other daily items, then spend a few weeks focusing on placing them there every night when you come home. After a while it will become a habit, and you won't even have to "think" about it.
Related Topics: Women and ADHD, Adult ADHD
Forgetfulness, such as forgetting where you put your car keys, is a common symptom of ADHD in adults. Often, it's not related to a problem with memory but to having something else going on in your mind as you set down your keys.
If you said out loud, "I'm putting my keys on the kitchen table" instead of thinking about the good looking girl (or guy) you saw on the way home, you'd probably remember where you put them. A spouse might be leaving for work in the morning when their spouse askes them to pick up clothes from the cleaners on the way home that night. However, if they are thinking about their work day and don't really "hear" what their spouse says, "forgetting" to stop at the cleaners is not a problem with memory because it didn't get into the person's memory in the first place.
TIP: Put a hook by the door for your keys, or a basket where you toss your wallet, keys, and other daily items, then spend a few weeks focusing on placing them there every night when you come home. After a while it will become a habit, and you won't even have to "think" about it.
Related Topics: Women and ADHD, Adult ADHD
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7 Comments:
Hi, my name is Erin and this is my first time writing in. For the past 4 years or so, I have struggled with the fact that I could have some sort of disorder, possibly dealing with ADD. I have had trouble with school since I was in the 3rd grade, and quit college after just one semester because of discouragement with my classes. Information never seems to be stuck in my head unless it pertains to my immidiate attention, a stressful situation, a funny situation, or something else that I am interested in. I used to be a blooming author, but I never could seem to get past the first revision of a short story.
Now, as a young adult of 20, it effects my work as well. I am constantly apologising for misreading information (I am in customer service), I forget procedures that I am not repeating, I loose my train of thought more than once a day, and I stop talking in the middle of sentences when I can't think of what to say. I also have trouble driving because I am constantly being distracted by things that catch my eye; it's a miracle that I haven't had an accident yet.
I have tried to link these symptoms to several different causes: stress, nervousness, fatigue, poor planning, ignorance, PMS, ect. but everytime I try to improve one of those such as taking medication for PMS, getting plenty of sleep, and asking lots of questions, it never seems to improve the way I feel 24-7.
I was never tested as a juvinile; my parents always thought it was due to laziness or too much TV. I am a different person than what I was when I was younger and I still struggle with the same symptoms.
I have no idea who to go to or what the costs are. I am doing this on my own because I can't afford health insurance. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
Hi erin,
For more information about adult ADHD, try clicking the link on the sidebar of this blog to WebMD's ADHD center. You'll find lots of tools there -- articles, self-evaluation forms, and suggestions for finding a doctor that should help you.
Good luck!
Erin I totally know where you are coming from? I had started to think that maybe I was just a ditz as I can't think of words when I am speaking and it is so annoying to not be able to read outloud as my brain goes faster than my mouth! I just started the Daytrana patch 20 mg today and it is making a HUGE difference in my ability to concentrate at work today. Also I am on effexor xr for depression - and the daytrana can actually make the antidepressant work better, my doc said. I would advise you to seek treatment - it will make a difference if you are ADHD!
Good luck!
Hi, I am not going to share my name as Erin did because I fear the risk of being recognized.Right now I feel like I am the most stupid, idiot,clumsy and weird person in the world.I am angry, frustrated and feel sorry for myself and the strange thing is , i also hate myself for experiencing these types feelings.
Since I first went to kindergarten when i was about 4 or 5, I always was the smartest kid in class.All the way through 8th grade I was a straight A student. My performance was such that my parents even tried to ask the school if they could make me skip a grade to go to a higher one when i was in 3rd grade.There was not a subject i was not good at. science, literature,history i was excelling in everything.I know during that period I was living a state of constant drowsiness but strangely that did not seem to affect my performance in class. Sometimes I would fall asleep in the middle of a course so hard that i would be forced to take notes from a classmate's notebook.Any way to make a long story short my symptoms began to exacerbate when i became a 8th grader and since then i was never able to perform in class the same way.I even almost failed 10th grade. Fortunately, i survived high school, graduated and went to college but as well as Erin I quit after a year and a half because i was not satisfied with my classes.However, probably unlike Erin, I failed most of my classes due to all the symptoms of my ADHD.My fear of public, my low self esteem made me dread presentation times as if i was going to be executed. I was so disorganized, unfocused easily distracted and not having a clue how to manage my time that i never did hand any homework on time.All of this consequently resulting to my dropping out of school. I felt so ashamed. My family still encouraged me to go back but they are not familiar with the desease and they see as being just the weirdo of the group and that's it. I work at the customer service as well and i can't remember how much times i forget what to say, where things are and how things are done.some of my coworkers think that i am stupid, ignorant and lazy but i know that i am not( that is what i am trying to convince myself to beleive at least). Any way i feel lost and helpless and the worse thing is that i am starting to accept that i am a stupid loser who can't even be in a relationship-friendly or romantic. Whoo.What can i do? I have no health insurance,I will never have a profession, will stay with my parents and die alone. I am trying to start anew, get more informed and try to find a healthy way to deal with " it " but it's hard and i can not find the strengh to do it. It is so depressing. Sorry if i seem to be complaining, self-absorbed but i truly feel like hell. Sorry to you readers if i am not encouraging at all but i wanted to do this cause i have never told anyone how i felt except my sister.Thank you .
desperate,
Try a visit to our ADHD in Adults message board. You're really, really not alone. I hope you'll find a path to feeling better about things!
I feel almost exactly the way the last three posters do. My problems started in 5th grade and continued through high school. My parents knew I was smart so they thought my problems came from laziness. I did not graduate high school but I got my GED. I am in junior college at the moment and it is very difficult for me. I have suspected I may have ADD for the past 6 months or so. My father was diagnosed with it only a few years ago and I know that it is genetic. One of my biggest problems socially comes from my inability to hold a normal conversation. When someone is talking I have ideas and thoughts and I always blurt them out as soon as they occur to me; therefore, I am constantly (unintentionally) interrupting people. I have a big problem with forgetfulness as well. I can remember an incident from when I was three years old, but I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning. I repeat the same information over and over to my friends and family. I have issues with sleeping so I am constantly late. I have trouble keeping jobs. My point to this story is to let you all know that you are not alone in feeling the way you do. I am glad to know that I am not alone. To "desperate" I would like to say that I hope you can find help. There is help out there. I hope I can find it too.
when growing up My teachers used to complain to my parents and tell them I used to spend my time in LALA land (day dreaming) which was true. It wasnt until the age of 23 that a doctor told me I had it adhd and started treatmeant (after visiting a shrink ofcourse) I have tried welbutrin, adderall and the best one so far has been concerta but recently I have been forgetting words as im having a conversation and not just once but several times. does anyone else have this problem?
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