Approximately 4 percent of the U.S. population has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – that’s 13 million people. If you find out you are one of these 13 million people (welcome to our exclusive club, by the way!), here are the top 5 things that you need to know about your ADD diagnosis:

1. Know the symptoms of ADD.

   You may have read or heard the terms "ADD" or "ADHD" used. The clinical term that is used is ADHD. There are three subtypes of ADHD: the inattentive type, the hyperactive/impulsive type, and the combined type. For the inattentive type of ADHD, you must meet at least six out of nine symptoms. These symptoms include: difficulty focusing, not checking your work or making careless mistakes, or losing items. For the hyperactive type of ADHD, you must meet at least six out of nine symptoms. These symptoms include difficulty staying seated, interrupting, or behaving as if you were "driven by a motor". You have the combined type of ADHD when you meet the criteria for the inattentive type and the hyperactive impulsive type.

   
   

   These symptoms must also be causing you impairment in at least two out of three areas: home, school/work, or social life. Difficulties at home may include not being able to find anything you need for the day because of your disorganization, or having arguments with your spouse because of your issues with impulsivity. Difficulties at work may include getting fired from a job because of your lack of attention to detail, or missing deadlines because you have difficulty focusing long enough to follow a project through to completion. Social difficulties include having problems keeping friends due to impulsive behavior, or constantly interrupting others.



2. ADD is a very real genetic and biological disorder.

   If you have ADD, there’s a 75% chance that you inherited ADHD genes from at least one of your parents. You were born with ADHD – it’s nothing that you or your parents did that “caused” it. Children with ADHD have up to hundreds of gene variations, or differences, compared to non-ADHD children. People with ADD have a low level of a brain chemical called dopamine. In addition, there are also biological and structural differences in the ADD brain.



3. ADD is a problem with motivation, not attention.

   “Attention Deficit Disorder” is somewhat of a misnomer. You can pay attention really, really well to something that you enjoy. In fact, your focus can be laser-sharp at times. However, when you have to read something boring, your brain just can’t do it. This is because ADD isn’t so much a problem with attention – it’s a problem with motivation. Your brain has difficulty switching from task to task, taking its focus off something it really enjoys, and directing its focus towards something it doesn’t really care about.

   
   

   ADD affects the executive functions in the frontal lobe of the brain. The executive functions are in charge of processes such as planning, thinking ahead, mood regulation, time management, and motivation. Exactly the same things you have challenges with on a day-to-day basis.



4. Treatment is available for ADD.

   Medication and counseling are the most beneficial treatments for ADD. Studies show that medication and counseling are more effective together than either treatment on its own. Medication helps replace the missing dopamine in the ADD brain. More dopamine means more effective communication between the neurons in your brain. Medication helps even out the difficulties in the frontal lobe of the brain, as you read about before. Your executive functions become, well, less dysfunctional.

   
   

   Counseling can be helpful to learning new behavioral techniques. It can also help with feelings of anxiety and depression. About 50% of people with ADD also have anxiety and/or depression. This may be because people with ADD are more genetically prone to having anxiety and depression, or it may be a result of a lifetime feeling as if you weren’t “good enough” and always feeling like you were one step outside of day-to-day life. It may also be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.



5. You may go through different feelings, or stages, after your diagnosis.

   You may alternately (or maybe even at the same time) experience these feelings after you find out you have ADD: shock, relief, hope, anger, or disappointment. Finding out you have ADD is kind of like going through a grieving process. You may wonder why you weren’t diagnosed earlier. You may look back on your life with a feeling of “aha!” - things finally make sense. You may get angry at people in your life because they labeled you as “lazy”, when in fact you had a biological disorder. You may even notice you’re your ADD symptoms seem worse because you are paying even more attention to them now. The important thing to remember is that you are getting help now – there is treatment available, and you live life to its fullest!

Stephanie Moulton Sarkis PhD, NCC, LMHC is an acclaimed psychotherapist and author of Adult ADHD: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed , ADD and Your Money, Making the Grade with ADD, and 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD.