There may be another explanation for their struggle.increase rate depression, anxietysleep deprivation, and being pulled in different directions by rapidly changing technology all contribute to our poor attention span.
We must be careful not to morbid the broad human experience. This is because, among other things, it can impair human resilience, punish nerve divergence, and lead to overmedication.
The gold standard for ADHD assessment involves thorough clinical interviews with the patient and others who knew them as children or teens, and neuropsychological measures of cognitive function, executive function, and attentional processes. Evaluation.
However, neuropsychological evaluation is time consuming and expensive. Rather, most ADHD diagnoses are made during brief visits to a primary care physician or mental health professional.
At a minimum, these visits should include a thorough clinical interview to assess not only symptoms but also age of onset, spread of symptoms and extent of disability. Diagnosis of ADHD requires that a person aged 17 or older has at least 5 symptoms of inattentiveness or hyperactivity/impulsiveness that began by the time she was 12 years old.
Symptoms of inattention are common in adults and include:
- Details are often missing.
- make careless mistakes.
- Forget or lose something important.
- Significant difficulty paying sustained attention, avoiding distractions, following directions, listening, organizing, and sustaining tasks or activities.
Symptoms of hyperactivity include:
- Excessive chatter.
- obfuscate the answer.
- Difficulty sitting still, keeping quiet, or waiting your turn.
- fidgeting.
- Always “out”.
- disturb others.
These symptoms must be present in at least two areas of life to be diagnosed with ADHD. For example, attention problems must occur in other situations outside of work. Symptoms must also negatively affect different parts of your life.
A 2015 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in five children with ADHD was improperly diagnosed by a doctor.
Individuals should consider whether their attention problems can be better explained by other factors such as depression, anxiety and related disorders, sleep deprivation, and overreliance on technology.
depression, anxiety and related disorders
Most of my patients with depression and anxiety have difficulty concentrating, even on less demanding tasks such as watching movies.
One of the symptoms of major depressive disorder is “difficulty thinking and concentrating”. research It shows that paying attention to or ignoring distracting information can be dangerous in people with depression.
Related disorders such as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder have a relationship Lack of ability to concentrate, organize, stay on task, and continue selected activities. Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder include difficulty concentrating or completing tasks, going blank, and even restlessness and difficulty sitting still. will be
a study A study of Vietnam veterans diagnosed with PTSD found that arousal and hypervigilance contributed to attention problems.
If attention problems start when people are depressed or anxious, they are unlikely to have ADHD.
If you don’t sleep well or don’t sleep enough hours, it becomes difficult to concentrate. Studies have revealed both relationships. amount and quality A state of sleep that is associated with attention problems.
The mind’s attention span and other cognitive resources are limited, and they are replenished overnight. If you don’t get enough rest, your concentration will suffer.The ability to focus attention is one of the first things you need when you’re sleep deprived, they say. Charles A. ZeislerProfessor of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical SchoolStolen Concentration: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — And How To Think Again“
Overreliance on technology
A survey found that 31% of U.S. adults say they are online “almost always,” up from 21% in 2015. Pew Research Research It ran from January 25th to February 8th, 2021.Also, on average Looking at screens for more than 11 hours a day.
Over the past decade, I have seen similar shifts in my patients’ dependence on phones, computers and tablets. These devices can be very distracting and decreased attention has been reported.
A common complaint is constant interruptions, even when notifications are turned off, and you can’t focus on anything because you feel like you’re constantly being pulled to check emails, text messages, social media, and dating apps. That’s what it means. As a result, we often find him trying to do more than one thing at a time, depleting his attentional resources.a study of teens A Dutch study showed that people who multitasked more media developed more attention problems over time.
People who have attention problems that seriously affect their lives should talk to their health care provider. In order to receive proper treatment, it is important to distinguish between when the person may be suffering from her ADHD and when the attention deficit is due to other factors.
Dr. Jelena Kecmanovic is a clinical psychologist and professor in the DC area. She focuses on anxiety and the negative effects of modern life on well-being.
We look forward to your comments regarding this column. OnYourMind@washpost.com.
