52. Adhd Symptoms in Depth (Hyperactive/Impulsive Diagnostic Criteria 3/3)

Welcome to A Day for me and kids. Yes another ADHD podcast. We are host sparking show. Join us each week and we can hyperfocus together on all things ADHD. This is our journey to diagnosis the challenges, frustrations and humor that come when living with ADHD as adults. Let the interrupting begin. Hello everyone and welcome to episode 52 of A Don't Mean Kick. Today we're going to be talking about the ADHD symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity. I'm glad you said episode 52, because I was sitting there thinking, What episode are we on one episode beyond? Oh, no, but you said it, so it's great. What was I going to say now? I've lost my strongest stuff. Strong start. We're talking about hyperactivity this week and all of the symptoms that you get with ADHD. With hyperactivity now we discussed now this is going to be a little bit hard to follow. Not last week, but the week before we discussed symptoms of inattention and we did it over two episodes. So hopefully we're not going to drag on too long this week and we'll just be able to get through one episode talking about hyperactivity. But what we're going to do, just like last time, we are going to talk about each symptom in the DSM. That's for hyperactivity. And then we're just going to give some examples of the things that we do and hopefully we're going to give funny examples. Now I know that having ADHD sometimes, while most of the time does it feel like a funny thing, it's actually something that we deal with on a daily basis that can be quite stressful. But because we're on the podcast, we do like to bring a bit of positivity to every situation. So what will we do? And he's talking about some of the funny things and maybe some of the not so funny things as well. Along the journey. My life, you put me under so much pressure. We did not plan this episode in advance. Like I don't have any examples listed down. I thought we were just going to make them up on the fly. Yeah, we will. We're just right now throwing in. They've got to be humorous as well. No, know they have to be humorous. Well, I mean, he's like, you know, people that listen to the podcast know that I'm always joke and laughing and I don't want people to sit here thinking if I do or we do joke a laugh about these symptoms, like, oh, these are all just so many funny things that we do when actually people might think, actually, these are quite, you know, get up delicately delegating. I can't. Pronounce. Debilitating. Debilitating nutsy. These are quite debilitating and I know that they are. So just keep that in mind when you're listening. That's the case when we're talking about it. I just can't out myself. I'm just maybe some of the symptoms that I've got like in this hyperactivity will explain why I am the way I am. Who knows? So let's begin with the first symptom of hyperactivity. The first symptom of hyperactivity. So help me out. Okay. Let me just take over here. So the first symptom you're looking for is fidgets with or taps, hands or feet, squirms in seat. This one is something that I do all the time. So I'm here right now. I'm swinging on my chair, I'm tapping the table. I'm hoping that doesn't appear in the sounds of this podcast, and I just can't stop. So especially if I'm getting more and more stressed with something or I'm talking to someone about something I can't help but like Flap. So I call it flapping around. And I know that you do this as well because I've seen you do it in times of stress. Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm always fidgeting with something like now while we're recording, I've got like a wire, like a piece of fire in my hands, and I'm just, like, twisting it around and making knots out of it. And I confess that actually, Jamie's going to kill me when he finds his broken. And this. Is probably why the podcast microphone broke or isn't going from. Raising. It all the time. Because I was fidgeting with it. Yeah. So I'm always I'm always fidgeting, but a lot of the time it's quite hidden. So I like fidget with the seams in some a pocket or I'll move my big toe in circles in my shoes or I'll like move my tongue around to my mouth. So yeah, yeah. I'm always moving something, but it isn't always obvious except for if I'm stressed or from upset, then I'll start to visibly fidget. I think it's because my my brain is so consumed with being stressed and upset that it sort of forgets to hide. Yeah. Yeah. And that's that's the worst symptom of it, because then you can't hide it as much and you know, you do it. And then the more you try not to do it, the more you end up doing it because you're like, oh, just just stay still. But you. Can't. Okay. So the second one is leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected. Now you did mention this one before in your psychiatry review assessment and you said that you said you didn't do this because most people learn that as you grow older, there's a sort of social norm. So you can this is where masking comes in. So you might want to leave the seat or you might be wondering, having wandering thoughts in your mind, but getting up and leaving the seat. Might be too stressful for you to do that. So yeah. So I would not, I would not leave a C in a meeting I suppose a little bit depends on who the meeting was with but certainly with sort of more senior people, absolutely would not. I could be sitting there feeling like I was about to burst. I wouldn't get up out of my seat or walk around. Thank you. You should use this one before show. Was it like a train station and you can't stay still up? Yeah. On an airplane. In an airport. You're often about wondering about. And you can't stay still. You can't stay seated. And that could be another symptom of ADHD. It doesn't actually have to be that scenario. It can be many before there. Isn't a scenario in the DSM, it just says when expected. So they don't specify that I can meetings or in classrooms or anything like that. It's just when when you when remaining seated is expected. And that's the thing. With these these things, you have to kind of read between the lines because if you just take it at face value, leave C in situations when remaining expected and then someone says to you, Oh, in a meeting, do you get up and walk out? And you're like, No. And it's going to look like that symptom is not something that bothers you on a daily basis. But if someone rephrasing that and puts it in a different way, like, do you actually sit still when this happens or this happens, you be able to say to yourself, Oh, actually, no, I don't. And I'm the same. Can't sit still if I'm waiting at train station. I see people just sat there leisurely, looking out, waiting for the train to come, for example. I can't do that. I'm pacing the floor. I'm all checking my phone up and down. I'm actually sitting on the bench with my feet or feet. Yeah. Lying down on the bench. Slovenly. This is something. Growing up that I didn't even realize was an ADHD. ADHD symptom. Slovenly would be what my mum used to use. You just lolling around on things and. Never sitting around today. Going around. So yeah, that is another symptom of hyperactivity and should say impulsivity as well because they're, they're both sort of in the same bracket here. So yeah, they are hyperactivity and impulsivity, which is a large proportion of the side of symptoms as well. So the next one is experiences, feelings of restlessness. Now this one, I suppose you can put it in the same category as to what we were just saying before, because leaving seats in situations where remaining expected can also be feelings of restlessness. But there is a little bit of a difference between the two. So if you expected to stay somewhere and you know you need to stay somewhere and you're off, then that could be a symptom of restlessness. But this one is just in general. So feelings of restlessness anyway, like not being able to settle or not being able to sit down and watch TV show. And we discussed last week or not last week, the week before about how sometimes you just can't sit down and watch a TV show. You are literally your mind's elsewhere, you're restless, your checking, your emails, your Yeah. Replying to people when you should be watching a TV show. And that can make it really difficult to actually get on with your daily life because sometimes you'll be like, Oh, let's have a movie night. But then at the time you said it you really wanted to do, but then at the time you've got to sit down and watch a movie. It's like the last thing you want to do because you can't sit down, be quiet and just enjoy it. I don't know if you if you get any of these things. Yeah, I feel I feel restless a lot. Like if I try and do things that are more quiet or more sedentary, I do get, like a restless energy and my fidgeting gets a lot worse as well when I'm feeling restless. Well, we talked about this didn't really the dialog I said to show you need to just relax a little bit more. You need to just sit down. You need to do the self-care thing that we talked about and we realized in that moment and I think we realized it before anyway, it's actually really difficult to do that. So you can talk about self-care when we like, but unless you're in that mindset where you actually think, Yeah, okay, this is what I need to do, can be very difficult because all you're thinking about is while you're restless. So it's very difficult. So you need to learn how to relax. That's why I think it's really good that you're going to see something about trying to help yourself relax, because I think it be really helpful to you to. To sit down and actually get out and actually just to. To stay still just an. Hour, be with your own thoughts and enjoy that. And I think in this day and age, a lot of people actually struggle with this one. But again, it depends on how often it occurs. If you just do this occasionally, maybe it's not something to to actually place on ADHD. But if you're doing this all the time, you find it hard to relax all the time. And this could be a reason why. So the next one is has difficulty engaging in quiet, leisurely activities. So I when I first read this, I interpreted this as, you know, sitting reading a book or as, you know, sitting doing a painting or something like that, something like you wouldn't necessarily have a lot of noise and you'd be quite still. But my psychiatrist gave a different example. So he said, like, say in the morning, say, if you had to be out early before your partner in the morning, would you be able to like get up, get ready quietly and tiptoe out? Or are you like making a lot of noise, clattering around and like accidentally waking them up and. Yeah, yeah, that, that I mean, that definitely applies to me in terms of quiet, leisurely activities. It really depends. If I just had like a half an hour set aside where I could read a book, I probably wouldn't be able to do that on demand. But if I'm hyper focused on something that I can sit engaged in it for a long time. With me, I don't really do this one that often. I don't know. I know the symptoms kind of change a little bit as you go from a child to an adult. But as a child, I would scream and shout and playing computer games. So I'd go around my friend's house and we'd play like a game or something and we'd be bashing the buttons. But I wouldn't just be bashing the like, say we're playing like a fighting game or something and just be bashing the buttons quietly. I'd be screaming. I'm doing it and. I've played Tekken with you. I remember that. And yeah. I mean, I still do it now. I don't I think I. Mean, I don't play. Games as a child. And the parents would come off and be like, Can you just keep it down? And I'd be okay for a few minutes and then I'll be back to doing it again. And so anything that gets me overexcited or, you know, just very what's the word called? I can't I can't think of the word in my head now where you're over excited about something and you cross over that threshold, all of a sudden any noise level gets canceled out with me. It's like, I don't know. And then people have to say, Oh, sorry, I didn't realize I was. Being so loud. But I also do struggle with engaging in quiet, leisurely activities such as reading. I struggle to read a book. I get bored painting. I'm I like painting and like drawing, but I can't finish it because it's just too boring. Like, just, yeah, quietly. So I do struggle with those things as well. So I guess that that symptom can. Be Oh yeah, I said that's definitely one. Although I said at the beginning I didn't have this one, but maybe. You have to think. Yeah. Okay. So the next one is is on the go or acts as if driven by a motor. Hmm. Right. With this one. I don't know what the word driven by a motor because it kind of makes it sound like you are a robot, like being forced to do it. It sounds a bit forceful, like I'm being. I kind of feel. Like that sometimes that I like it when I'm that just constant need to always be busy and always be doing the next thing. Like it does almost feel like it's not in my control. Like something is pushing me forward and I can't rein that in or stop that. Yeah, but I mean, you do still feel like you don't. Yeah, like it doesn't feel like. Oh yeah, I think about it. It's not like somebody is like, you know, possessed you may also. Yeah. Possessed me but equally is not something that I can stop like, you know if you just said to me, just take the day off, just sit and relax. Yeah. You're always thinking about what you've got to do next. Trying to do something going on to the next day with this, this, yes, this, this. And again, that's a symptom of hyperactivity and impulsivity as well. You know, you might be sitting there and thinking, oh, you know, I've got to do this. And interestingly, I watched a video the other day and he said that people with ADHD struggle with having lots of tasks to do because it will go like they say. For example, let's say you've got to go to the post office to pick something up and then you get a text message of a parent or a partner or a friend saying, Can you do this for me? And then you'll be like, Okay, yeah, I'll do that. And then you've got something else to do. So what happens is you go and do that thing for that person because it's more immediate, because they need help that actually you get burnt out, you forget to drop thing at the post office, you forget to do the thing and you come back home. Oh, I'm so exhausted because it feels too much. And that's why people with ADHD struggle making decisions and prioritizing tasks because as we said before. Executive dysfunction. Yeah, executives dysfunction. And also needing to do things that you feel are the most urgent, usually because it's there's a pressure on it to get it done when there's still a pressure there, but there's no deadline. You just going to put it off enough, enough, enough. So a deadline is key for me. I didn't accomplish anything with that deadline. Well, you said this before then. You don't accomplish anything with that goal either. Maybe that's why. Maybe that's why. I've just had an epiphany. Maybe my goals work for. Yeah, that's my goal. Because I set my own deadline. Yeah. And maybe for me, I get stressed by the goal, so I put it off. Oh, my God. It's all making sense now. Wow. Yeah, this is. Like a revelation. So any more about on the go driven by motor. I think we've covered that one. Okay. Okay, cool. Yeah. So the next one. I'm just looking at the next one. Yeah. So the next one is talking excessively and hilariously something I said that I didn't do in my assessment, despite the fact. Don't know what that really was. Just talking on this podcast. You can't say that one's not. Yeah, I didn't know it did. I was like, no, I don't. Think I talk excessively. Well, let me. Just put this into perspective. So any time I've got a question about one of my animals and I'm asking show for advice, and I think, oh. You know, I don't really want to. Keep asking to stuff, but then you just come out with this and this and you just keep going and going and. Going, think, Well, I only really asked you about one thing and I'm getting all this information and I. Just want to know yes or no. I think I need a page. I mean, it's good. But again, talking excessively is, is, is something that if you listen to this podcast, you'll know that we do just carry on talking and talking and repeating and talking and repeating. So I don't know why you said that you didn't have that one. I really don't. I just con I. Just I. Don't know either. Honestly, I, I don't know how he managed to assess me because I basically gave incorrect answers to everything. You probably already. Know. Come on. He probably thought, okay, she's talking excessively right now. Did you send him, like, a long game on this one? And it was, like excessively long. Oh, yeah. Like a like a page long email of, like, different answers to questions. Well, I mean, in a way, this it can be a bad thing, but I guess in a way you can turn it into a positive. In the two days. I mean, the thing is, you listen to these. Episodes back and we said to ourself, we're only going to put 15 minutes on 50 minutes on each episode. Very late for people to listen to wasn't going to be a major thing or idea. 80 minutes. We're not even at the end of the list. And we could have gone on and on and on and on about. Oh, I know, I know. Come on, we have to we have to crack on. We've established that we talk excessively. But that's how answers. The next one. Our answers, which again I said I didn't do, but I'm pretty sure it. Takes. On emphatic reflection. I'm sorry, but I don't do. Oh, please. So. So bad. But I think he gave it. He gave examples of like answering questions, like it's almost like at school. And so my thinking was, well, I'm not at school anymore and I don't really have an opportunity to blurt out an answer, but I definitely yeah. In just normal conversation, deep blue answers, as you know, and anyone who listens will know. Imagine if you were talking about, I don't know, some sort of research study to do with animals, for example. And obviously you're a vet, so you know all about that. Would you be able to keep in your answers if you need to? Yeah, well, actually. I'd be a nightmare. Yeah. And I mean, you've done this through with the medication I've said was actually. Yeah, I know this study here. I do. Blur and I. Think. I'm not bad at this one. Do I blow answers. Fuck off. Well. You definitely. Are. Well I don't see any black stuff. No, I think I would say no to this one. Do you really. I disagree. In what way? I'm going to I'm going to go back through the podcast and I'm going to send you little voice clips of all the times that you've blurted out. No, I think I interrupt and intrude. To her. Answers. Maybe I do. Maybe I actually do. I'm just trying to think. I mean, most of the time I have to say for this one is I don't I don't really know. Much sleep, so. I don't really know much about what I'm saying. So blurting out an answer probably would be wrong, but I probably blurt out wrong things or come out with things maybe. I know you've said to me before, I've just come out. You never know what's going to come out of my mouth. So maybe that yeah. Expecting it to suddenly be like, oh and that reminds me and like a complete tangent and take the conversation to somewhere completely different usually about. Oh actually actually actually. I do, I do have an example for this one. So if someone asks me a film related question or a photography related question and they're talking about something I would blow out and says, I'm like, Well, actually, if you get this lens and you can do this and then I'll talk excessively about it and then I'll have difficulty, remain quiet about it. So yeah, and then I'll be not wanting to wait my turn and interrupting other people. So yeah. Okay. Okay. I will say yes to that one. Yeah. Okay. Okay. The next for next one is has difficulty waiting that turn. Definitely it is so yeah. Definitely, definitely both definitely have that. We both really struggle to give each other space to. Talk. And then quite linked really. I don't know how you separate these two out but interrupts or intrudes on others. While the way I would separate these out is difficulty waiting their turn. So for example. If you are. At a supermarket or you're going shopping and there's a long queue. Do you get to a point where you struggle to wait your turn in the queue? So for example, I've done this, I'll go shopping if there's a queue up like, fuck, I'm not, I'm not waiting, I can't do I can't do it. Or if having the doctors and it goes. Your number 38 in the queue. But for some people that was done there for ages on the phone and get on with other things. I can't get on with anything else. So stress that I'm three are in the queue. I'll just put the phone down and then I'll ring back actually. Actually, that is the example my psychiatrist gave at the supermarket about have you ever just got into one? In a big queue and you've laughed. And I said I didn't do that. But then when I spoke to Jamie, he was like, You definitely do do that. And I when you've done it. I would starve if I have to wait in a queue. So if I'm out and about, I'm starving and there's a queue, I'd be like, No, I can't do that. And I'll just go from one takeaway store to the no to another restaurant, and I'll just go through. And if they all have queues, I'll just starve because I don't want to wait in the queue and then I'll just go running and grab something quickly. In the least. That's why I hate Christmas shopping. Because I can't stand the queues I January sales. Because I can't stand the queues a height queuing anything. So if I have to keep some I get so wound up and stressed a lot of stressed I'm like on why can't I just be at the front and at times have even like gone up two people and gone can I can I just too many if I just like going there. I've only got this table and I don't even care because. Yeah, because. Because. No, I mean if you're shopping in, someone's unloading a whole. Bag and you've got like one. Thing and you've just running it for like a kind of Diet Coke or something, can you at the got to wait, wait through all of that. And I will give people grace to do that if they. Yeah, I've let people go in front of me to be fair. Yeah. And I've done that before. Someone's going, do you mind if I just slip in front of them? Like, Yeah, this one. And then I see them getting the items at the basket and every. Item that's coming out the basket, I'm getting more and more because I'm just like, You didn't say that you had. Almost a shopping trolley full now. I thought there was just a few items, so that's the way I would separate those two difficulty weighting the two. Okay. Yeah, no, that makes. And then we've got interrupting and in choosing others which as you know and you intro is let the interruption begin because we're constantly interrupting each other on this podcast and we can't wait our turn. So but there's many, there's many things that you can intrude into opportunities. It doesn't mean you have to be rude. It just means that it comes out or you start talking about something. And I know one massive symptom about this that's not actually written down, but it kind of falls into this bracket is when people finish your sentences. Oh, yeah. I do that in my head a lot. I don't do it out loud so much by definition in my head. So some people will actually try to help you finish the sentence. And it used to warm you up so much because I like to finish people sentences or think about what they're saying. And even when I'm watching a film or like I know what they're. Going to sound like, I know what they're going to say. And that's that's another symptom. So if you do interrupt people, intrude on others and finish people sentences, whether it's out loud or in your head, this could be another symptom of ADHD. But remember, these symptoms must occur often. And it's not just something that just happens on a whim or very rare. And they need to be in two settings or more as well. So it can't just be, you know, when I'm out, when I'm drunk, I'll have these symptoms. But at work I don't think needs to need to occur in sort of two or more places. Yeah. Yeah. So we got through that in one episode. It's a little bit long. We did, but. That's fine, you know, when we're never consistent anyway with anything apart from upload in which which is because of. You. Otherwise I don't think I would have finished doing one episode. Well, if I done this podcast on my own, I would have done one episode and then probably not uploaded another one. I would probably have been the same that I left them entirely to my own devices. There's definitely something to be said for an accountability for you. You had to 30 episodes. Yes sometimes I hyper. Focused on that. I didn't do that again. That's true. Actually. We've got no episodes written anymore. No. Now we just rock up and literally say, whatever comes into my brain. I do want us to start getting back to a more more of a structured feel that like including studies and stuff. But I think at the moment ADHD is still so new to me. Like I'm still learning so much about it. I don't feel like I can do that yet. Yeah, that I. Will get there because I did like some of the studies, although sometimes it was a bit stressful finding the studies, but maybe we could do like a thing where if we feel like a study is needed, we can include it and we don't always have to have one. Yeah. So yeah, I mean that. Sounds talking. About studies and things that we've not done before which we were trying to do is our little thing at the end where we talk about a meme or something that we found funny and I've got one this week. So I saw this. I saw. This meme and it says, Well, it's not a meme. It's like a quote really being diagnosed later in life. It's like watching a TV show with a huge plot twist that's revealed at the end of the season and then rewatching it with this new knowledge and picking up on all the foreshadowing and getting upset that you didn't see all of it before. And I think that explains perfectly where we come to. Yeah, definitely how I feel about life right now. We had all this backlog of all our episodes and to be honest, we had known we had ADHD when we started the podcast. I don't know how we didn't know. I had to just not. Even our catalog to my psychiatrist been like, there's no need to assassinate who we go. Here you go. These are all the problems that I have or the procrastination. All of the self-care routines. You can't follow all of the sleep disorders interrupting. We did a much better job of representing myself than that. I actually did. Yeah, but then I think if you're going to expect a psychiatrist to listen to, like, 30 plus hours of history. Yeah, to be fact, it was quicker to just do an assessment. Yeah, a few hours a day. A few hours. That's all I need of the show. Anyway, I think we'll end the episode this week because we're coming up to 30 minutes. Thank you very much for listening to us as usual. If you have any questions or you have anything you want to say or maybe want to join us on the podcast, then send us a message. All our information will be in the show notes below and yeah, we'll sort that out. Okay. We'll see you in the next room. Thanks. All right. That's everything this week, guys. But if you want to carry on with the conversation, join us over on our social media platforms or on all the major channels. And our handle is I do for Minky. We'd also be super grateful if you could leave us a review on the podcast, wherever you're listening, as it helps us to grow our audience and help more people. Okay. We'll see you in the next one. Bye bye. Bye.