Health
7 signs you might have ADHD and what steps to take
With 15.5 million U.S. adults currently diagnosed with ADHD, there is a growing focus on warning signs of the disorder.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a “developmental disorder marked by persistent symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity,” as defined by the National Institutes of Health.
“ADHD is often misunderstood as just being overly distracted or hyperactive — in reality, it’s a neurodevelopmental condition that affects focus, emotional regulation, time management and impulse control,” Lisa Anderson, a licensed clinical social worker and clinical director at Brooks Healing Center in Tennessee, told Fox News Digital.
ADHD NOW AFFECTS 15.5 MILLION US ADULTS, SAYS NEW CDC REPORT
More than half of the adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder didn’t learn they had the condition until adulthood, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Approximately 15.5 million U.S. adults are currently diagnosed with ADHD, according to CDC data. (iStock)
Fox News Digital spoke with multiple mental health experts, who identified the most common signs and symptoms of ADHD in adults.
1. Impulsive behaviors
Adults with ADHD have difficulty managing impulsivity, according to Zoë Kahn, a licensed psychotherapist and ADHD therapist in Pasadena, California.
“This can look like blurting out answers in a classroom setting, interrupting in conversation and difficulty thinking through the long-term consequences of choices,” she told Fox News Digital.
ADHD AFFECTS 1 IN 9 KIDS IN US, NEW REPORT REVEALS: ‘SHAME AND STIGMA’
Impulsivity can also lead to making snap decisions without considering long-term consequences, Anderson added.
“It might also manifest subtly, like overspending on impulse purchases or having trouble waiting your turn in group discussions,” she said.
2. Difficulty focusing or staying on task
Procrastination and difficulty following through on tasks are common signs of ADHD, Anderson noted.
“You might struggle to start tasks, even when vital, or abandon them halfway through,” she said. “You might jump between tasks without finishing anything or focus on smaller, less urgent tasks while the bigger, more critical ones remain untouched.”
“It’s a persistent challenge that affects work, relationships and daily responsibilities.”
It’s not about laziness, Anderson noted, but about feeling overwhelmed by what needs to be done.
“ADHD-related daydreaming is persistent and often disruptive, especially when it happens during crucial tasks or conversations,” she said.
Procrastination and difficulty following through on tasks are common signs of ADHD, experts said. (iStock)
“This isn’t just about occasionally zoning out during a long meeting — it’s a persistent challenge that affects work, relationships and daily responsibilities.”
3. Trouble with time management
People with ADHD may struggle to manage their schedules, often underestimating how long it will take to complete a project or reach a destination.
“Deadlines might sneak up on you, or you might feel perpetually behind on tasks, no matter how early you started,” Anderson told Fox News Digital.
ADHD IN MALES VERSUS FEMALES: WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES IN SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENTS
“This can create a constant cycle of stress and underachievement, leaving you feeling frustrated with yourself.”
4. Mental fatigue
Mental fatigue and burnout are widespread in individuals with ADHD, according to Anderson.
“The ADHD brain often works in overdrive, juggling competing thoughts and struggling to stay on track,” she said.
“ADHD-related daydreaming is persistent and often disruptive, especially when it happens during crucial tasks or conversations.” (iStock)
“This constant effort to stay focused and organized can leave you feeling drained, even after relatively short periods of productivity.”
5. Forgetfulness
Another sign of ADHD in adults is general disorganization, Kahn said, which can lead to an inability to follow through on tasks, meet important deadlines, pay bills on time or keep appointments.
“The ADHD brain often works in overdrive, juggling competing thoughts and struggling to stay on track.”
They may also find themselves misplacing important items, like car keys.
“Adults with ADHD have a hard time finding and keeping focus, which could look like not paying attention in conversation, missing key details, being easily distracted in certain settings, or even focusing on the wrong details,” Kahn added.
6. Inability to sit still
People with ADHD often find themselves fidgeting and feeling generally restless, according to Dr. Michelle Dees, a board-certified psychiatrist at Luxury Psychiatry Clinic in Chicago.
People with ADHD may find themselves misplacing important items, like car keys. (iStock)
“In adults, this may present as inner disquietude or incomplete calmness,” she told Fox News Digital.
Anderson reiterated this common symptom, noting that in children, it often takes the form of physical hyperactivity.
DEPRESSION COULD BE PREVENTED WITH SPECIFIC DAILY STEP COUNT, STUDY FINDS
“It often transforms into internal restlessness in adults, where you feel like you can’t fully relax or sit still without feeling jittery,” she said. “This constant sense of being ‘on edge’ can become exhausting over time.”
7. Relationship challenges
“Many adults with ADHD have difficulty maintaining relationships with others due to inappropriate social behaviors, such as frequently interrupting, losing interest in conversations, difficulty paying attention and forgetfulness,” Kahn noted.
“You might forget to call friends back or forget about commitments to others, which can cause issues in your relationships.”
Emotional sensitivity often accompanies ADHD, which can manifest as mood swings, irritability or heightened responses to minor frustrations. (iStock)
Emotional sensitivity often accompanies ADHD, according to Anderson. This can manifest as mood swings, irritability or heightened responses to minor frustrations.
“Many people with ADHD describe feeling like their emotions are more intense and more challenging to control than those of others around them,” she added.
When to seek help
If you’ve experienced several of the above signs and they interfere with your daily life, experts recommend seeking help.
“ADHD is not a flaw nor something to be ashamed of — it’s simply a different way of processing information and interacting with the world,” said Anderson.
The first step is to speak with a health care professional specializing in ADHD, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist or even your primary care physician, she suggested.
“They can provide a proper evaluation and help you explore treatment options, including therapy, medication or lifestyle adjustments,” Anderson noted.
Potential solutions include mindfulness exercises and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which can help people with ADHD to improve their organization, time management and emotion regulation, the same source stated.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“For many people, medication is also an essential part of managing ADHD, as it can help balance brain chemistry and improve focus,” Anderson added.
Brooke Bardin, a licensed clinical social worker and director of Clinical Quality Assurance in Los Angeles, pointed out that ADHD can sometimes be confused for other conditions.
It is important to be assessed by a psychiatrist or mental health clinician if you experience multiple ADHD symptoms, experts advise. (iStock)
“ADHD has overlapping symptoms with other disorders and is often comorbid with other diagnoses,” she told Fox News Digital.
Anywhere from 40% to 70% of people with autism spectrum disorder also have ADHD, according to Bardin.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
It can also occur in tandem with learning disorders, anxiety disorders and mood disorders.
“Because of this, it is important to be assessed by a psychiatrist or mental health clinician,” Bardin advised.
“ADHD is not a flaw nor something to be ashamed of — it’s simply a different way of processing information and interacting with the world.”
As you seek out the right support and strategies, Anderson emphasizes the importance of being kind to yourself.
“ADHD isn’t a limitation — it’s a unique way of experiencing the world, and with the right tools, you can learn to harness its strengths and work through its challenges.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE GETTING YOUR FLU SHOT, ACCORDING TO DOCTORS
Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
HOW LONG YOU’RE CONTAGIOUS WITH THE FLU — AND WHEN IT’S SAFE TO GO OUT
The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
RESEARCHERS LOCKED FLU PATIENTS IN A HOTEL WITH HEALTHY ADULTS — NO ONE GOT SICK
The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
FREQUENT HEARTBURN MAY BE A WARNING SIGN OF A MORE DANGEROUS CONDITION, DOCTOR SAYS
The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
BACTERIA IN YOUR MOUTH MAY TRAVEL TO THE GUT AND TRIGGER STOMACH CANCER, RESEARCH FINDS
After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
-
Delaware2 minutes agoA favorite Delaware ice cream spot is getting a major makeover
-
Florida7 minutes agoCFO tells Florida voters don’t believe ‘big government apologists’ hype on property tax
-
Georgia14 minutes agoArgentine tegus up to 56 sightings in GA. Have you seen these invaders?
-
Hawaii17 minutes agoHonolulu City Council adopts nearly $5B budget package | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
-
Idaho17 minutes agoCourt Clears Path For Idaho’s Critical Stibnite Antimony Mine
-
Illinois29 minutes agoSuburban Chicago man charged after Illinois Tollway worker killed on I-294
-
Indiana32 minutes agoWhat do Skylake Adventures Indiana tickets cost? When Sheridan water park opens, location, hours
-
Iowa37 minutes agoOne dead and another injured after train strikes semi-truck in Iowa
