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.

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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).

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.

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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.

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“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.”

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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.

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“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. 

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“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.

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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.”

“This replicates and reinforces what we already know about sugar-sweetened beverages,” he said, “but the findings highlight their severe costs on health and productivity, especially in Africa and Latin America.”

The study detailed intriguing patterns in the consumption of sugary drinks. For example, researchers found that men had modestly higher rates of soda consumption than women. Intake was higher among the well-educated, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America. In the Middle East and North Africa by contrast, the study found that soda consumption was higher among adults with comparatively lower levels of education.South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia had the lowest rates of excess cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes linked to sugary drink consumption, the study found, though the authors noted that the data did not include sugar-sweetened tea and coffee, items that are popular in those parts of the world.

Laura Lara-Castor, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Washington and another lead author of the Nature study, said the higher rates of consumption among educated adults in sub-Saharan Africa reflected in part the aspirational lure of soft drink brands associated with Western tastes and style — a result of the sophisticated and well-funded advertising campaigns by multinational beverage companies.

“Consuming these drinks is often a mark of status,” she said.

Despite the study’s grim findings, Dr. Lara-Castor and the other authors said the data also contained reasons for hope. Soda consumption in Latin America and the Caribbean is already beginning to decline, thanks in part to policies like soda taxes, marketing restrictions and package labels that seek to educate consumers about the dangers of products high in added sugar. (In the United States, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has dropped since its peak in 2000 but those declines have largely plateaued in recent years.)

More than 80 countries have adopted measures aimed at decreasing sugary drink consumption.

Paula Johns, executive director of ACT Health Promotion, an advocacy group in Brazil, said the Nature study showed that education alone was not enough to dampen consumer zeal for sweetened drinks. In recent years, she said that Brazil had adopted a number of policies that are beginning to dent the nation’s love affair with highly processed food and sugary drinks. They include better school-meal programs, bold front-of-package warnings and a new excise tax on beverages with added sugar.

“There’s no magic bullet,” she said. “But all these policies, taken together, help send the message to the public that sugar-sweetened beverages are really bad for your health.”