A popular attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) coach has revealed five surprising behaviors that could be red flags.
Kelly Baum, who was diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, recently went viral on TikTok sharing her own experience — and the habits she never knew were symptoms of something deeper.
One common behavior in people with the disorder, Baum explained, is listening to the same song on repeat until they have “drawn all the emotion out” of the song and “are sick of it.”
She also said that procrastinating on small tasks that would likely only take a few minutes to check off the to-do list is a symptom of ADHD.
Kelly Baum
“Even though you know it will literally take you five minutes, you cannot get yourself to do it. No matter how hard you try or no matter how many times people tell you, ‘Just do it,’ you can’t.”
The expert also shared that constantly running into furniture is another habit people with the chronic condition repeat.
Kelly Baum
“ADHD and neurodivergence can impact your proprioception, which is your awareness of the position and movement of your body."
People who suffer from ADHD may also have a strange relationship with coffee, where the beverage creates the “opposite” of the intended effect — actually making them more tired.
Kelly Baum
“This has to do with the fact they have a lower dopamine level. When you drink coffee, it raises your dopamine levels and things even out and you feel a little bit more relaxed, kind of like a stimulant medication dose.”
To round out the list, Baum shared that people with ADHD will sit in the car for a long period of time after arriving at a destination.
Kelly Baum
“This is because they often struggle with switching tasks. It’s like you’ve got to work yourself up for it."
Baum wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until she was 30 years old and actively shares insights about the neurobehavioral disorder to encourage others to get diagnosed or help them through it.
ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder, with an estimated 6 million children, 3 to 17 years old, having ever been diagnosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Doctors explained to Women’s Health that women are statistically more likely to have symptoms overlooked and go undiagnosed.
Doctors warned that licensed professionals should be giving the diagnosis — not armchair “experts” on social media.
Still, a startling amount of women are diagnosing themselves with neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD after watching trending TikTok videos.
The social media app has also been accused of allowing a wave of startups to capitalize on loosened drug regulations to promote and sell prescription medications for ADHD like Adderall and Vyvanse, raising ethical and legal questions from doctors.