Do You Need Medication for Adult ADHD?

Summary: No, you do not need medication for adult ADHD, but it can help. Choosing medication for adult ADHD can increase your ability to manage symptoms you may not be able to manage without medication for adult ADHD.

Key Points:

• You can receive a diagnosis for ADHD during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood.
• Standard, evidence-based treatment for ADHD involves a combination of medication, psychotherapy, counseling, lifestyle changes, and professional coaching.
• The components for a treatment plan for ADHD depend on individual factors, including symptoms severity, level of disruption in daily life, and personal goals for treatment

Can Adults Really Get Diagnosed With ADHD if They Didn’t During Childhood or Adolescence?

Yes, adults of any age can really receive a diagnosis for clinical attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We’ll share data on the prevalence of ADHD in a moment, including by age group and age at diagnosis, but first, let’s learn more about adult ADHD in general.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offer a helpful definition of and description of adult ADHD in the publication ADHD in Adults: An Overview. Here’s how they introduce the concept of adult ADHD:

“ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that develops during childhood and often lasts into adulthood. While ADHD is often thought of as a childhood disorder, some adults may have ADHD but have never been diagnosed.”

The CDC further identifies the most common symptoms of ADHD in adults:

• Difficulty sustaining attention
• Problems completing lengthy tasks that don’t interest them
• Difficulty staying organized, at work or at home
• Problems with impulse control
• Persistent feeling of restlessness/feeling fidgety
• Problems with procrastination, at work or home

When those symptoms are mild, they may create minor or minimal disturbance in daily life. However, when you have moderate or severe symptoms, things change. Moderate to severe symptoms of adult ADHD can create significant disruption/impairment in the following areas:

• Work life
• Social life
• Family life
• Maintaining heathy daily habits, i.e. eating, sleeping, exercise
• Managing alcohol, tobacco, and/or substance use

That’s why some people need medication for adult ADHD: if you have problems at work, with friends, or at home associated your ADHD symptoms, you may want to consider seeking a psychiatrist for a full evaluation and diagnosis.

How Many Adults Have ADHD?

In a new publication called “Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis, Treatment, and Telehealth Use in Adults,” a group of researchers used verified CDC data to estimate how many adults in the U.S. have ADHD, the ages at which they received a diagnosis, and what type of treatment they received.

Here’s the data from that study:

Adults With ADHD in 2023: United States

• Total: 6%
• By age:
  • 18-24: 22%
  • 25-29: 63%
  • 50-64: 11%
  • 65+: 5%

• By gender:
  • Female: 44%
  • Male: 56%

Note: In 2023, 6% of the adult population of the U.S. was about 15.5 million people. That means that if you’re an adult with ADHD, you’re not alone

Age at ADHD Diagnosis Among Adults with ADHD in 2023

• Before 18: 44.1%
• After 18: 55.9%

Over half of adults with a current ADHD diagnosis received that diagnosis during adulthood.

Percentage of Adults With ADHD Who Received Treatment in 2023

• None: 37%
• Therapy + medication: 35%
• Medication only or therapy only: 15%
• Prescribed medication for ADHD: 50%
• Used stimulant medication: 33%
• Used non-stimulant medication: 6%

Those figures show that close to 8 million adults received a prescription for ADHD medication, while just over 5 million people used stimulant medication for adult ADHD and just under one (1) million people used non-stimulant medication for ADHD.

For the rest of this article, we’ll review the types of support that can help adults with ADHD.

Treatment for Adult ADHD: Medication, Therapy, and Coaching Can Help

There are two types of medication approved by the FDA for ADHD: stimulant medication and nonstimulant medication. Over 75 years of research shows that stimulant medication is a safe, effective method for managing the symptoms of ADHD. In recent years, a growing interest in non-stimulant medication for ADHD has led to the development and FDA approval of non-stimulant medication treatment options, as well.

ADHD Treatment: Stimulant Medication

• Stimulant medication is the most common, first-line treatment for managing ADHD symptoms in all age groups, including adults.
• The active ingredients in stimulant medication for ADHD include amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, lisdexamfetamine, and methamphetamine

ADHD Treatment: Non-Stimulant Medication

• Research shows nonstimulant medication is effective for reducing symptoms of ADHD in adults, but may take longer to achieve the desired outcome.
• The active ingredient in the one FDA approved, non-stimulant medication for adult ADHD is atomoxetine

Stimulant medication is considered the most effective and efficient approach to reducing ADHD symptoms, mitigating their disruptive power, and  helping patients manage the basic necessities of work, family life, and social life.

However, evidence indicates that medication in combination with psychotherapy can help patients with ADHD resolve any related psychological or emotional difficulties associated with ADHD. The following therapeutic modes can help adults with ADHD:

ADHD Treatment: Psychotherapy

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you understand the connection between thoughts/patterns of thought and behavior, which can have a significant impact on symptom reduction in ADHD.
• Mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy (MBCBT) combines basic mindfulness tools to help apply what you learn in CBT sessions to daily life.
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is most appropriate if you’re highly emotionally reactive, and have trouble managing strong feelings. DBT systematically incorporates elements of mindfulness – specifically emotion regulation techniques – with elements of CBT for optimal treatment effect and improved outcomes.

Medication and psychotherapy are not the only ways to support adults with ADHD. A recent development in ADHD treatment and support is the rise of ADHD coaching. This is a particularly effective approach for patients with mild symptoms who don’t want to use medication, and/or patients with moderate to severe symptoms who want to augment their treatment with hands-on, practical coaching custom-designed for their lives.

ADHD Treatment: Coaching Time Management/Organization Skills

Many adults with ADHD simply want help with managing their time more efficiently and support learning how to stay more organized at work, at home, and in their personal lives. For instance, an ADHD coach may ask, in the first coaching session, a series of questions like these:

How does ADHD affect your life now?

What kind of changes would you like to make in your daily life?

What skills do you currently have to help you make those changes?

Next, the coach – with the input of a psychiatrist or therapist, if you have one – will help you create concrete strategies and implement daily plans that can help you:

• Reduce anxiety
• Meet work deadlines
• Make it to important appointments
• Improve overall organization and time management
• Improve self-esteem
• Meet personal goals
• Meet professional goals

While medication can help you manage ADHD – and you need a psychiatrist for a diagnosis and prescription – it’s important to understand that you do not need medication for adult ADHD. It’s the best option for some people, but not for others: ultimately, the decision is yours.

How Do I Decide on a Treatment Approach?

To really learn whether you need medication for adult ADHD, the best choice is to arrange a full assessment administered by a licensed, qualified, mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist. They can identify the presence of clinical ADHD, define the severity of your symptoms, and collaborate with you to decide if medication is a good option for symptom management in your life, your set of circumstances, and how the symptoms of ADHD appear in and affect your daily behavior.

The way you manage your ADHD depends on your worldview and fundamental ideas about health and healing. Some people are anti-medication by default, and don’t even like to take aspirin for a headache. If that’s you, then we recommend considering psychotherapy and coaching. Others only want medication and want nothing to do with therapy or coaches: that’s their choice. Still others take the all of the above approach and will try a range of therapeutic options to learn what works best for them.

At Crownview Medical Group, we offer a range of ADHD treatment options and will collaborate with you to create a plan that gives you the best chance of addressing your short-term treatment needs and meting your long-term treatment goals.