Myths and facts about ADD / ADHD in adults
MYTH : ADD/ADHD is just a lack of willpower. Persons with ADD/ADHD focus well on things that interest them; they could focus on any other tasks if they really wanted to.
FACT : ADD/ADHD looks very much like a willpower problem, but it isn't. It's essentially a chemical problem in the management systems of the brain.
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MYTH : Everybody has the symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and anyone with adequate intelligence can overcome these difficulties.
FACT : ADD/ADHD affects persons of all levels of intelligence. And although everyone sometimes has symptoms of ADD/ADHD, only those with chronic impairments from these symptoms warrant an ADD/ADHD diagnosis.
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MYTH : Someone can't have ADD/ADHD and also have depression, anxiety, or other psychiatric problems.
FACT : A person with ADD/ADHD is six times more likely to have another psychiatric or learning disorder than most other people. ADD/ADHD usually overlaps with other disorders.
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MYTH : Unless you have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD as a child, you can't have it as an adult.
FACT : Many adults struggle all their lives with unrecognized ADD/ADHD impairments. They haven't received help because they assumed that their chronic difficulties, like depression or anxiety, were caused by other impairments that did not respond to usual treatment.
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Source: Dr. Thomas E. Brown, Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults