Do adults with ADHD get bored easily? Yes and No, depending 🙂
Compared to other adults, adults with ADHD will get bored easily when they’re stuck in situations like these:
- regimented work (e.g., assembly lines where the worker can’t control pace, and the pace is slow)
- routine desk work (e.g., sorting and analyzing tons of similar data sets)
- unappealing passive activities (e.g., sitting through a non-captivating lecture or movie)
- unappealing social activities (e.g., talking with people at a dinner part or cocktail party with people you don’t find interesting)
That said, many adults with ADHD don’t get bored often because they hate boredom so much that they’ll do anything to avoid situations that might make them bored!
Adults with ADHD don’t pursue careers with a lot of regimented work or routine desk work. Or if they do pursue those careers, they get fired or otherwise drop out. (I used to be an engineer. It nearly killed me.)
Adults with ADHD don’t go to lectures unless they know 1,000% that they’re going to enjoy it. Otherwise, they do something else. If an adult with ADHD is at a movie and doesn’t like it, they get up and go to a different movie. Or they fiddle with their phones (despite all the nasty comments from people behind them who hate the bright screen). Adults with ADHD avoid boring parties or fail to follow the social rules that drive boring conversations. Or they find a dog to play with. Or a magazine to read in the corner.
So, to re-answer the question in a broader way:
- Adults with ADHD and freedom are rarely bored.
- Adults with ADHD and no freedom are often bored and in pain.
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I wrote this post in reply to a question on Quora.
See here for more answers:
https://www.quora.com/Do-adults-with-ADHD-get-bored-easily