The Most Dangerous and Destructive ADHD Symptom

Why impulsivity can be more worrisome than attention deficits.

Coffee in hand, I look out over the neighborhood and am greeted by a fresh blanket of snow. Yet to be touched, all I can see is a playground of all-wheel-drive fun, begging to be obnoxiously disturbed by my 6-speed turbocharged manual.

It’s at this moment when my high school-aged next door neighbor fires up his modified Dodge Charger, aggressively coming to life in sleep-ending fashion. He proceeds to calmly, respectfully leave the neighborhood as he makes his way to school for the day.

This is the moment I think to myself, “How can a teenager with a fun car avoid the temptation, while my 30-something self wants nothing more than to artfully lay down donuts in the cul-de-sac?”

Ironically enough, that cold January morning required me to make my way to a routine psychiatry appointment for ADHD treatment. With my neighbor’s example in mind, I too calmly exited the neighborhood, leaving a pedestrian path of tire tracks in the rearview mirror.

The above is an example of a significant departure from a more tumultuous, destructive, and somewhat dangerous past of mine. We’ll call it the difference between my life before and after being diagnosed with ADHD.

While inattentiveness is highly discussed and most often thought of when ADHD comes into conversation, I’d argue that impulsivity is an equally frequent, often more dangerous, symptom of ADHD.

While I made a wise decision to not turn our quiet neighborhood into a playground, my past is riddled with less than stellar, impulse driven moments. A very select few examples include:

• Crashing my car at the age of 19 because I had the urge to peel out when leaving work on a cold, icy night.
• Nearly crashing the rental car I was driving while my car was in the shop (due to said previous accident) when passing a tractor trailer while exiting the highway.
• Blowing the motor of my brand new car at the age of 25 during an impromptu street race because I missed a shift.

This is merely a curated sampling of a select few car related moments of impulsivity from my past.

With these occurrences in mind, I quite literally: caused thousands of dollars in damage, earned a regrettable reputation, and was nearly severely injured or got myself killed.

To reiterate, impulsivity is the dangerous and destructive symptom of ADHD.

If you or a loved one has been formally diagnosed with or exemplifies many of the symptoms of ADHD, impulsivity must be treated as a serious matter. With research that backs up the issue, getting a grip on your impulsive ways is not only possible, but necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

The scientific evidence of ADHD impulsivity

For those who are not familiar, Dr. Russell Barkley is renowned for the study of ADHD, and has detailed in length the adverse health outcomes of those who have ADHD.

In his findings, Dr. Barkley links impulsive tendencies to a multitude of negative health outcomes, including but not limited to:

• Binge eating and eating disorders
• Accidental injuries
• Risky sexual behavior
• Suicide attempts and completions

All of the above studied outcomes carry a minimum of a 3x greater likelihood of occurrence for those diagnosed with ADHD when compared to the general population.

As someone who has both sustained and nearly sustained moderate to serious levels of injury, many of these occurrences came from moments of ADHD related impulsivity.

The best way I can explain the feeling of ADHD derived impulsivity in the moment is a feeling similar to blind anger. Have you ever been so angry that you’re willing to say, or even do, almost anything in the moment without regard for consequence?

ADHD related impulsivity is very similar, however, it can also be derived from moments of fun or pleasure (much like my examples above).

In these moments, every negative consequence becomes very “out of sight, out of mind.”

Take for example the time I blew the engine in my car. When the similarly sporty vehicle as to mine came alongside and egged on a race, my immediate thoughts were not — what if there are cops up ahead or if we cause an accident?

Instead, the blind thoughts of, “this is going to be fun” and, “there’s no way I’m losing to this guy” were the only impulsive thoughts that ran through my mind.

The result: A blown engine because I blew past redline when I missed a shift, in a car with less than 10,000 miles I might add.

Did I mention that ADHD related impulsivity has a way of being dangerous and destructive?

How to combat impulsivity

I’ve personally experienced and witnessed the havoc that undiagnosed and untreated ADHD can cause in one’s life and to those around them. Obtaining treatment for ADHD is vital, not just for symptoms of impulsivity, but for all ADHD related symptoms and characteristics.

The following are three key components to addressing and treating ADHD.

1. Therapy

Working with a therapist is the foundation in treating ADHD and the associated symptoms.

Therapists will use interventions such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to build healthy skills to combat symptoms of ADHD.

These skills include impulse control strategies that, like building muscle, train your brain to have more foresight and make fewer snap decisions.

2. Medication

To build upon a healthy therapeutic routine, medication can also be introduced to further combat the symptoms of ADHD.

While heavily assisting with inattentiveness and hyperactivity, medication can also help with impulsiveness. In fact, studies have shown that ADHD medications reduce injury occurrences, indicating benefits around impulsivity.

While medication is a tool and not a cure, it is a tool that can enhance the benefits of therapy and offer a healthier quality of life.

3. Support

Those with ADHD often struggle with rejection sensitivity and masking issues.

Because of this, having a support system of friends and loved ones who understand the challenges, offering patience and grace when symptoms get the best of someone, is a need.

While those of us with ADHD are ultimately responsible for our actions and subsequent consequences, having a united support system helps us get to a better place more quickly.

In summary

While not all is bad for those diagnosed with ADHD, symptoms such as impulsivity can wreak havoc on those afflicted, opening the door to dangerous and destructive behavior.

Even so, by engaging in regular therapy, seeking professional medication management, and establishing a trustworthy support structure, the negative symptoms of ADHD can be combatted.

I can humbly attest that even with these three pieces in place, I most certainly battle issues of impulsivity to this day. However, I’ve learned to reduce my tendency to make snap decisions by slowing down and adding foresight to my decision making process.

Would it have been fun to take advantage of the snow covered roads on that calm morning? Sure, but I also could have: earned a reputation as that neighbor, taken out someone's mailbox, or even hurt myself or someone else. All of these scenarios ran through my mind before ever opening the garage door, something that I could not have said a mere year or so ago.

The urges are still there, that itch to indulge in some impulsive fun, but owning my ADHD is more important than giving in to the fleeting moments.

And that’s fun enough for me.

© Jeff Peirish

To read more from Jeff and his adventures with ADHD, please check out the following stories:

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