I had a friend a few years ago who was prone to angry outbursts.

She tries to restrain from responding in anger, but it isn’t always easy. Some days when she has a hard time focusing at school or her classmates are noisy, and she can’t tune them out, her agitation levels will soar. She will tend to lash out in annoyance during these times. Noise and crowds can trigger her, and she is then agitated by everyone and everything. She experiences overwhelm entirely differently now. There would be crying, pencils flying around the room, and often screaming.Īs she got older, the outbursts dissipated. After spending all day trying so hard to focus and fit in at school, homework could send her over the edge. When my daughter was in middle school, angry outbursts were a part of every afternoon. I am not prone to angry outbursts, but crying is a common response for me. My anxiety is heightened, and I need to be by myself to calm down my feelings. Every person is irritating, and I feel like I’m going to crawl out of my own skin. I zone out but also have difficulty tuning things out. It becomes harder to sort the important from the unimportant. When I get extremely overwhelmed, every noise seems amplified in my head. I don’t believe every person with ADHD will experience this in the same way, but we all do share some similarities. What Does an ADHD Meltdown Look Like? And What Does It Feel Like?Īnd ADHD meltdown can be extreme anger, fits of crying, frustration, and/or complete shut- down. Over half of those with ADHD also have poor emotional management.

The study looked at how ADHD affected emotional regulations and the connection between ADHD and poor emotional regulation in siblings and family members. Those who have deficient emotional self-regulation cannot censor emotional reactions even during times of low stress. This group of symptoms includes spontaneous bursts of anger, frustration, impatience, or excitability in response to ordinary everyday experiences.Įveryone can have difficulty regulating emotions, but for most people, this is more common during times of excess stress or strain. Surman M.D., people with ADHD have trouble regulating emotions. The building up of, and the eventual boiling over, of our extreme emotions, is what is known as ADHD meltdown.Īccording to a 2011 study by Craig B.H.

Those things can be amplified if you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and managing emotions is difficult for you. How to Manage ADHD Meltdowns and Tantrums

Emotional meltdowns in adults