Impulsivity and hyperactivity are two of the most dehumanizing symptoms of ADHD because they reduce your control and ability to make rational choices over important decisions in your life. 

Impulsivity can lead to harsh and insensitive remarks or over-sharing and spilling of sensitive information that should have remained a secret in personal conversations. It can also cause binge shopping and wasteful spending on items you don't really need, uncalculated risks with your savings, and hasty career changes without a backup plan.

Not every negative impact has to be a visible disaster. 

You can also suffer from intense and overwhelming racing thoughts that prevent you from focusing. Physical restlessness that makes you more impulsive for distraction and quick relief is also very common. No matter the context, after every accident caused by impulsivity, you are likely left with shame, regret, and disappointment in yourself. 

This article will offer an in-depth look into the connection between ADHD and lack of impulse control and hyperactivity, how the symptoms interact together, and the negative impact they can have on your life. 

Why ADHD Leads to Impulsivity and Hyperactivity 

Most neurotypical adults have a fairly decent ability to exercise self-control - the ability to acknowledge their initial instincts and impulses and act differently to pursue a higher goal, like happiness, long-term health objects, and fulfilling personal goals. 

Self-control can be anything from taking a moment to re-word an otherwise aggressive remark in a conversation to stopping your foot from tapping and your hand from fidgeting when it would distract or annoy others. 

We can exercise self-control because there is a promise of a larger reward in the future if you sacrifice the smaller but immediate reward of doing whatever you want in the present. For example, it might feel nice to indulge your craving for video games while doing your homework, but you know it won't be just 20 minutes, and you have a tight deadline, so you stay on track. 

ADHD impairs self-control and leads to impulsivity and hyperactivity for two primary reasons.

Neurotransmitter Deficiencies 

A neurotransmitter deficiency means people with ADHD are in heightened need of stimulation. This need for stimulation is often satisfied with video games, social media, binge shopping, obsessing over hobbies, adrenaline-packed sports, highly competitive challenges, chaotic and dynamic work environments, etc (1)

If the craving for stimulation is very intense, then sacrificing pleasure in the present for gratification in the future becomes much harder. The more your brain is desperately begging for some stimulation right now, the harder it is to justify to yourself why you should care about the future. 

Furthermore, some theories suggest that insufficient brain stimulation means certain regions are not activating or shutting off when they should be. If we think of neurotransmitters as messengers that bounce between different circuits, their deficit or absence means brain regions are not working properly in synch (2)

According to this theory, neurotypical people have a clear behavioral difference between their default mode network (brooding, introspecting, and zoning out) and their task-positive network (being aware of the present and focusing on the task at hand). 

However, for neurodivergent people, the wall between both modes is eroded. This lack of clear separation between cognitive modes and brain circuits could be the reason many people with ADHD report internal hyperactivity. 

At any point, they feel overwhelmed with countless racing thoughts, emotions, and sensations. If their brain is a library, then the librarian decides to abandon their duties, so books are not on the shelves they should be, and items are flying left and right all the time. 

If that's the case, impulsivity and hyperactivity become deeply interconnected. Impulsive decisions could be used as a coping mechanism from the brain's unceasing and painful chatter because you feel the need to take action at the moment to get relief. 

Executive Dysfunction

Self-control relies on both hindsight and foresight. To do long-term planning, set up goals, and stick with them no matter the temptation in the present, you must be able to:

1. Observe your past behavior patterns to avoid repeating mistakes. 

2. Be aware of your current actions to analyze the risks and dangers your actions can have. 

3. Think clearly about the future and conceptualize how your mistakes now can hurt you down the line.

In short, you need a fundamental sense of time to evaluate the dangers of impulsive decisions properly. Unfortunately, many people with ADHD experience severe time blindness. They are eternally stuck in the present and struggle to orientate themselves across time (3)

It's hard for you to focus on big rewards in the future if your brain struggles to imagine or care about the concept of time. It rationally knows there is a future but isn't emotionally attached to it. 

As a result of all that, people with ADHD tend to be very impulsive and have intense moments of hyperactivity; they often act out of instinct and impulses, immediately responding to stimuli.

It's not that a person with ADHD is intellectually inferior or less rational than others. They can be very good at reflecting on their actions, but that usually happens after the fact. The action happens first, and observing and reflecting on whether this was a good idea happens only after the automatic response. 

The Negative Impact of Impulsivity 

Impulsivity doesn't affect people equally. It will highly depend on your upbringing, character traits, environment, and how severe your ADHD is. 

For some, impulsivity is their tendency to make rash financial decisions. For example, binge shopping or spending hundreds of dollars on products and equipment for a new hobby without considering whether they can pay the rent or afford food for the next week.

For others, it often plays out in social settings when they interrupt others without waiting for their turn or blur out insensitive comments that they didn't mean to say at all.

Impulsivity isn't always horrible. For example, spontaneously deciding to go on a camping trip with your friends can create many happy memories. 

However, more likely than not, making decisions on a whim isn't in your best interest because pleasure in the present often trades off with benefits in the future. For instance, playing video games or browsing social media versus studying hard, going to the bar every other day instead of saving to pay off your debt, spending on one of your many new hobbies instead of pilling savings for a course, and additional work qualifications, etc. 

It's not only the decision itself that is problematic but the way it makes you feel afterward. Being a highly impulsive individual can feel as though, from time to time, you get possessed by a self-destructive demon, only to regain control after the fact. It can make you feel deeply ashamed, dejected, and engulfed with regret for your actions, even if you didn't have much control. 

The Negative Impact of Hyperactivity

Impulsivity and hyperactivity are often grouped together, but the latter has some unique ways in which it manifests.

Hyperactivity can feel like you have the engine of a racing car while equipped with bicycle wheels.

In your everyday life, you are more likely to feel a constant sensation of pent-up energy. It feels like increasing pressure and physical restlessness that has to be released, leading you to squirm, fidget, toy with surrounding objects, play with your hair, bite your nails, pick your skin, etc. 

ADHD brains are also often hyperactive internally, with a chaotic and fast-paced thought process that seeks an outlet for expression in the real world. 

Many people with ADHD have been called chatterboxes and other derogatory labels because they talk a lot. Perhaps it is sometimes excessive, but they can't stop themselves from expressing their thoughts and feelings due to how much is going on internally in their mind.

With so much going on inside, the ADHD brain requires an outlet, but talking with others isn't always an option, nor is it preferable for many introverts. It's why hyperactivity also makes it very common to always have a strong desire to be on the go, moving and doing stuff instead of standing still. 

If you know a person with ADHD or reflect on your own behavior, it's more likely than not that ADHD matches the profile of someone who's a perfectionist and a workaholic. A persistent feeling of restlessness means you must always do more, not linger too much after achieving a goal or completing a project, and keep going no matter what. 

Key Takeaways

Both executive dysfunction and a deficiency in neurotransmitter production contribute to symptoms of physical and internal hyperactivity and impaired impulse control in people with ADHD. Although the intensity of symptoms varies from person to person, those two remain a central part of every ADHD diagnosis. 

Acting on impulse is far from innocent spontaneity since, in many cases, the instincts, cravings, and desires you have in a given moment don't align with your values, priorities, and long-term goals. Even if you don't make any harmful decisions, you are likely in a constant pent-up, frantic, and restless state, feeling on the edge and overwhelmed.