The psychiatrist talked about the symptoms of ADHD and treatment methods

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) refers to emotional disorders and behavioral disorders. The disease first appears in childhood and adolescence. Alexey Maroyan, a psychiatrist at the Fantasy Children's clinic, told Izvestia about this on March 16.

"ADHD can occur for several reasons. Among them are genetics, disorders of embryonic development, injuries, intoxications and others," he stressed.

According to the doctor, children with ADHD are characterized by restlessness, impulsivity and motor disinhibition. Teenagers are more likely to complain about difficulties with maintaining attention, especially during communication, studying or performing monotonous activities, he added.

For the treatment of ADHD, Maroyan said, behavioral techniques in conjunction with psychocorrective care, comprehensive self-help teaching methods and drug therapy are currently being actively used.

"According to the current clinical recommendations of the Ministry of Health, one drug has been registered in Russia that can be used to treat ADHD — it is approved for children over the age of six," the doctor said.

The psychiatrist emphasized that the younger a person is, the higher their neuroplasticity and the better the correction techniques work. Therefore, according to him, it is best to start treatment in childhood.

"On the other hand, the older the patient, the more opportunities there are to use medical support," the expert added.

On February 27, Viktor Nurdaev, a psychiatrist at the Sberbank Health medical company, told Izvestia about the three most common mental disorders. According to him, these are bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), as well as schizophrenia.