138: ADHD-It’s not a Temper Tantrum, It’s Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

The thing that ADHD parents in my private practice were most concerned about was their child’s temper tantrums. I agree that these displays of anger were sometimes scary and some parents were thinking their child’s temper tantrums might have a major diagnosis like Bipolar disorder or even Schizophrenia. Temper tantrums are upsetting but they are more complicated than just anger. I’m going to discuss the more complicated explanation which involves something called Rejection Sensaitive Dysphoria. This is a recent way of looking at anger in ADHDers. It suggests that the anger is a result of the feeling of being constantly criticized and feeling inadequate. It’s a display of frustration and fear but not really anger.