Debi

Thank you for your question and welcome to ADHDCentral.com.

I am not a medical professional and would not be able to give you medical advice.

Symptoms of ADHD do not include aggressive behavior. What you are seeing may be a manifestation of years of frustration of dealing with ADHD symptoms or it could be caused by another illness or disorder. It is so very important to make sure you have an accurate diagnosis, because only then can you have an effective treatment plan.

You don't mention whether this is an adult child or a spouse but either way the first step would be to find out if this person would allow you to speak with their doctor and become involved in their treatment. You could then explain to the doctor what is going on. Some of the steps the doctor might take:

Running medical tests to rule out any physical causes of this behavior

Referring this person to a therapist to help him learn behavioral strategies for anger and frustration as well as working to increase self-esteem

Referring this person to a psychologist or psychiatrist for a complete evaluation to determine if there are additional conditions that are not being treated, such as depression or bipolar disorder.

No matter what you choose, you should not be subjected to violence and you need to set rules about behaviors you will accept and decide what steps you will take to make sure you stay safe, such as not allowing this person in the house if he continues to act in this way and refuses treatment.

I hope this helps. Please take steps to stay safe and let me know how you are doing.

Eileen