Living With ADD
Therapist and Life Coach near me in Voorhees NJ & Marlton NJ (856) 352-5428 Contact New Jersey Therapy & Life Coaching
As a person with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), I have a unique insight into what it is, how it may affect you, and what you can do about it. If you struggle with paying attention, completing tasks (such as moving from one thing to another without finishing what you started), and experiencing what I call jumbled thoughts, you may have ADD.
What is It?
Problems paying attention are characterized by difficulties focusing, such as needing to read sentences multiple times to understand them, or struggling to complete tasks and often switching between tasks without finishing the original one. You may also struggle with jumbled thoughts, which means you sometimes have difficulty understanding what you are thinking. This is described as reading the middle or end of a sentence first, then reading the first part. ADD can create problems in many areas of your life, including not doing well in school or at work, or having relationship problems as your partner becomes frustrated with your inability to get things done.
What to Do About It
To successfully treat ADD, there are therapies and behavioral strategies that are designed to help you as an individual. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps you better understand and change negative thinking and behaviors that cause ADD, will also focus on time management, organization, and problem-solving.
Another treatment option is psycho-education, which involves educating you about the different facets of ADD. Psycho-education will help you gain an understanding of your ADD and guide you in developing coping strategies that work. When treating a child or teen with ADD, psycho-education teaches parents and other caregivers ways to help manage the attention problems and hyperactivity that can also be associated with ADD. Through treatment planning, specific goals are set, and ways of achieving these goals are identified.
Medication is also very effective in treating ADD. Stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin are often prescribed to effectively treat the disorder. They can help you concentrate more effectively, clear up any jumbled thinking, and reduce hyperactivity. Combining medication, therapy, and psycho-education can be extremely helpful and is most often recommended.
People with ADD often suffer from other mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression. You must identify any other mental health problems you may be having and treat those alongside your ADD.
Develop a Daily Routine
Effective strategies to manage ADD symptoms include developing a daily routine. This helps because the steps required to complete certain tasks remain the same every day and are therefore easier to remember and complete. For example, if you struggle with getting out of the house on time in the morning (and find yourself late for work or school often), it makes sense to have a set bedtime, a set wake-up time, and a list of things that must be completed each morning that will allow you to leave your house on time, all the time.
It is also important to set realistic goals and prioritize them, along with the steps needed to meet your goals. Break down large tasks into smaller ones. It is extremely helpful to write down your goals and the steps necessary to meet them. Just as in life coaching, doing this helps keep you focused and on task.
Don’t forget: use reminders…I have certain tasks, such as when to take medication, on my smartphone calendar with double alarms set. One of the more frustrating things about having ADD is being forgetful and disorganized. Keeping a calendar with reminder alarms can help you track what needs to be done and at what time.
Meditation is another useful tool in managing ADD. Meditation can help clear your mind and clarify your thoughts. When used in concert with CBT, meditation can help you identify your negative thoughts. Changing your negative thinking requires understanding what those thoughts actually are.
Limit Distractions
When working on tasks, it is important to limit any distractions. Having the TV on while trying to complete a task can be maddening if you have ADD. You may even want to silence or turn off your smartphone (I’m not kidding!) If you are a social media junkie, taking a break to look at social media can quickly become a bottomless pit. You may find yourself wasting countless hours online and getting nothing done.
Yet, getting lost in social media is an example of the gift most ADD sufferers have. Those with ADD do report being able to hyper-focus on things they enjoy most. Certain projects can be so enticing that you may find yourself losing track of time while working on them. I sometimes find myself lost in a book. I also hyper-focus when I am working with a client or writing a blog post. Yet, the gift of hyper-focus can be a pitfall, as you may ignore important responsibilities you may have. This can drive your partner crazy.
If you think you may have ADD, it is important to visit a mental health professional for an assessment. Living life with undiagnosed ADD can be difficult. Although undiagnosed and untreated individual do adjust to living their daily life, ADD may be holding them back from becoming more.