DOES MINDFULNESS HELP ADDERS?

Yes, it does. Mindfulness is learning how to be aware and focus on the here and now, that is, to be in the present moment. In my coaching experience, ADDers are far from mindful. They are easily distracted or not paying attention to the task at hand. Mindfulness is helpful to ADDers because it teaches people how to have more self-control and not have wandering thoughts or internal distractions. There are many routes to mindfulness. Since I’m an ADDer I searched and found meditational yoga. At first I couldn’t sustain the breathing necessary to focus and relax. In fact it was boring, so my mind wandered a lot of the time. But soon I was able to practice breathing and focusing on the breath with less distractibility. Then I took a yoga class where the breathing was paired with strength training using weights. It was much easier to concentrate on my breath since using weights requiring this skill. Also, I was less anxious than I am normally, which of course made paying attention easier.

So I think meditational breathing will help an ADDer, particularly if paired with some activity. I did find that my focusing and reduced anxiety could generalize to everyday life only if I practiced it at least twice a day for 15 minutes. Importantly, if you don’t want to take classes, your ADD can coach you to reach a mindful state.

ARE YOU EMBARRASSED ABOUT HAVING AD(H)D?

I hope not. I just treated a young adult who is ashamed of being AD(H)D, particularly since her friends are constantly picking on her about it. I told her to tell her friends to get more information about AD(H)D, and they will find that it’s a brain style with positives and negatives…not a disability
per se.

However, many ADDers ultimately are embarrassed because they excuse many of their actions as just being an ADDer. For example” I’m sorry I’m late again, it’s because of my ADD time management problems” Instead, they need to set their watches 30 minutes early for the appointment, or be in time for classes by keeping their alarm clocks 5 or 10 minutes ahead of the actual time. Another example is failing to look at bills and not signing checks. As an ADDer, I used to say” attending to detail is a large part of being ADD”. Now, with important financial matters I mentally rehearse what I have to do (which is a cognitive strategy) before I read bills or make out checks.

What strategies do you to ensure you attend to important details and manage your time, so you don’t lose friends or deal with creditors a lot?

To Be Successful, You Need Coaching for ADD

http://addressingyouradd.com/

ADDers GOING TO COLLEGE: TIME TO WORRY?

Yes, of course. Your ADD teenager has often been challenging enough. It is well known, that compared to non-ADDers . they have a much higher frequency of substance abuse and drinking and driving problems. In general, the non-ADDers have not yet developed a totally mature brain but the ADDer is more neurologically and emotionally immature and function at a younger age when compared with peers. There is poor judgment, disinhibition or impulsvity, poor time management and organization, and failure to attend to tasks and complete them

What needs to be done to enhance success? Take a look at a very new and useful book Stephanie Moulton Sarkis “A Student’s Guide to Succeeding in College with Attention Deficit Disorder”( New Harbinger). An excerpt of her book can be found in the October 2008 issue of the ADHD REPORT ( edited by Russell A. Barkley).

She offers many tips in selecting appropriate colleges, such as determining the “degree of individual instruction and quality of services provided by the school”. At the college, students should be able to get necessary accommodations and support groups through the College’s Office for Students Disability Services. She also recommends that ADHD students live on campus in dorm suites so they are not totally isolated, which also increases the chances of their getting to classes, in comparison with off-site living. Also, if students are taking psychotropic medications they need to seek out physicians and counselors on campus or nearby. Dr Sarkis warns that “ 26 % of adolescents who are prescribed stimulant medications sell them or give them away.. for money as well as fear of social isolation”. Severe consequences are usually administered in these cases, including suspension and even expulsion from school. It is more common for ADDers in college to drink excessive alcohol and drugs” due to the craving for social acceptance and the tendency to self-medicate”

There are many more tips and suggestions in Dr. Sarkis’ book. To me, the beginning of the process is extremely important, that is, choosing the appropriate school with the best resources for the ADDer.