Defining ADHD
Life is a balancing act for any adult. However, if you find yourself constantly late, disorganized, forgetful, and overwhelmed by your responsibilities, you may have ADHD or ADD.
With education, support, and a little creativity, you can learn to manage the symptoms of adult ADHD – even turning some of your weaknesses into strengths.
Learn to Prioritize
The ability to prioritize and manage thoughts and actions is crucial to life. Difficulties completing tasks or forgetting important things causes problems in every area of work.
Treatment involves helping deal with the emotional and behavioral response to situations. Learning effective coping strategies is helpful to plan for organization and prioritization. Goal-setting, reward and consequence, and emotional regulation are other areas that are addressed during psychotherapy for ADHD.
I can help you to change unhealthy habits and thinking patterns.
Concentration issues
The symptoms of inattention and concentration difficulties include:
- Being easily distracted by things such as noises, activity, or other external events that others tend to ignore.
- Difficulty paying attention or focusing, such as when reading or listening to others.
- “Zoning out” without realizing it, even in the middle of a conversation.
- Struggling to complete tasks, even ones that seem simple. A tendency to overlook details, leading to errors or incomplete work.
- Poor listening skills, for example, having a hard time remembering conversations and following directions.
Disorganization and forgetfulness
- Poor organizational skills (home, office, desk, or car is extremely messy and cluttered)
- Tendency to procrastinate
- Trouble starting and finishing projects
- Chronic lateness
- Frequently forgetting appointments, commitments, deadlines
- Constantly losing or misplacing things (keys, wallet, phone, documents, bills).
- Underestimating the time it will take you to complete tasks.
Impulsivity
- Frequently interrupt others or talk over them
- Poor self-control, addictive tendencies
- Blurting out thoughts that are rude or inappropriate without thinking
- Acting recklessly or spontaneously without regard for consequences
- Trouble behaving in socially appropriate ways (such as sitting still during a long meeting)
Emotional Difficulties
- Easily flustered and stressed out
- Irritability or short, often explosive, temper
- Low self-esteem and sense of insecurity or underachievement
- Trouble staying motivated
- Hypersensitivity to criticism
Hyperactivity or Restlessness
- Feelings of inner restlessness, agitation, racing thoughts
- Getting bored easily, craving for excitement, tendency to take risks
- Talking excessively, doing a million things at once
- Trouble sitting still, constant fidgeting
Time to Get Help
If the symptoms of ADHD are still getting in the way of your life, despite self-help efforts to manage them, it may be time to seek outside support. Reach out to me.