Experiencing ADDvantages

ADD Management Video Blog: Being Different

Welcome to the very first episode of the ADD Management Video Blog!

Please feel free to tell me what you think about it in the comments field below!

3 Tips for Restful Sleep

Here's an interesting article on New Scientist titled Are bad sleeping habits driving us mad?

The article suggests that a lack of sleep may actually cause the symptoms of mental illness, whereas the medical world has previously believed the opposite--that lack of sleep is a symptom of mental illnesses.

I fully believe that one of the best things we can do to manage adult ADD is to make sleep a priority. Even one night of poor sleep will result in increased ADD challenges. It's like trying to use a cell phone that hasn't been charged--it works for a little while, but it will eventually shut down.

As you can imagine, a person who consistently lacks restful sleep will have considerable difficulty managing ADD long term.

Here are my top 3 tips for getting a good night's sleep:

1. Shut down the computer 1-2 hours before bed.
2. Take 30 minutes to unwind and de-stress each and every day.
3. Establish a bedtime routine to signal your brain & body that it's time to shut down.

What's YOUR best tip for ensuring a good night's sleep?

Adults with AD/HD: Are You Trying to Take on Too Much at Once?

Lately it seems that many of my clients are struggling with a form of ADD impulsiveness that we're all familiar with: wanting to make a positive change in life, and expecting it to happen instantly.

As a result, I'm seeing people who are taking on too much at once, and then getting down on themselves for not being able to continue the actions and sustain the results. In a sense, they are setting themselves up to fail.

Maybe you have--or currently are--experiencing something similar?

Adults with ADD run into this problem all the time, in lots of situations. It's the nature of ADD: new ideas and goals seem fun and interesting, so you jump into one head first, only to find that your interest wanes and the goal gets abandoned. Bad feelings usually follow.

The problem isn't the goal, however, and it isn't you, either! It's more likely that you're just trying to take on too much at once.

One of the hardest things for an adult with ADD to learn is that change takes time. We decide on a change that we want to make, and then expect that the decision alone will ensure success. Unfortunately, this just isn't true.

Real change doesn't happen quickly. It happens piece by piece, and it comes in levels of success. If you try to rush the process, overwhelm can easily set in, at which point it just becomes too difficult to stick to your plans. Some common experiences among adults with ADD include:

Trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle, only to find yourself back on the couch a few days later, overindulging in pizza and ice cream.

Becoming so engaged in a new hobby that you enjoy it every day for hours at a time, only to forget all about it in a week.

Cleaning out a closet to near perfection, only to find yourself throwing stuff in there and messing it up again just a few days later.

When this happens, you end up feeling bad about yourself, and asking questions like "What is wrong with me? Why can't I just get it together?"

The answer is simple: there is nothing wrong with you! You just tried to take on too much at once.

Change is much more sustainable when you adopt it piece by piece. So instead of jumping in head first, you take a more balanced approach:

You focus on drinking more water during the day. And when that is no longer a challenge, you work on making exercise a regular habit.

When you become interested in a new hobby, you sign up for a weekly class to ensure that you stick with it.

You first clear the clutter out of your closet. Then you create organizational systems. Then you create structure to ensure follow-through.

This slow-and-steady-wins-the-race approach is an unfamiliar concept for many adults with ADD. But it works!

The key is to identify layers (or steps) of the main goal that you can apply one at a time. You work on achieving a small success, and then build on it with another small success when you're ready.

The results aren't always quick, but when positive changes are implemented slowly, they have a much better chance of sticking.

I hope this has been a helpful reminder! And if you have thoughts on this subject, please do share them in the comments field below.

Michael Phelps - Can We Drop the Politically Correct Crap?

I really don't love sports. Never watch the Olympics. Couldn't care less about swimming. In fact, if Michael Phelps didn't have ADD, I really wouldn't care about him at all. But since he is a successful ADDer, he's on my radar, and I feel compelled to comment on the recent media attention he's received over being caught smoking pot.

Everyone seems to be so busy being politically correct and going on record to condemn Michael Phelps' behavior that no one is saying what many of us are thinking. So what?

Michael Phelps smoked pot. So what?

Did you ever smoke pot? I did. Granted, I haven't touched the stuff since college, but I smoked here and there, and I turned out okay. I also drank, smoked cigarettes, and had sex. I made good choices, and I made bad choices. And I turned out alright. In fact, I turned out pretty damn good.

I don't think Michael Phelps is a drug addict. I do think he's made some poor choices. When you're a public figure and viewed as a role model, you certainly want to be careful about what you do and who you do it with. And when you drink, you should NEVER drive a car. (I personally find this inexcusable.) But perhaps Michael Phelps' biggest crime in this pot smoking fiasco is quite simply being guilty of some ADD impulsiveness.

Is Michael Phelps still an ADD role model? Absolutely. His successes cannot be taken away from him. And his recent actions might even provide an excellent opportunity for parents to talk to their kids about drugs and drinking and the consequences of a person's choices and actions.

Need further convincing? See what Saturday Night Live's Seth Myers has to say about it. I couldn't agree more.