ADD Coaching Blog

THE ADD COACH IS BACK…THIS BLOG IS ABOUT STRESS

2012-01-17T13:48:00.001-08:00

Having taken a recess for several months I’m back blogging about adult ADDers under stress. I am an ADDer and am currently moving from my big house to a condo. The buzz words are “decluttering and “ downsizing”, two terms I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Up to a point I was hyperfocused and multitasking all the time, except when I was at work. But as the moving process continued and became more intense with greater stress, I became totally inattentive in many areas and did ridiculous things.

For example, I didn’t realize I had dumped a whole box of tissues into the washing machine, and you can imagine the result. Even with drying one load several times, clothes had to be thrown out. Not only that, but when I reached into the dryer, a trash bag full of paper balls came out, which kept happening no matter how many times I spun the dryer. As a result the duct system had to be fixed, etc.

There were other events that occurred such as pressing the computer button twice to buy an item, followed by calls to customer service which were useless. Then there was the temporary loss of my wallet in my pocketbook, which was found in my computer case. Did I look there for it? Of course, but I didn’t find it.

The message is that ADDers work well in a high arousal state until
Until we go over the top and the inattentive part kicks in.

COACHING ADULT ADDERS: NEED FOR NEGATIVE CONTINGENCIES

2011-04-23T10:30:00.001-07:00

I informally coached a good friend who has ADD. The friend could “hyperfocus” on his passion which was catering, but he had problems including the inability to start his own business and his disorganization and failure to attend to details in the rest of his life. I gave his spouse some strategies and ultimately had him report to me about his progress at specified times. He started out organizing his career, but he couldn’t follow through and was very apologetic to me. The issue was that failure to keep on task was not a negative consequence for him, so he couldn’t keep up a high arousal level over time. (He did try stimulants, but they made him more anxious.) After all, I was not charging him for this service, and I would still remain his friend.

In formal coaching, I have learned that adult ADDers who need strong negative consequences have to pay a reasonably high fee for coaching, so that they lose a substantial amount of money if they don’t follow through. As a clinical psychologist, if I treat an adult client for an anxiety disorder in a therapeutic environment, and learn later that he has ADD, I require a private fee for coaching. I take insurance for psychotherapy, but most companies will not pay for the ADD coaching. This is probably good, since a small copay from the client would usually not be a strong enough consequence for him to follow through with a strategic coaching program.

Anxiety & Attention Deficit Disorder

2011-01-13T08:40:00.001-08:00

As an AD(H)D coach and psychologist, I used to think that ADDers who were very anxious as well would do poorly on stimulants, in that they would become more anxious. However, many professionals now think that indeed a subpopulation of ADDers might become more anxious on stimulants, but another subgroup might be less anxious. Why the latter? Because their anxiety might arise from various components of ADD such as poor time management, inability to focus on or initiate tasks, or organize their environment. Thus, if the latter subgroup takes stimulants and becomes more functional, their anxiety will dissipate.

The answer to this dilemma is empirical. The possibilities include treating anxiety or ADD first and assess the result. Or treat anxiety and ADD concurrently.

What do you think?

WHAT DOES THE ADULT ADDER DO AFTER WORK?

2010-09-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

I worked with a client who has a few behaviors characteristic of ADD, but is not really ADD. His main issue at this point was how to spend leisure time at night after work. He works hard with no problems focusing on a task he enjoys, but gets fidgety after work regarding leisure time. Like some ADDers, he doesn’t want to spend more than an hour reading or watching TV; it’s too passive.

As is typically the case, his spouse has an opposite brain style and likes to sit and watch TV or read after work. In general, an ADDer has boundless energy, and often has to engage in a physical activity after work, such as using a treadmill. Or he can sign up for some class of great interest, perhaps a dance class, which his partner might not want to do.

If you are an ADDer and have a problem with leisure time, what do you do?

Another Bad Day for The ADD Coach

2010-09-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

Since I coach and counsel a lot of ADDers, I have had to determine what makes for my ADD to be worse in my daily life. I found that I get internally distracted and forgetful, particularly at the end of the day when I’m tired due to focusing, or even hyperfocusing, on clients. Afterwards I get so spacey, that often I make several mistakes, some of them serious. My spaciness also occurs when I’m not busy. So yesterday I went to Target to buy a bunch of things. When I got to the parking lot, I said to myself, “ Don’t forget to put all the things in the car”. So, I did, and then went to get gas. I reached for my credit card, which is in my pocketbook, but my pocketbook wasn’t there!. I realized that I must have left it in the Target parking lot in the cart, while I was focusing on getting all the things I bought into the car. I zoomed back, and it wasn’t there. Amazingly, when I went to Customer Service, the clerk informed me that a customer found it in the cart and brought it in to the store. Nothing, including the money, was missing. I was really very lucky.

I should have known that something significant would happen that day, because before I went to Target, I went To a coffee house , bought a latte’ and left it on the counter, along with my change purse.

If you are an adult ADDer, when do you get spacey? I don’t take stimulant medication. Do you?

WHAT IF ADHD COEXISTS WITH OTHER DISORDERS?

2010-08-09T18:31:00.001-07:00

As a clinical psychologist who counsels and coaches ADDers, I often come across clients who already have been diagnosed with OCD and\or General Anxiety Disorder. They take appropriate psychiatric medications for the two latter disorders, but still exhibit classic behaviors of AD(H)D, which have not been treated. I checked with a psychiatrist on one case, who agreed with my diagnosis of ADHD and considered stimulants. However, the client was still very anxious, although still on anti-anxiety medications, and a stimulant could make her more anxious. Thus it was important to wait until her anxiety was attenuated. The client was ready to proceed with stimulant medication, but understood the issue involved.

What can be done with medications when there are several conditions coexisting with ADHD? In the meantime, I try to work on strategies for the behavioral issues associated with ADHD.

TECHNOLOGY CAUSES ADD-LIKE BEHAVIORS?

2010-07-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

The June 7, 2010 issue of the NY Times had this headline on the front page” Hooked on Gadgets and Paying a Mental Price”. The article stated that scientists have found that multitasking with computer technology can reduce the ability to be creative and to focus well on tasks and activities. They claim that computer multitasking can produce a Dopamine (involved in the arousal and reward system) release which can be addictive.. almost acting as strong stimulant. In those who really have ADD, boredom and anxiety often set in without stimulation. So can using a variety of computer tasks, particularly multitasking excessively do the same with non-ADDers, particularly if in the moment, they are multitasking?

DO STIMULANTS HELP ALL ASPECTS OF ADULT ADHD?

2010-07-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

In my add coaching and adhd counseling experience, I have found stimulants to help ADDers to be alert, to focus on tasks, and to be less distractible. Yet, with many ADDers I treat, I find they have difficulty with time management unless there are serious negative consequences for not completing assignments. Along these lines, at school, ADDers can be charming and manipulative and get professors to forgive them for being late regarding papers due or tests to take. If the same professors told them that if due dates are consistently missed, their grades would be lower, Adders often would get aroused enough to meet the deadline.

I also have found, that often stimulants do not control addictions like excessive drinking or smoking. ADDers frequently have no awareness or lack an inhibitory mechanism and cross the boundary between acceptable amounts of a substance and abuse of it. It’s not a conscious plan and ADDers, like typical addicts are regretful afterwards. It helps to have a significant other or close friend who cues them, when they reach that boundary, so that the ADDer can be aware of his tendency to become totally disinhibited.

YOUNG ADDers USING NON-PRESCRIBED STIMULANTS - ADD Coaching

2010-06-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

In my coaching and counseling of young adult ADDers, I’m finding many, particularly college students, using stimulants obtained from peers for their ADD or for “getting an edge”. Most have not yet been diagnosed with ADD,and of course, stimulants can be effective in non-ADDers in increasing their ability to focus on tasks. When I learn about clients using non- prescribed stimulants, I often find that they don’t even know the dose they’re taking, and whether it is toxic. Also, they need to first have a physical exam to rule out cardiac and other problems. They should then get diagnosed and be prescribed medicine. Unfortunately, many young adults have learned to present themselves to a clinician as ADDers( even on tests) if they want stimulants.

What do you think about this trend?

June Kaufman, Ph.D.

DO ADDers NEED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR TASK COMPLETION?

2010-06-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

In general, that is the case. While there are many positive aspects of an ADD brain style, one serious difficulty involves initiating and completing tedious tasks. Usually negative consequences are more effective than positive ones. Why? Because tasks completed at the 11th. hour are more arousing than positive rewards.

While in school under teachers’ and parents’ control, ADDers comply because negative consequences are implemented. However, when self- directed, often there are no obvious negative contingencies, and ADDers can’t generate them unless they are very creative.

Recently, during a coaching session, we both had trouble finding a negative consequence that would enhance the clients arousal level. So she is attempting to use a positive reward. Will it work? I doubt it, but I will find out. In the meantime, I ‘m still trying to be creative in finding a negative contingency for her to complete the task.

As an adult ADDer, do you find that positive consequences are effective for initiating and completing tedious tasks?

June Kaufman, Ph.D.

ADHD : ORGANIZING A MOVE TO A NEW OFFICE

2010-05-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

I haven’t written a blog for a while since I had to move offices.

I’m successful coaching ADDers on organizational skills. However, since I also am an ADDer and don’t take stimulants, I had to apply the same strategies to myself. What a job to organize files, papers, articles and other stuff that had accumulated over a decade! If there is anything more tedious let me know.

I had to figure out a moving plan. No wonder ADDers like myself have trouble organizing. It took forever. I knew the moving date and tried to work systematically towards it , but it was tough. First I threw out many things I had stored, and never used(It was painful). I then removed old client files and stored them elsewhere. I set up a box for recent articles and gave away lots of stuff, such as a desk, microwave and fridge. This was just the beginning. I was tempted to throw away everything including furniture, but I stuck to the plan, and ultimately was ready for the movers.

I hope other ADDers who have a future task which seems too tedious to do will learn, as I did, not to give up , but to stick to a systematic plan. Having a definite deadline helped, of course.

IT’S JUST ANOTHER DAY FOR THE ADD COACH

2010-05-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today started off badly in terms of my ADD. When it starts this way, the whole day is off. First, I went to the doctor who noted that my white long pants were covered with what looked like blood, but was really lipstick. How did that happen? I really don’t know. So before going to my office, I changed my pants, and then went to buy coffee. So far, not so bad until I reached my office, started to drink my coffee, and found that the top was not securely on. So after spilling my coffee all over me, I went to my car and got a Diet Coke. I dropped it on the ground, and the can exploded and got all over my clothes. I expected a client so couldn’t go home. I washed my clothes off as much as possible, but still had to explain myself to my clients. Thank God most of them were ADDers! Finally, I finally decided to write this blog, when I realized that I had left my computer at the coffee shop. Fortunately, it was found and I retrieved it. But what a day!.

Have you adult ADDers ever had a totally messed up day like I did?

ADHD IS A PERVASIVE DISORDER

2010-04-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

In coaching and counseling families with an AD(H)D member, I’ve become increasingly aware that many ( even the ADHDer himself) is unaware of the characteristics and pervasiveness of his brain style in all contexts. For example, some ADHDers take stimulant medication to focus better at work. But often their families and friends complain about associated behaviors such as procrastination, poor listening skills, forgetfulness, interrupting social conversations, and lack of efficient time management. These and other behaviors are not separate from ADHD. Yet I hear many people say” I know he has AD(H)D, but apart from that, he has many annoying characteristics”. Interestingly, they don’t realize that many of the disturbing behaviors are in fact typical of ADHD and are not separate problems. Also, these behaviors occur in all contexts, not just at work or in social settings. Often, the ADHDer himself is unaware of all the associated behaviors and the impact they have on others.

An ADHD Wedding Part 4

2010-03-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

MY PARTY FOR THE FAMILY TURNED OUT GREAT. WHEN IT COMES TO PARTIES, EVEN THOUGH I’M AN ADHER AND OFTEN SPACEY, I WAS AMAZINGLY ORGANIZED AND HYPERFOCUSED ON EVERY DETAIL IN THIS SITUATION. THE NEXT DAY WAS THE ADHD WEDDING. CLEARLY, MY ADHD SON AND HIS WIFE HYPERFOCUSED ALSO AND DID A GREAT JOB. THEY’RE BOTH VERY CREATIVE AND HAD NICE TOUCHES. ONE OF THEM I’LL ALWAYS REMEMBER ENTAILED EACH OF THEM TAKING A CYLINDER OF SAND( RED AND BLUE) AND MIXING THEM TOGETHER TO SYMBOLIZE THEIR MARRIAGE.. ANOTHER TOUCH WHICH WAS WAS MY SON BREAKING THE GLASS WITH HIS FOOT, WHICH IS ALWAYS DONE AT JEWISH WEDDING CEREMONIES TO SYMBOLIZE THE IRREVOCABILITY OF MARRIAGE VOWS. EVEN THOUGH MY SON DIDN’T WANT A FORMAL WEDDING WITH A RABBI AND A RELIGIOUS CEREMONY, I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE HE STILL WAS CONSCIOUS OF HIS HERITAGE. THE SECULAR WEDDING WAS BEAUTIFUL. THEN, THEY WENT OFF TO COSTA RICA FOR THEIR HONEYMOON, A PERFECT COUNTRY FOR THE ADVENTUROUS ADHDERS.

SO YOU SEE, THERE WERE MANY POSITIVE ASPECTS OF HAVING ADHD ON THIS MEMORABLE OCCASION!

Adult ADDers Need To Accept Their Brain Styles

2010-03-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Recently, I met a college student who saw me for couples counseling and school issues. The couples issue was easily resolved. However, the school problems were still troubling her. All along, this bright student had been telling me that often she’s not motivated to finish a paper or do tedious parts of the class requirements, and was risking academic probation. At one point, I asked her whether this had been a longstanding problem, and she replied that until college, her mother stayed on her case. Now, neither her adviser nor any professor holds her accountable.

I had been suggesting to her that she has an ADHD-like brain style. I thought she was starting to feel stupid and lazy, because she wouldn’t accept her brain style, and had no external source to hold her accountable. Early on, she found my reframing her issue as ADD-like annoying, and it was childish to look for external controls. However, I told her she has to work with her brain style rather than fight against it and wait to be motivated. But in our recent visits, she told that she found two professors in courses she was having trouble with , and they agreed to meet with her weekly and hold her accountable for producing her work. She felt amazed that with external contingencies she could get through all her courses . After all, before college, children and adolescents, experience accountability with external contingencies provided by teachers and parents.

How do I know this? Because I’m ADHD and felt bad about my underperforming, until I accepted my brain style and worked with it.

The young woman I treated profited from coaching and counseling using strategies that are often effective with ADDers.

Marijuana For ADD/ADHD Adults?

2010-02-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

A client of mine who is classically ADHD, told me that he stopped his stimulants for ADHD because they made him more anxious and moody. Was this because the dose was too high, or because some ADDers don’t respond positively to stimulants? I don’t know the answer, but he turned to a regular use of pot which he claimed made him more alert and focused, and did not make him anxious. This is surprising, since usually one thinks of pot as making one less focused. He did say, however, that if he took pot in an unstructured situation and was not goal oriented, he was unfocused. But when there was a structure, routine and a passion for his work, pot enhanced his performance. Is this phenomenon possible?

Since marijuana has been legalized for medical use in several states, it has been tried by professionals for emotional and behavioral disorders, and as a substitute for stimulant use in ADHD. Some doctors report fewer side effects from pot and less anxiety. With stimulants, ADHD adults who are high strung, can become more anxious. According to some reports, pot, like the stimulants can have a paradoxical effect in ADDers, leading to heightened alertness and enhanced focusing. However, as we know, with pot, there are concerns about quality control of the drug in terms of its purity and potency. Moreover, there are many systematic studies documenting adverse effects of pot on the brain, particularly in the area of memory.
Whatever happened to cognitive-behavior therapy or coaching for ADDers as the initial intervention, before entering the world of stimulants and marijuana?

An ADHD Wedding - Part 3

2010-01-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO MY FIRST BLOG ABOUT MY SON’S ADHD WEDDING, WHERE I PREDICTED THERE WOULD CONTINUE TO BE CHANGES. FIRST, THERE WAS THE CHANGE IN DATE, THEN A CHANGE FROM A POSIBLE RABBI TO A NONSECTARIAN PASTOR, AND NOW,TO THE SIZE OF THE SMALL WEDDING. YES, THIS WEDDING , WHICH ONLY HAD THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY IS NOW DOUBLE IN SIZE, WITH A PROCESSION OF THE BRIDE, MATRON OF HONOR AND FLOWER GIRS. REMEMBER, INITIALLY, THE COUPLE WAS READY TO ELOPE!.

AlSO, I WAS PLANING TO HAVE A LITTLE GET-TOGETHER FOR THE 2 FAMILES AFTERWARD. BUT THE WEDDING IS ON SUNDAY, AND THEY LEAVE FOR COSTA RICA THE NEXT MORNING, SO I COULDN’T DO IT, AND I AM HAVING A SMALL CATERED PARTY THE NIGHT BEFORE THE WEDDING. THAT HAS MORPHED INTO A BIGGER PARTY WITH FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF MY SON AND HIS FIANCE.

HOW MANY ARE COMING.. MORE AND MORE. I HAVE TO REMEMBER THIS IS MY SECOND AND LAST CHILD TO BE MARRIED..SO WHAT THE HELL!

My husband just edited this blog and asked why it’s all in capitals. As an ADDer myself, I didn’t notice that, and now, it’s too much effort to change the whole thing.

An ADHD Wedding Part-2

An ADHD Wedding Part-1

Have You Ever Thought About Coaching For ADHD?

Stimulant Use in Non-ADDers

2010-01-02T07:47:00.000-08:00

There has been an increasing number of high school and college students who are taking stimulant medication for AD(H)D. Are They all truly AD(H)D? Probably not, since the prevalence of AD(H)D in the population would be absurdly high. Along these lines, I recently learned that several college mental health clinics will not prescribe stimulants, and insist that students use community resources outside of the college to get a prescription for stimulants. Clinic staff have figured out that the number of students asking for stimulants keeps increasing.

In light of recent developments, some professionals are arguing that non-ADDers as well could get an “edge” using stimulant medication. The original studies in this did show that many “normals” benefited academically from stimulants. Not surprising, since most of these medications are amphetamine derivatives, which improve focus and concentration.

Why not prescribe stimulants to all students in order to improve their academic work? First of all, to my knowledge, there have been no follow-up studies of stimulant use starting in adulthood. Also, there are side effects, some of them medical, and many taking stimulants are not regularly monitored.

So my question is: Do we give stimulants medication to any adult, AD(H)D or not, to improve their academics? Strangely enough, a few years ago, some advocated putting Prozac (the wonder antidepressant drug), in the water supply to benefit everyone, depressed or not. But meanwhile we’ve learned about all the problems that Prozac caused. Now, stimulants are the wonder drugs.

Adult ADHD: Tunnel Vision On Tedious Tasks

2009-12-26T05:40:00.000-08:00

Today, as an ADDer who also coaches and counsels other ADDers, I became aware of difficulties attending to detail on a tedious task. But my problem went far beyond just not paying attention. After procrastinating for several months, I decided that it was time to record all my business expenses for the year. Most of the expenses are on credit cards, thank God!

I took out my checkbook of the year, and diligently recorded every expense. In attending to the detailed account, I became aware that some items did not make sense. For example, why was my office rent lower than I was paying now? I almost called the landlord about this. Or, I remembered giving a particular client a rebate one year ago and not two months ago. I continued with my task so that, despite hurrying through it, it would be completed. However, when certain items and dates didn’t compute, I should have stopped and thought of alternative explanations. But no, I just wanted to get done.

Was there an alternative explanation? Yes, I was using last year’s checkbook and not the current one. I simply had tunnel vision, which must occur on many tedious tasks. As a coach and therapist, working directly with people and their issues is rarely tedious, and if anything, I am hyperfocused in this arena. I feel I can integrate a variety of information and think of alternative hypotheses.

If you are an adult ADDer, does tunnel vision occur on tedious tasks?

How Can Coaching Help My ADHD?

Adult ADHD and Writing Skills

2009-12-18T06:05:00.000-08:00

When an ADDer is thought to have a learning disability in the form of poor writing skills, it is critical to find out if they ever wrote well. I consider myself a good writer of articles of high interest to me, but I can be a sloppy writer with material that does not catch my interest, or when I’m in a hurry and not paying enough attention to details in the written material. Even though I often don’t have the patience to edit my work thoroughly, I’m editing my husband’s science book, and he has been telling me that I’m an excellent editor and have picked up many errors. Why am I so observant in his work and not in my own much of the time? I figured out that the situation with his work is that he’s publishing a whole book, and my arousal level is very high. I’m afraid to miss important errors. The point I’m trying to make is before assuming a client has poor writing skills per se, be sure to find out first if their ADHD inattentive behavior and/or low arousal can explain their poor writing.

P.S. I made so many simple errors in the above writing, which my husband had to edit and correct.

Is it Adult ADHD or Just Impulsivity?

2009-11-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

The diagnosis of AD(H)D in children includes short attention span, impulsivity, and often, hyperactivity. In adults, the hyperactivity often takes the form of restlessness or fidgeting. AD(H)D adults also have issues of time management, remembering important things, organizing their environment and procrastinating until the eleventh hour. I know because I have AD(H)D and have had it lifelong.

In my coaching and clinical experience I have come across several individuals who think they have AD(H)D because they are often impulsive. For example, they may meet someone on the Web without thinking ahead of the dangers, or interrupt an ongoing conversation, or engage in impulsive buying. However they do not exhibit the spectrum of behaviors associated with AD(H)D. They are organized non-procrastinators, good at time management, not restless or fidgety or lacking in focused attention. In other words, they do not fit in to the category of ADD or AD(H)D.

Why does this distinction matter? Most importantly it matters for treatment considerations. Stimulant therapy is usually recommended for AD(H)D. Will it help people who are just impulsive? That’s a tough call, because it may help, since it is well known that a proportion of non-ADDers can benefit from stimulant medication. So if it helps impulsive adults, it does not mean they are ADD or AD(H)D, since they have not met the other criteria for the syndrome.

Cognitive- behavior modification is very useful for both impulsive people and ADDers. In general, it helps people with a variety of disorders, so it may be a better approach for impulsive people than stimulant medication.

Are you sure you have ADD or AD(H)D, or are you just impulsive?

To Be Successful....You Need Coaching For ADHD!

http://www.addressingyouradd.com/

ADHDer: Overfocusing and Stimulant Medication

2009-10-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

br>I’ve talked about overfocusing when an ADDer tried stimulant medication. I’m finding this problem more and more with my ADD coaching clients. One recently reported about creating E-mails for his staff, a task usually done in a few minutes. On stimulants, which generally enhanced his focus at work, he found that he was spending over an hour perfecting one E-mail. In other words, he was hyperfocusing when he didn’t want to. Similarly, another client on stimulant medications was doing much better in terms of focused concentration on his schoolwork, but was not paying much attention to the impact on his spouse of his inattention to her. Also, he wants to be an entrepreneur and needs to absorb many bits of information at the same time, and not be overfocused on one task.

Are there any ADDers out there who find that they overfocus with stimulant medications?

To Be Successful, You Need Coaching for ADD

http://www.addressingyouradd.com/

Coaching Challenges For The ADHD Coach

2009-10-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

ADD coaching presents a number of problems simply because the same issues occur in the coaching process that occur in the every day life of the ADDer. They include the failure to initiate or complete goals, forgetfulness, poor task management and organizational skills, and procrastination. It is important to realize that often the ADDer requires negative contingencies to enhance their arousal level and follow through with task demands. In the coaching situation, the main negative consequence is financial, since the coaching fee for the month is paid for in advance. However, with young adults, particularly college students, parents typically pay for the service so that the ADDer may not be accountable, even to parents. ADDers can fail to show up for appointments or be late, in which case there needs to be rules and consequences in the initial contract, for this issue and others.

What does the coach do if the ADDer meets on time, does not miss appointments but fails to reach a particular goal? Then it is important to determine why the goal was not reached. Often the goal was not specific enough or too long-range, or not as important as the coach and ADDer thought. Also, from a holistic perspective, non-ADD factors such as other personality variables should be examined.

To Be Successful, You Need Coaching for ADD

www.addressingyouradd.com

ADHD Adults and Sleep

2009-10-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

There are many insomniacs in this world, but Adders, both children and adults have insomnia( going to sleep or staying asleep) more often than the non-ADDers. Often ADDers are depressed, anxious, restless and obsessive (hyperfocus), which can worsen insomnia. If you have an ADD brain style, sleep deprivation will exacerbate ADD-like behaviors such as inattentiveness, “spaceyness”, distractibility and organizational skills.

It would be expected that ADD stimulants could lead to insomnia. Usually, when sleep is a problem, particularly with short-term doses of stimulents, my coaching clients tell me they do better with sustained release preparations, or when they take stimulants as early in the day as possible. Others engage in meditative practices or take sleep medications. However, it is important to be aware there are reports that many of the sleep medications antagonize REM sleep.

As an ADDer, do you have sleep problems with or without stimulants and/or sleep medications? If you do, what alternatives have you tried in addition to the usual suggestions for insomnia( e.g.no alcohol before bedtime, going to bed and sleeping when you’re really sleepy, not reading or watching TV in bed)?

To Be Successful, You Need Coaching for ADD

www.addressingyouradd.com/

Is Julie in 'Julie/Julia' Movie an ADHDer?

2009-09-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

In this movie, Julie announces that she has ADD because when she started to do a task in a variety of career areas, she never reached any meaningful goal, and left tasks in the middle. She finds a true passion (to complete all five hundred+ recipes in Julia Child’s, Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year) and decides to blog about a recipe she makes every night. She is persistent, and despite practically losing her marriage, she becomes successful. Why? First, because she is working on a short -term basis as well as having a long-range plan. Second, because she has committed herself to her husband and friends, and many friends stop by along the way to reinforce her. She dropped the ADD notion and kept going. There was not enough information in the movies to take a guess if she had ADD, but I think that it’s useful to apply her struggle to that of an ADDer.

Some ADDers can be successful entrepreneurs ( See my last blog) without stimulants because they have a passion. But Julie also had a negative stimulant in that she was accountable to a number of people and not finishing would be a terrible embarrassment.

Interestingly, I have ADHD and have a passion for coaching and counseling ADDers and feel I’m doing well in this field. But I also have a passion for writing and stopped after beginning several books because of the lack of negative consequences. Further, I’m passionate about writing blogs and have a number of interesting ideas, but there are no serious consequences if I don’t write blogs more often. And it’s hard to initiate the actual task. So I don’t take stimulants and do the best I can.

What about you, If you are an ADDer.? I think you have to start with a passion, short-term goals, ongoing support and possibly have negative consequences if you don’t complete you plan.