Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD)
ADD/ADHD mental health help for adults and university aged students (18+)
We all know kids who can’t sit still, who never seem to listen, who blurt out inappropriate comments, or don’t follow instructions no matter how clearly you present them.
However, how about adults who get diagnosed late in life? Their symptoms may not always look the same or present the same way as some children but it does not mean they do not suffer from setbacks. Have a look at the list of adult symptoms:
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Have trouble staying focused or get easily distracted leading to procrastination
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Appear not to be listening when spoken to by loved ones
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Constantly fidget and squirm
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Talk excessively (in the case of females/women with ADHD, this may not be one of the ways it presents)
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Act without thinking- impulsivity can looking like a lot of online shopping
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Interrupt often, or say the wrong thing at the wrong time- this is particularly felt in people who are in relationships
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Have a quick temper or “short fuse”- sometimes we are just angry!
Whether or not your symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are due to ADHD, they can cause problems if left unexplored. You may not be the child who can’t focus or control themselves or get into trouble at school often; it does not mean that you are not SUFFERING silently.
The good news is that ADHD is manageable. In fact, most adults who learn strategies on how to deal with ADHD can look forward to a fulfilling life with healthy relationships.
If you’re interested in learning more about ADD and ADHD therapy, contact us today for a free consultation.
ADHD | ADD daily strategies
Often, I hear stories from clients who say that they have been to therapy before but that they were too lazy or too overwhelmed to do the work that they were supposed to do in order to see improvement.
This is a common ADHD/ADD experience in therapeutic spaces. What most clients with this concern needs are strategies. Scroll down to see what we can offer you so that you can immediately start working on your symptoms.
Su Chaw
Increasing Attention Span
Collaborative Work
Over the last couple of decades, there has been some interest in helping individuals with ADHD/ADD by increasing their attention span. These involve performing several tasks such as attention process training, external aids with cues or other psychosocial support while keeping a log (Mateer and Sohlberg, 2001).
In 2017, a systematic review of nine papers (out of 152 articles) showed that Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBI) were significantly effective in helping adults with ADHD/ADD (Lee et al., 2017).
What does that mean for you?
Mindfulness exercises will be taught during sessions and games that increase attention might be played.
Emotional Regulation Skills
Did you know that ADHD/ADDers are much quicker to become emotionally dysregulated than other adults? While this does not cause problems when individuals are younger, it can impact your life as you get older. Adults are expected to have more control over their emotions and perform regardless of their mental health state.
What does that mean for you?
Writing down whether your emotional dysregulation is internal or external is very important. This can be explored during a session and skills such as breathing techniques, grounding exercises, mnemonics e.g. STOP, PLEASE, WIN, KIS can be incorporated more often into your daily life.
Body doubling and doing work together during sessions is one of the best ways to help clients with this disorder. Psychosocial support is very important for those with ADHD/ADD.
What does that mean for you?
No homework. Everything is provided to you during the session and your therapist will guide you through the process.
Women and ADHD/ADD
Women mostly internalize their feelings and emotional dysregulation for them could look internal, instead of external. What this means is they may not be outwardly angry or have outbursts that are noticeable but yet they could be very anxious or upset, internally. In some cases, this may show up as body symptoms related to an upset stomach, indigestion, feeling bloated and or nauseous all the time. Other body symptoms might include pain in the body, anxiety in the form of palpitations, constantly feeling like they need to be around others, doing too much, etc.
A good article to read is this one by ADDitude magazine. You will see that there are many impacts of ADHD on women ranging from socialization issues to gender role expectations.
What does this mean for you?
Due to the complexity of the disorder, we will need to pay careful attention to what kinds of impact ADHD/ADD has on your life. During sessions, psychoeducation around symptoms will be provided and how it affects you on all levels will be explored.
Hover over the button below to see what kinds of tips you might get from your therapist to help with everyday ADHD/ADD challenges.
Lose Keys?
Use the rule of 3s. Repeat the act of hanging up your keys three times.
Trying not to interrupt?
Tap your finger on a part of your body or on your nose while waiting for your turn.
How ADHD affects relationships
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Unable to keep promises
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Not following through on tasks that they should
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Always feeling like they are "atoning" for bad behaviour
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Inability to listen to partner, even when directly spoken to
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Not able to identify what is important to the partner
