YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hi,

If you have ADHD (or a combination of disorders..I have depression & anxiety too), what kind of therapy or treatments or even day-to-day tips do you have?

For me, talking with a CBT trained counselor has helped, but I found a better and far more convenient way to manage my life is with a life coach that I have weekly calls with and she lets me email her anytime. Sometimes just having someone who can listen and send encouragements my way, and help me in practical ways has helped me a lot.

I wonder if people know about this method? I didn't know it was an option to do 'therapy' on the phone/email until I researched options for therapy.

I have never even thought about therapy for ADHD. I sympathize with your struggle.

I went undiagnosed for most of my life, and was finally put on Adderall a few years ago, and it's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

I have also been diagnosed with anxiety. I was on medication for a while, but ending a bad marriage reduced it enough that I could get off the meds, which thrills me! I was on Effexor.

For ADHD, I recently thought about this analogy. Anything that captures my attention is like a lit match. It will burn bright and hot briefly, but then it goes out, and I need to move on to something else. This has applied to everything in my life. I average about 3 years on a job, and I have not done a good job at sustaining marriages.

For myself, I feel the best thing to do is to know my strengths and weaknesses the best I can. Combined with medication, I can keep things relatively under control.

On the plus side, I'm pretty smart, and I'm artistic. I'm creative, and I can really dive into something full force.

On the negative side, I have no follow through, I'm horribly forgetful, and terribly absent minded. Even today I had a list of chores that included taking out the recycling, going to one store, getting my prescription refilled, and then going grocery shopping. I did a great job, except for getting my prescription filled. My slip has been in my car for a week and I keep forgetting.

What has helped me most with my ADHD is making certain activities as routine as possible. My car keys and wallet always go in the same place. Ironically, if I change one thing, it can affect something else. I moved my wallet and keys away from my pills for a couple of days, and left for work having forgotten to take my medication. I accept the fact that I have a horrible attention span. I'm very open about it, which has helped. If others understand, then they don't (or shouldn't) take how you behave personally. Some do. As I said, the Adderall has helped tremendously. When I'm on it, I can get up and do the things that need to be done. Not on it, I'm often a lump that can't decide what he wants to do. It also keeps my temper in check. There are some great resources online to read and learn about ADHD. It helped me understand some of the behavior I had experienced over the years.

I don't know if this has helped at all, but I'm always willing to talk about dealing with ADHD. It's horrible, and has had a negative effect on my life. As I have ended my third marriage, I am keenly aware of how it is affecting my romantic relationships also. The crave and need for variety can be fun, but it can also be damaging.

Oh! And lists. Lists help greatly. I have a note app on my phone I use regularly.

People have often suggested that I write things down, but that would require me to remember so many things, it hasn't happened.

I'm pretty confused, one psychiatrist said I was obvious ADHD, but none of the meds had any effect or side effects. When the social services asked another psychiatrist for a second opinion, he threw out the ADHD and said I had Asberger. When my first accepted a new position, she transfered me to a third, who said generalized anxiety, social phobia, depression and something else, I can't remember on top of my head(wasn't amnesia). The last year and a half, I've been connected to the district psychiatry, who says anxiety and traces/trades of something on the autism spectrum.

I saw a youtube lecture a few weeks ago by Russel Barkley, where he talked about ADHD as a time management disorder and I can't for the love of God, distinguish between 3 minutes and 3 hours. So maybe there's something messed up in my executive function.

I use alarms on my phone, I set the alarms to when I have to start to act(eat, dress, bathe), so I can get out of the door, clean fed and in good time and then
I bought myself a wall sized calendar and put it on my living room wall, where it's impossible to ignore. I know it's no Picasso masterpiece, but small pocket calendars and apps just don't do it for me.

I do really well when I feel like I'm in my element. I solve problems, I'm able to organize large projects, I get things done. The hard part is getting there, I'm always back burnered when it comes to prioritizing money, time, space, resources. Always. I've gotten so used to it happening that I do it to myself now.

I do really well when I feel like I'm in my element. I solve problems, I'm able to organize large projects, I get things done. The hard part is getting there, I'm always back burnered when it comes to prioritizing money, time, space, resources. Always. I've gotten so used to it happening that I do it to myself now.

For me, straterra has helped. I'm told the stimulants (Adderrall and ritalin) work substantially better, but my doctor doesn't think those would be appropriate for me. The supplement PS also helped me, but it's expensive as far as supplements go.

The organizational tools others have mentioned, such as lists, alarms etc. help cope with ADD, but at the same time feel like I am putting on a straight jacket. The struggle in a sentence for me is I feel like a dog forced to build my own cone around my neck. It's good for me, but I hate it.


The book You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: The Classic Self-Help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder had some good ideas. If you order it, remember to buy it from Paul's amazon link.

IMHO, there isn't likely any one therapy that will be the "it" therapy for ADHD. I spent 15 years in CBT, before being diagnosed with ADHD, but I didn't get much out of it... no one can ever say I didn't give it a good solid try!

Currently I'm seeing a licensed social worker (who sent me for my official space cadet papers), we do some DBT and lot of talk therapy. On my own, I've thrown in some Mindfulness meditation too. I think the biggest key is accepting that we just don't color inside the lines, and it's ok. We need to find a therapist of whatever persuasion that is willing to "trade shoes" with us for a session and really get an idea of what it's like to be us and go from there!

Just found this article:
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/hea ... -with-ADHD

Fish oil helps. I'm a BIG believer in fish oil for multiple reasons. It's found to work for more than just ADHD.

IMO, psychiatrists suck at diagnosing complex problems like yours. They deal with discrete symptoms, and pretend that mental disorders are separate entities. You need to have a full psychological assessment by a psychologist.