Hyperfocus can be one of those “gifts of ADHD” that can lead to quite extraordinary accomplishments. It can also lead to wasted time and social disconnection if you don’t set up a strategy to help you manage it. By anticipating the impacts of your hyperfocus and using such a strategy, you can reap its benefits and avoid its disadvantages.
Recent research shows that about 60% of adults with ADHD have comorbid psychiatric conditions including: mood and anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, and personality disorders. The presence of these other conditions can often complicate the process of diagnosing and treating ADHD in an adult. Early recognition and treatment of ADHD and its comorbidities has the potential to change the trajectory of these psychiatric conditions later in life.
Lisa Ling is an award-winning journalist who discovered she had ADHD while reporting on a story about ADHD. She earned her success as an Asian woman in an industry where her ethnicity was a rarity, and has been able to tap into her ADHD “super powers” to build a career as one of today’s top journalists.
Being in a relationship with someone who has ADHD can be challenging. The issues of attention, communication, procrastination, disorganization and impulsiveness that an ADHD individual must grapple with daily, can add significant stress to relationships. It can leave you feeling ignored, neglected, and frustrated, Understanding, combined with strategies to help lessen the impact of ADHD on your relationship, can help you and your partner enjoy more of the time you spend with each other.
One of the ways that women with ADHD may cope with the difficulties of having the condition is to withdraw emotionally from those around them. This can negatively impact all their relationships, but especially with those closest to them, who could be a source of emotional support and understanding. If you are a woman with ADHD and suffering from emotional withdrawal, one of the most important steps you can take is to seek the help of a therapist. They can help you understand the why of your withdrawal, validate your feelings and develop better coping strategies.
In addition to the typical cognitive burden that ADHD can bring, women with ADHD also have to deal with an ever fluctuating hormone environment. Changes in estrogen can intensify the symptoms of ADHD, particularly during the menstrual cycle, puberty and menopause. It is important for women diagnosed with ADHD to be aware of how estrogen affects their condition, and to take steps to lessen the impact.
ADHD can lead to overeating and excessive weight gain. Over time, this can result in other health problems. However, the food and exercise routines you build as part of an informed dieting plan can keep you in good health throughout your life. Here are some tips for building a weight loss plan you can stick with.
Multitasking, or rapidly switching your attention from one task to another and then back again, was once heralded as a necessary survival skill for our fast-paced world. But research has shown that multitasking doesn’t work for cognitively demanding tasks. For the ADHD brain – which craves stimulation and can become easily bored – multitasking is a temptation to be avoided, especially at work. Learning to be a “single-tasker” can make your daily living both more productive and less stressful.
Does having ADHD put you at higher risk of dying prematurely? Recent research suggests having ADHD can significantly shorten your life. Dr. Russell Barkley, an ADHD expert, has cast this as a serious public health issue that needs to be addressed through better education, evidence-based treatment interventions and lifetime monitoring. The importance and urgency of addressing ADHD as a public health concern have become higher as more children are diagnosed with ADHD.
The internet has evolved into a wonderfully useful medium for learning new things, staying up on the news, shopping, and keeping in touch with friends on social media. For individuals with ADHD, it provides instant rewards, lots of stimulation, and an almost infinite variety of things to explore. But it can draw the ADHD brain into an endless rabbit hole where significant amounts of unproductive time is spent. Here are some tips you can use to help keep your Internet usage in check.