If you have trouble concentrating or finishing what you start, you must read this…
Attention deficit disorder (ADD), characterized by distractibility, impulsivity and restlessness, affects millions of children. About 60% of those children will continue to have symptoms as adults. In fact, ADD affects 10 million American adults.
The main symptom of childhood ADD — the inability to give sustained or close attention to tasks — often persists into adulthood. However, because most people think of ADD as a childhood condition, nearly nine out of 10 adults with ADD remain undiagnosed and untreated.
That means the biggest downside of adult ADD — unexplained underachievement, when you don’t perform as well as you know you could or should — can become a lifelong problem, leading to chronic frustration and depression.
How to figure out if you have adult ADD — and steps to take if you do…
DO YOU HAVE IT?
Because there is no clear cause or biological marker for ADD, there is no definitive test to diagnose it. Combining several tests is the best approach. The two most important…
For an accurate diagnosis, see a health professional who has extensive experience diagnosing and treating ADD — perhaps a child psychiatrist or psychologist who specializes in ADD (most child psychiatrists and psychologists also treat adults).
BUILD CONFIDENCE
To foster self-esteem…
In fact, certain positive traits are associated with adult ADD, including original thinking, a zany sense of humor, remarkable persistence and resilience, warmhearted and generous behavior, and a highly intuitive learning style.
SIMPLE LIFESTYLE CHANGES
Many lifestyle changes can improve brain functioning. These include…
Eat citrus fruits and other foods that contain vitamin C. They help control the action of dopamine, a neurotransmitter needed in treating ADD. Opt for eating the fruit as opposed to drinking juice — juice is higher in sugar.
Avoid refined carbohydrates, such as sugar and white flour.
Vitamin-mineral supplement that contains recommended daily levels of B-12 and folic acid (which improve cognition)… vitamin D and selenium (which improve brain function)… and zinc (research links low levels to ADD symptoms).
Fish oil, which provides omega-3 fatty acids, increases dopamine levels. An adult can safely take up to three grams daily.
Talk to your doctor about whether medication is right for you. The goal is to have symptom improvement with no side effects (other than the common symptom of appetite suppression). That’s an achievable goal with the right medication, at the right dose, prescribed by a doctor with extensive experience in treating adult ADD.
Recent finding: A study in The Journal of the American Medical Association in August 2010 showed that people with adult ADD who took medication and underwent cognitive behavioral therapy (in which they learned such skills as how to organize and plan) had a 30% greater improvement in symptoms than people taking medication only. This study shows that medication is one valuable element but that it should not be the only element.
do you have adult adhd?
The World Health Organization and a team of experts led by doctors from Harvard and New York University developed the Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS), a brief self-screening test for adults who suspect that they might have ADD. It’s not a definitive diagnosis — but 80% of adults who score positive turn out to have ADD.
Answer each of the following questions with one of the following responses … “N” for never… “R” for rarely… “S” for sometimes… “O” for often… or “V” for very often.
1. How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done?
2. How often do you have difficulty getting things done in order when you have to do a task that requires organization?
3. How often do you have problems remembering appointments or obligations?
4. When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you avoid or delay getting started?
5. How often do you fidget or squirm with your hands and feet when you have to sit down for a long time?
6. How often do you feel overly