Some of my clients are waiting for formal diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and others have their diagnosis confirmed by a health specialist such as a Psychiatrist; you can speak to your doctor if you think you have ADHD and ask for an assessment referral.
Some of my clients are trying medication or have found a medication that suits and enables them to manage their symptoms. Some manage their ADHD without medication.
ADHD is part of who you are and so working with my clients is about establishing how ADHD affects them, their daily life, life goals and relational patterns with others.
Finding routine and life balance can be vital in living with and managing ADHD as can working with strategies to find better sleep, eating patterns and pre-empting and managing anxiety and stress.
Often my clients are surprised to realise that ADHD does have benefits such as the super power of “Hyper Focus” which when harnessed can be an amazing tool to get things done, although when unharnessed can prevent life balance and lead to clients getting stuck in one task cycle for long periods of time. A way to manage this can be by sticking to routine and planning in certain tasks with the addition of a timer. I work with clients to understand their condition which is very individual to them and to create a strategy tool box to find life balance, happiness and success at work and study and in their personal lives.
What Tools Can Help Clients With ADHD?
As an integrated counsellor I find that many forms of help can work for clients with ADHD to include CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). Working with mindfulness can also be very beneficial although the ADHD brain might want to resist this to begin with as it wants to keep busy and mindfulness can feel like it is going against this pattern, although with simple techniques such as breathing and body work and learning to re-frame unhelpful thought patterns and behaviour, this can be overcome and with practice can change things initially and in the long term, offering time for reflection and to step out of the very tiring busy mind ADHD can bring. One client described her ADHD as “24 hours of Exhausting!” Most of my clients have poor sleep patterns which can be worked with as can relationship issues which can be very difficult to navigate with ADHD; here I find Transactional Analysis works well regarding relational patterns with others and in finding strategies for study, work and personally so that communication is clear and easier.
The good news is that with self-awareness and working strategies in place, ADHD can be managed as part of who you are and your goals can be met once you identify them and know how to live well with your ADHD.
What To Do If You Think You Have ADHD
If you have ADHD or think you have ADHD and are struggling then please try the adhduk.co.uk self-assessment tool, contact your doctor/health professional and also consider a therapist to work through what is going on for you to find positive ways forward to manage, enjoy your life and meet your goals.
With all best wishes to you and please see my related blogs, What is ADHD? Recognising the Symptoms and Do I Have ADHD?
I am also a qualified therapist in the BAST method of Sound Therapy which has also been found to aid the management of ADHD as it can offer emotional clarity and mental and physical relaxation. You can read more about Sound Therapy here.