As adults with ADHD, we may have a tendency to fidget. Fidgeting isn't something that's often seen as adult-like behavior. I was told a few months ago that when one goes to a job interview you should never fidget and pretty much you should never fidget at work. See, I asked if it was okay to start fidgeting after you got the job, but the question wasn't received all that well and it was basically a "no." So, what the heck are we supposed to do to control mostly unconscious behaviors?
Living with Adult ADHD
Saturdays have long been the hardest day of the week for me. There is so much unscheduled free time and my Adult ADHD feeds off of it. I've gotten really adept at remember to make task lists and having that be what leads my day, but even that hasn't been allowing me to feel relaxed and easy going on a Saturday. My wife had a heck of an idea the other weekend that I found really worked: make more than one list for free time.
When I say "being on time," I also mean "not missing appointments." Not to brag, but I'm superb at being on time. In fact, I'm just about always early for appointments that I keep. Please notice the last few words to that sentence: that I keep. I am not good at using that calendar I talked about last week. Sometimes I'll write down when an appointment is going to happen, but I do not do a good job of referring back to my calendar to see what events are upcoming. This is why New Year's Resolutions exist, I suppose.
It's the start of the year, and many of us with adult ADHD resolve to getting organized. I'm making resolutions myself and, fingers crossed, I'm going to keep many of them. Being disorganized really puts a cramp in my studying and my life, though. I think, if I had to pick, getting organized and staying that way is something that would help me learn and focus better - which will lead to being more successful. But, how can getting organized work with adult ADHD?
Hello again, all! I've been writing the Living with Adult ADHD blog for a nearly a year and this seems, with the new year just around the corner, like a really good time to review what I/we have learned this year together. We've talked about some strategies to improve our attention span and decrease our anxiety. We've talked a bunch about adult ADHD medication - the good and the bad. We've talked about just how much time having Adult ADHD costs - needing to get prescriptions, fill them and invariably get distracted at some point during the process. We've had a great year together, I'd say!
Writing this Adult ADHD blog every week for nearly a year has made me slightly cuckoo about my ADHD. In order to write 350+ words every week, I need to be super introspective and think about my disorder regularly and with regards to nearly every aspect of my life. This week, I'm going to talk about the holidays, because that's what's on my mind. How to survive the holidays with Adult ADHD.
Ever wonder if tapping on your face could decrease your anxiety? Having Adult ADHD can be stressful and decreasing anxiety is always a good thing to strive for.
Do you have a bully inside your own head? Many adults with ADHD do. You know what I mean, those negative thoughts that keep putting you down and killing your self-esteem and self-confidence.
Making sure not to minimize the bullying that goes on between people, I have to wonder, where is the program for the internal bullying that goes on in our own heads?
Before I get into the tofu and potatoes of this Adult ADHD Christmas wishlist post, let me apologize to those of you who do not celebrate Christmas or have a Christmas wishlist. I'm sure it can be frustrating to be left out during this season and I know that maybe I stink for being politically incorrect. I do believe that all of the items on the following wishlist, though, could be for any Adult ADHD holiday and that I am in the process of wrapping my family's Christmas gifts and that's why this post is titled what it is.
Adult ADHD is a "point of performance" disorder. We don't have difficulty learning, we have difficulty applying our learning when a situation calls for it. There are tools to help those of us with Adult ADHD to focus better, be more productive and, ultimately, be happier. And, for serious, who doesn't want to be happier?