Screensucking

We’re not too good at gobbling, processing or managing details. Yet we throw a lot of info at ourselves – TV content, news content and useless Web content. It’s called screensucking. Good news is we don’t have to. Cuz we DON’T NEED all the data/info we consume. Being informed is good. Being a news junkie is screensucking. Limit intake to the necessary.

Next time you’re about to plop down in front of a TV for an hour of mindless “restful” viewing, smack yourself upside the head and instead sit at a window, on a porch or park bench, or just lie on the couch – and think. Stop screensucking. Start creative thinking. Chances are you’ll think of a solution to a problem you’re facing. Too busy? You had time for TV, right?

If you’re watching a lot of TV – particularly reality TV, sitcoms and crime dramas – you are every minute wasting opportunities to make your life better. You’re also getting unhealthy and mushy-brained. Ditto for excessive online behaviors. Get smart. Put down that remote and pick up a dumbbell, dumbbell!

Foods That Fight ADHD-Related Depression

Do you find yourself battling both ADHD and depression? Adding the right nutrients to your diet may help you better manage.

By Beth W. Orenstein

Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

ADHD and depression often go hand in hand — studies show that roughly 70 percent of those living with ADHD undergo depression treatment at some point. “One of the reasons ADHD and depression are linked,” explains Jeffrey Rossman, PhD, director of life management at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass., “is that adults with ADHD often experience frustration in accomplishing their goals. This difficulty following through can lead to low self-esteem and a sense of discouragement and frustration, which can fuel depression.”

While a mental health professional is often the first-line treatment, a few simple nutritional strategies and lifestyle changes may also ease the emotional pain.

ADHD and Depression: How Diet May Help

Studies show that certain foods, such as those high in B vitamins and in omega-3 fatty acids — found in coldwater fish, walnuts, and canola oil — can help with depression. They’ve also been proven to help with attention and memory.

“If someone is already ingesting a sufficient amount of omega-3s and B vitamins, they’re not necessarily going to benefit from taking more,” Rossman says. However, he adds, “The reality is that most Americans are deficient in omega-3s unless they’re eating a lot of oily fish. The American diet has changed over the last several decades — there’s just a lot less naturally in our diets and so people may find that taking B vitamins and eating fish or taking fish oil capsules may be helpful in fighting depression.”

Katherine Tallmadge, RD, LD, of Washington, D.C., author of Diet Simple and a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, says omega-3s don’t work for everyone, and no one knows why, but for some people they can be “pretty miraculous.”

Some of the best sources of omega-3s are:

• Salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, and anchovies
• Flaxseed
• Walnuts
• Canola oil

It is recommended that people eat about 12 ounces of fatty fish per week, Tallmadge says. That’s equivalent to two servings a week. You can get fish oil in capsule form if you can’t find oily fish fresh or frozen at your grocery store or fish market.

Good sources of B vitamins include:

• Animal products (meat, poultry)
• Asparagus, avocado, broccoli, spinach, bananas, and potatoes
• Dried apricots, dates, and figs
• Eggs
• Dairy products (milk, eggs, cheese, and yogurt)
• Almonds, walnuts, and sunflower seeds
• Shellfish including clams, oysters, mussels, and crab
• Wheat germ and whole grain cereals

People who are vegetarians need to be careful to get sufficient vitamin B12. “They may need supplements because it’s really hard to get B12 without eating animal sources of protein,” Rossman says.

ADHD and Depression: A Healthy Approach

Other supplements, such as St. John’s wort, have been shown to help people with depression. “I’m not familiar with St. John’s wort for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” Rossman says. “But it has been shown in studies to work as well as antidepressants for mild to moderate depression.”

Overall, the kind of diet that seems to be most helpful for mood enhancement is the Mediterranean diet, Rossman points out. This is a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, with controlled amounts of low-fat dairy, protein, and whole grains, and low in refined foods containing white flour, sugar, and trans fats — olive oil is the fat of choice.

People with ADHD and depression also can benefit from daily exercise, says Tallmadge. “One of the things we know that’s critical for brain function is exercise because it increases blood flow and reduces blood clotting.”

If you’re experiencing incapacitating depression, if you’re not able to engage in work or meet family responsibilities, if you’re suicidal or have any thoughts of ending your life, you should seek the help of a mental health professional right away, Rossman says. “Medication has shown to be most effective for people with clinical depression.”

However, if you have mild to moderate levels of depression, you should see some improvement in your mood and attention by getting adequate omega-3s and B vitamins in your diet and exercising for 30 minutes at least three times a week.

Sound advice that will boost your overall health, too.

(everydayhealth.com)

ADHD in adults may become easier to diagnose

By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog

May 15, 2011, 3:00 p.m.

Reporting from Honolulu —

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has traditionally been considered to be a problem of children. But research over the last two decades shows the disorder often persists into adulthood and that adults can benefit from treatment of their symptoms.

Identifying older teens and adults with ADHD should become easier — and prevalence rates will increase — based on a proposal under consideration by the nation's psychiatrists, according to information reported Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Assn. here.

Psychiatrists are in the process of rewriting the essential textbook on mental illness — "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" — for publication in 2013.

In the current DSM edition, ADHD is described as a disorder of children, but the same criteria are routinely applied to adults who seek help with what they perceive to be ADHD. The proposed changes of the new DSM — called DSM.5 — will describe what ADHD looks like in older teens and adults, said Dr. Steven Cuffe of the University of Florida.

For example, while children with ADHD may run around their classrooms and fail to complete their schoolwork, adults with the disorder are more likely to interrupt someone who is speaking and have problems meeting deadlines at work.

The hyperactivity seen in children tends to be reflected as restless feelings in adults. Impulsivity is more of an issue with children with the disorder, compared with adults, but problems with attention tend to persist from childhood into adulthood, Cuffe said.

Moreover, while the current diagnosis for ADHD requires the presence of at least six specific symptoms, the proposal for DSM-5 is to lower that threshold to four or more symptoms in adults.

The inclusion of information describing older teens and adults with the disorder will likely increase the prevalence of ADHD in the general population, Cuffe said. A few decades ago, ADHD was estimated to occur in about 3% to 5% of children. That figure is now 6% to 8%.

How many adults will end up with an official diagnosis of ADHD after DSM-5 goes into effect is unknown. But chances are the number is going up. Some doctors say they worry that the condition will become overdiagnosed.

"I think the prevalence in adolescents and adults who meet full criteria will definitely increase," Cuffe said.

(latimes.com)

ADHD and Autism: Is It in the Genes?

ADHD may have a lot in common with autism, including some abnormal genes. New research investigates the link between these two conditions.

By Chris Iliades, MD

Reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

ADHD and autism are certainly in the news lately, with the rates of both conditions increasing by what seems like the minute. But is there a possible genetic link between the two?

While there’s no definitive answer, new studies suggest that duplications or deletions of certain genes, called "copy number variants," may be a cause of ADHD as well as other ADHD-related conditions including autism.

These findings may eventually lead to other studies that help doctors understand the links between ADHD and autism. "We have suspected a link between ADHD and autism because these conditions and other related disabilities seem to run in families — but there is still a lot we don't understand," explains Elizabeth J. Short, PhD, professor of psychology and associate director of the Shubert Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. “There is a wide range of autism and a wide range of ADHD. We don't know how genes account for these differences.” Doctors also have no blood tests available to diagnose ADHD or autism.

Are Autism and ADHD Related Conditions?

While more research is needed to determine the exact genetic relationship between these two conditions, if there is one, the two conditions have many similarities. "ADHD and autism are certainly related clinically. For many years we have recognized overlapping symptoms, family histories, and even some common responses to treatment," says Deborah A. Pearson, PhD, director of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Research Laboratory at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center.

Pearson says that children with the higher functioning type of autism called Asperger disorder are the most likely to share symptoms with ADHD. "About 40 percent of children with autism may show symptoms that are also common in ADHD," she says. These symptoms may include:

• Inability to keep still
• Unable to control behavior
• Clumsiness
• Short attention span
• Temper tantrums
• Careless mistakes
• Emotional outbursts

"Although the symptoms may seem similar, the diagnosis of ADHD and autism is not likely to be confused,” says Short. “They are different disorders and they feel different clinically. Autistic children at their core have an inability to relate socially that you do not see in children with ADHD."

Parenting Challenges for ADHD and Autism

Although autism and ADHD are different disorders, many of the parenting challenges are quite similar. "Both disorders require a lot of effort and reinforcement of good behavior," notes Short. Some other parenting tips that may help include:

• Seek attainable goals and reward good efforts.
• Don't be a "helicopter parent." In other words, don’t hover over your children. Let them develop to their own potential.
• Create a home environment with as much organization and structure as possible.

The experts agree that the best advice on parenting if you have a child with ADHD or autism is to throw out the labels and treat your child as an individual with his own unique potential and value. "I have seen thousands of children with autism or ADHD and no two are alike," says Pearson. "Each child is an individual and there are no 'cookie cutter' solutions when it comes to parenting."

(everydayhealth.com)

This week's ADHD Solution is: Taming internal distractions.

Distractibility is one of the predominant traits of ADHD. Not only do you have to deal with external distractions (“Look! A squirrel!”), but there are internal distractions, too. Random ideas appear out of nowhere. You suddenly remember something you wanted to do. We’re most often distracted by our own thoughts.

Given your impulsive nature, your most likely response to any sudden recollection is, “Oh, I’d better take care of that right now before I forget again!” This causes you to stop what you’re doing and start something else. Then you get distracted by another thought, and start another something else. You probably have a lot of projects going on as a result. Even if you don’t act on the impulse, worrying about forgetting again keeps you from focusing.

A great way to deal with this type of internal distraction is to jot it down instead of taking immediate action. Keep a notepad nearby, or use sticky notes or your smart phone. Or put it right into your task management system (more on that another time). By writing the thought down, you’ll know it’s been safely captured and won’t slip away – so your brain doesn’t feel the need to keep rehashing it for fear of losing it. You can wrap up what you’re working on, then go take care of the thing you remembered.

This works for random ideas, too. Many of our best ideas come at inconvenient times. Putting them on paper will keep them from slipping back into the ether. You’ll have something tangible to follow up on later. And you’ll be developing more control over your impulsivity.

www.adhdsolutions.net

Crush Procrastination

Crusher Asked: What task or project do you dread or fear so much that you delay, and delay, and delay attacking it?

Many Responded: Our most dreaded and feared ADD to-do’s: laundry, housework, difficult phone calls, paperwork, homework, big projects, BILLS!! These are the classics. And our dread/fear of them results in procrastination. We’ll explore, and perhaps even crush…

Crush Procrastination, Part 1: Everybody procrastinates – but we ADDers do it more, and with more profound consequences. Good news is, most procrastination is caused by mental barriers built on the ILLUSION that we can’t do the tough stuff. Next, we’ll identify the barriers. Then we crush.

Crush Procrastination, Part 2: There are three mental barriers causing ADDer procrastination – Fear, Disarray and Indifference. They are MENTAL, not real, barriers – and therefore, are ours to crush. Next up: understanding the barrier of Fear.

Crush Procrastination, Part 3: The mental barrier of Fear -- that you can’t do it, that it will take too long, fear of some confrontation involved…most often though, fear of the impending frustration, dread of the task’s unpleasantness. 90% of these perceived fears are imagined. The other 10% are yours to crush by determining to take ACTION.

Crush Procrastination, Part 4: The mental barrier of Disarray – you don’t know what task to start with or where to start with a given task. First, which to attack first: if you can’t decide, treat them as if all of equal value – and PICK ONE RANDOMLY and start it. Then make it What You Are Doing Now! Not attacking cuz you can’t prioritize is BS! Now, go get ‘em!

Crush Procrastination, Part 5: The second area of Disarray is not knowing WHERE to start with a task. Here’s the trick – just START…anywhere! We always wait for an insight that will make it easier, but such insights only come when we’re “in it”. Attacking imperfectly beats the *** out of not attacking!

Crush Procrastination, Part 6: Indifference is the 3rd barrier. We put off mundane tasks like sweeping the kitchen, cleaning the litter box, BECAUSE they’re mundane – they lack interest – hence our indifference. The solution: create motivational fuel by VISUALIZING the rewards of doing the task -- imagine its completed state and the happiness it will bring. Then GO!

Crush Procrastination, Finale: Action breeds confidence, courage. Sitting on your *** breeds doubt, fear. Do something you’ve been putting off. Pick the toughest thing and write down your reason for not attacking it. Fear? Disarray? Indifference? They’re imaginary BS!!! Do it today. Do it now. Start with a simple command to yourself: I will attack the tough stuff NOW!

This week's ADHD Solution is: Managing hyper-focus.

How is it possible that someone with ADHD can focus for hours on something that’s interesting? It’s a common misconception that people with Attention Deficit have a deficit of attention. It would be more accurate to say we have trouble paying attention appropriately. This intense concentration we sometimes experience is called hyper-focus. It’s the other extreme. Sometimes it’s as inappropriate as not being able to focus at all.

The ideal solution is to arrange your life so that the things you tend to hyper-focus on are things that bring you closer to your goals. For example, if you are an artist, it would be advantageous to get lost in a painting and oblivious to the world for six hours. But if you’re an accounting student and you have a final exam tomorrow morning, getting lost in that painting is probably not going to result in a good grade.

Here are some strategies to help you manage your tendency to hyper-focus:

• Identify the types of activities you tend to hyper-focus on.
• Don’t start any hyper-focus prone activities close to bedtime, or before doing something you’re likely to procrastinate on.
• Make it a point to be aware of your mental state at all times. We often don’t even realize it when we’re hyper-focused. Being aware of when you’re in it is the first step towards getting out of it.
• Practice being fully present. Use mindfulness exercises to stay in the here and now.
• Use timers and alarms to be cognizant of how much time has elapsed since you started the activity.
• Change your physical position to help break a hyper-focus as soon as you recognize it.
• Plan milestones in your projects. Stop every time you reach one.

Hyper-focus can be a wonderful gift if it’s used constructively, for things we truly want to focus on. It can be a curse if we hyper-focus on things that don’t matter at the expense of everything else. Controlling it is the tricky part.

www.adhdsolutions.net