This week's ADHD Solution is: Improve your focus with water.

You know that water is essential to life.  But did you know that even mild dehydration impairs your ability to focus?  Estimates are that 75% of us are chronically dehydrated, so it's likely that this applies to you.

Don't wait until you're thirsty to get a drink.  By that time, you're already mildly dehydrated.  Here are some other warning signs:

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Dry mouth, throat, and/or lips
• Dark urine
• Heat intolerance
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• If, when you pinch the skin on the back of your hand, it drops back slowly

Here are some easy ways to keep dehydration from affecting your focus:

• Keep a large container of water, or a cooler, near your work area to increase the convenience factor
• Bring a water bottle with you every time you get in the car. Finish it by the time you get to your destination.
• Set a daily goal, and use a checklist to track the amount of water you consume.   You may be surprised at how little you're actually drinking.
• Watch your caffeine intake, since caffeine actually dehydrates your body
• Keep lemon or orange slices in the refrigerator and use them to add flavor to your water
• Make getting a drink part of your break routine
• In the winter, use a humidifier or set out bowls of water to decrease the amount of water you lose through your skin

I’m not suggesting that water can cure ADHD.  But staying well hydrated gives you one more way to fight it.  So drink up!

www.adhdsolutions.net

This week's ADHD Solution is: Reducing impulsivity.

Have you ever blurted out the answer to a question directed to someone else? Bought something you really didn’t need because it caught your eye in the checkout line? Sent a scathing email to a colleague without thinking through the consequences? Bounced around from one task to the next rather than doing what you had planned? These are all examples of impulsivity, one of the hallmarks ADHD.

In my opinion, impulsivity is one of the hardest ADHD symptoms to deal with. Why? Because we aren’t aware that we’re being impulsive, when we’re being impulsive. What we think, we do. There’s no filter between thought and action.

Before you can conquer ADHD impulsivity, you have to be aware of it in the moment. You have to realize that you’re about to do something impulsive before you actually do it. But how can you be aware of something that just doesn’t seem to be there?  Developing mindfulness will help. Over time, it is possible to increase your awareness.  Eventually that filter will begin to develop. You’ll hear a little voice that says, “This might not be such a good idea!”  Eventually you’ll start listening to that voice and heeding its advice.  

Here are a few strategies that should help:

• Reflect. After you’ve done something impulsive that you regret, ask yourself what you could have done differently. Make a mental note of it for future reference. Or better yet, keep a log. Don’t berate yourself, just learn from it.

• Slow down. Develop the habit of pausing before you answer someone. Sometimes if you give yourself more time, reason will step in and let you know that you’re about to do something you might regret.

• Identify situations where you tend to be impulsive. Shopping? Parties? Email? What are your triggers? For each of these situations, identify something you can use as a filter. For example if you’re prone to firing off inflammatory emails, consider a post-it on your computer that says “Think before you send”.

• Avoid temptation. Unsubscribe from all those shopping site newsletters. Don’t bring your credit card to the store with you.

• Take time to relax and recharge every day. If you build time into your schedule for the things that refresh you, you’ll be less likely to give in to them at inconvenient times.

• Before taking action, ask yourself some meaningful questions:  How could this come back to hurt me later?  Is this really how I want to be spending my time? Is this in service of what is truly important to me?

• Practice being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and actions in every moment.

Taking your time, asking questions, and generally being mindful will go a long way towards becoming less impulsive.

 

www.adhdsolutions.net

7 Tips for Dressing ADHD Preschoolers

Getting your ADHD preschooler dressed in the morning can be a challenge. These expert tips will make getting ready a little easier for everyone.

By Chris Iliades, MD. Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

If you are a parent of a preschooler with attention deficit disorder (ADHD), you probably know all too well the stress that can come from the seemingly simple task of getting your child dressed in the morning. Such ADHD symptoms as short attention span and trouble focusing can turn this daily to-do into a race against the clock, giving you a limited time to get those clothes on before your child starts to squirm.

According to experts, organization, discipline, and good old common sense can help make mornings easier for you and your child with ADHD. Follow these simple steps:

Get everyone organized: Pick out your child's clothes the night before and set them out in the same place each time. That way, ADHD children will be less distracted during the morning dress time and so will you. However, avoid getting ADHD children involved in choosing what to wear.

Stick to a routine: All ADHD children do better when there is structure in their day. "Early morning can be a tough time for ADHD children because it is usually the time before their morning medication. They can be especially fussy at a time when you need to get out the door," says Deborah A. Pearson, PhD, director of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder research laboratory at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center. You can help ADHD preschoolers by getting them to bed, getting them up, and getting them dressed at the same time every day.

Use the right kind of discipline: Threats of discipline aimed at ADHD children and losing your temper will only make things worse. ADHD children do better with goals and rewards. Reward your ADHD preschooler with a favorite breakfast if she helps get herself dressed on time. "Parents who do everything for their child do not reinforce good behavior. Let them take some responsibility for getting dressed and reward their efforts," says Short.

Avoid distractions: When you are trying to help your child get dressed in the morning, minimize any potential distractions. Turn off the TV, keep the room quiet, and keep other family members from interacting with your ADHD preschooler until the dressing is done.

Make careful clothing choices: ADHD children may be overly sensitive to the feel of their clothing. Known as tactile sensitivity, this type of hypersensitivity can make dressing an ADHD preschooler even harder. “For one child a seam in a sock might cause a huge battle over getting dressed,” 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 huge individual variation between ADHD children, so your best bet is to find the clothing your child seems most comfortable in."

Look for clothing styles that are designed with flat seams and made of fabrics that your child finds more comfortable to the touch. And keep in mind that your ADHD preschooler could even be hypersensitive to tags on the inside of clothing. "There is really no good research on clothing precautions. My advice is to use common sense," says Pearson. "If the tags bother your child, just rip them out."

Start with the right underclothes: Snug-fitting underclothes may benefit some ADHD preschoolers by giving them a greater sense of comfort, but on the other hand, some ADHD children may prefer loose-fitting underwear. "I am not aware of any research that suggests that tight-fitting underwear is any better for ADHD children than any other type of underwear," says Short. “Again, each ADHD child is different, so do what works best for you.”

Keep it simple: Keep dressing the ADHD child simple by avoiding lots of buttons, advises Pearson. The simplest, most comfortable pull-ons and pullovers usually work best."

(everydayhealth.com)

Mara Bayewitz: Putting the Puzzle Together

Adult ADHD can be difficult to diagnose, even after years of symptoms. Here's how one woman identified her symptoms and is living well with ADHD.

By Michele Bloomquist

For Mara Bayewitz, a 38-year-old wife, mother of three, actor, and social worker from Maryland, figuring out what she needs to get done every day can feel like piecing together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.

However, life is going a lot more smoothly since her attention deficit disorder (ADD) diagnosis — at age 33. Like many adults who attended school in the days before ADD and ADHD were commonly understood, Mara came to find a name for the confusing symptoms and feeling of being “different” when her own daughter was diagnosed with ADHD in the second grade.

Suddenly, it was like a light bulb was switched on. “I realized it was a neurobiological brain disorder that was causing my difficulty, not a personal failure or something that I could choose to overcome,” she says. “Once I understood it was a medical condition, I realized it was nothing to be ashamed of.”

Since that time, Mara has been speaking openly about her condition in hopes of raising awareness and helping others. She’s also joined and made public appearances for CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), a national organization aimed at raising awareness of the condition, and started a Facebook-based support group where fellow people with ADD and ADHD can connect, commiserate, brainstorm, and support each other.

“Research shows ADHD is both greatly under-diagnosed and misunderstood,” she says. “Helping other people has in turn helped me tremendously.”

After trying a fast-acting form of stimulant medication, which led to troubling peaks and valleys as the medication kicked in and then wore off, Mara and her doctor found a solution in a time-released version of ADHD medication, which she has taken ever since.

Still, some days continue to be better than others, she admits. On top of the medication, Mara has had to learn to create systems to help her do what seems to come easily and naturally to people without ADHD, like organize their day or decide which task in a list of many is the most important.

Mara admits that living with ADHD has pros and cons and probably has helped her in life as much as it has hurt. But yet, she isn’t one to sugarcoat the difficulties of thinking “different.” “I accept my ADD but I don’t ‘love it’,” she says. “People don’t understand how torturous it can be.”

Mara says she plans to continue talking about her condition openly in hopes that it will encourage others struggling in silence to reject myths and stereotypes about the condition and replace them with self-acceptance.“I hope that helping others understand ADD and ADHD will help them let go of the shame surrounding it,” she says.

Daily Life With ADHD: Mara’s Tips:

Mara says pulling the pieces together with ADHD requires a multi-pronged approach. “You really have to use all of the coping strategies together in order for them to work,” she says.

Tap into treatment: Many with ADHD or ADD suffer in silence, struggling to manage their condition on their own through sheer willpower. “It doesn’t work,” Mara says. She likens doing so to a diabetic trying to manage their blood sugar without insulin or medication. So don’t hesitate to go to your doctor and try medication, behavioral counseling, or a combination of the two. Getting the right care will make managing ADHD much easier.

Stop beating yourself up: Mara says many people with ADHD or ADD have endured a lifetime of criticism from others because of their symptoms, which can lead to a lot of negative self-talk. “Be kind to yourself,” she says. When that critical internal voice starts talking, be ready to recognize it and replace it with some more positive and constructive inner dialog instead.

Educate yourself: “One problem with ADHD is you don’t know what you don’t know,” Mara says. Many people with the condition are so used to its symptoms, they may not even recognize them or realize how they are impacting themselves and others. That ah-ha moment came for her while reading a magazine on ADHD published by CHADD, she says. “It was like every article was written about me,” she says. “It was an eye opener!”

Become your own advocate: Once you understand your condition, you can start letting others know what you need from them to succeed. “You don’t have to wear ADHD like a ribbon,” Mara says. But you can ask people to write down what they need you to do, remind you of a verbal discussion with an e-mail, or approach something that isn’t working in a new way. For example, Mara struggled with a complex budget document at work until she asked a co-worker to gray out all of the information she didn’t need to focus on. Bingo. Suddenly making sense of the massive amount of information got a lot easier.

Reach out to others: Mara finds connecting with others who also live with ADHD to be a lifeline and highly recommends tapping into an online or in-person support group. Mara formed a Facebook group on the topic for just that reason. “When I need support, have to vent, or want to share a success, it’s just a text or post away,” she says.

(everydayhealth.com)