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Overcoming Obstacles to Success When You Have ADHD How to Stop Procrastinating With ADHD

We're all guilty of putting things off once in a while, but waiting until the last minute to complete a task is just postponing the inevitable and makes life that much more stressful. Here, nine tips to keep you on track and on time.

If you have ADHD, it’s likely you’re a procrastinator. People with adult ADHD tend to put off paying bills, folding the laundry, and doing other chores at home and at work. You might procrastinate out of fear that you won’t succeed - perhaps you tried to tackle a similar task before and couldn’t complete it. Or maybe you procrastinate because you’re not interested in the task you were given - you find it boring. Whatever your reasons, these tips can help you overcome the tendency to stop putting off until tomorrow what you should do today.

Manage Stress to Stop Procrastinating

When you’re overwhelmed, you’ll find yourself procrastinating more, says Jennifer Koretsky Korey, a senior certified ADHD coach and author of Odd One Out: The Maverick's Guide to Adult ADD. You can manage stress by slowing down and taking excellent care of yourself. “I recommend that clients take half an hour a day — every day — to relax and recharge,” Korey says. Also, prioritize good sleep habits, good nutrition, and exercise. Even small changes in these areas will make a big difference.

Plan Your Road to Success

In order to finish something, you first need to know where to start, Korey says. "If you try to jump into a project without planning, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and shut down.” This is sound advice for anyone approaching a task, but it is particularly helpful if you have ADHD. Korey recommends taking 5 to 15 minutes to step back from the project and plan the steps that you need to take to complete it. “Then when you begin,” she says, “the hard work has been done, and you’re really just following a system.”

Break Tasks Into Small Parts

To best manage your ADHD symptoms, not only do you need to plan, but you also need to break down your plan into achievable steps. “I call them ‘doable tasks,’” says Alice Price, a professional organizer and time-management specialist based in West Islip, N.Y., and a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Small successes build on each other. Recounts David Rosenberg, MD, professor and chief of child psychiatry and psychology at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit: “My piano teacher used to tell me, rather than memorize the whole piece of music, to learn it in small sections. That’s great advice for learning to play the piano and critical for children with ADHD and people with adult ADHD.”

Create - and Stick to - an ADHD Schedule

You need to set a timeline for accomplishing each and every one of the smaller items on your to-do list. If you leave goals open-ended, you won’t be as motivated to get started. Just putting a date and time for completion next to each step will help you stay on track, says Dr. Rosenberg.

Find Motivation to Stop Procrastinating

When given a task, think about how completing it will improve your life. “Get in touch with why the task is actually worth doing and how it can help you,” Korey says. “You’ll definitely procrastinate if you’re just doing the task to please someone else, and you’ll add to your stress as a result.” For instance, if your mother-in-law comments on your messy house, but the clutter doesn’t bother you, you will resist the urge to clean before she comes over. So focus instead on how having a clean house will make achieving your own goals easier.

Delegate, Don't Procrastinate

Whenever possible, delegate any tasks you find boring. “There’s no shame in paying someone else for their skills,” says Korey. “This might mean hiring a house cleaner, a handyman, or even a personal assistant.” If money is an issue, cut out other luxuries so that you can afford the help you need to handle ADHD and stop procrastinating. “Ask yourself what costs more: the stress of procrastinating on this task or the cost of hiring someone else to do it?” Korey suggests.

Reward Yourself

Treat yourself to something fun when you complete half or even a third of an assigned task, and then again when it’s done. The reward can be just a break to watch a TV show, going out to lunch or dinner, or taking a soothing spa bath (great for relaxing when ADHD symptoms have you stressed). Rosenberg says the biggest reward should be contingent upon getting started, which is often the most difficult part for many with adult ADHD. On the flip side, resist punishing yourself for not completing a job. “Punishments rarely work for procrastination and can make things worse,” he cautions.

Do the Dreaded Deed First

Whatever it is, getting the task you dislike out of the way gives your self-esteem a boost, and that in turn stops procrastination. “You feel good because you did it, and it changes your attitude from a negative to a positive,” Price says. Here’s an example: If you work in sales and dislike the part of your job that requires making cold calls, do them first thing in the morning. “Then you have the rest of the day free from having to worry about them,” Price says.

Manage ADHD Symptoms With Set Routines

If you have adult ADHD, establish a routine that includes all tasks that must be accomplished each day, says Rosenberg. That way, doing them becomes almost automatic, because you don’t have time to sit around and think, “I won’t do this now; I’ll do it later.” Set up a routine for getting yourself and your family out the door in the morning. Have one for your workday and others for your evenings and weekends. And be sure to include the tasks you most often put off.

(everydayhealth.com)

Is an ADHD Diet the Answer?

Food allergies may be connected to adult ADHD symptoms. Learn how following an elimination program, such as the Feingold Diet, may help you identify your triggers and create your own ADHD diet.

By Katherine Lee Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

If you are an adult living with ADHD, a growing body of nutrition and diet research shows that what you eat can make a difference in managing symptoms. Eating certain foods and following an elimination diet such as the Feingold Diet, which cuts out food additives among other guidelines, can help.

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a set adult ADHD diet. “There is no one diet because there is not one cause,” says Sally Hara, MS, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and a nutritionist in Kirkland, Wash. “The ADHD diagnosis is made based on a description of symptoms.”

The second point to remember is that for adult ADHD patients it’s not only what you eat, but also when you eat that matters. “I look at basic overall nutrition,” says Hara. “Adults get busy and distracted. They may skip meals. When blood sugar is not stable, we don’t multitask as well.” When people have low blood sugar, they may get grumpy and may not be able to process sensory stimulations such as a TV, phone, and people talking, says Hara. “It happens to everybody, but it’s amplified in people with ADHD.”

What to Include and Avoid in an ADHD Diet

Within the last 10 years, researchers have been making the link between diet and ADHD, says Elizabeth Strickland, MS, RD, an integrative dietitian specializing in ADHD and autism in San Antonio, Texas. Studies have found some foods worsen symptoms while others may improve them.

Among foods that have been connected to worsening symptoms of adult ADHD are:

Sugar. “We consume over one hundred and fifty pounds of white sugar a year,” says Strickland, pointing out that a 32-ounce cola has 32 teaspoons of sugar. “The blood sugar level rises quickly in our bloodstream and dumps insulin into the body. The body dumps adrenaline in response, and the blood sugar levels go up and down. This aggravates aggression and makes you crave more sugar.” While high-fructose corn syrup is a major culprit, honey and raw sugar can also contribute to this blood sugar spike.

Food additives. “Manmade artificial chemicals such as food coloring, flavors, and preservatives are toxins that your body has to remove,” says Strickland. “If your body isn’t able to remove them efficiently, it can lead to problems such as headaches, asthma, and aggression.”

These foods may aid brain function and help reduce the symptoms of adult ADHD:

Omega-3 fatty acids. Research has shown that a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids may be linked to an increased risk of ADHD. “It likely has to do with myelin sheaths [the protective membrane surrounding the nerves of the brain and spinal cord] being made up almost entirely of fatty acids,” says Hara. “Supplements can be helpful for a lot of people. I recommend 3,000 milligrams a day.”

Caffeine. “Studies have shown a small amount of caffeine can improve concentration and attention,” says Strickland. “Try having one cup of coffee in the morning and a cup of green tea in the afternoon.”

Protein. “Protein is extremely critical,” says Strickland. “Protein provides amino acids used to make neurotransmitters for the brain, such as dopamine and serotonin. These chemical messengers control mood and concentration.”

Complex carbohydrates. “Our primary source for fuel is carbs,” says Hara. “We have very low glycogen stores — that’s what we use for fuel after our bodies have broken down carbs. If you don’t have enough glycogen stores, you’re setting yourself up for low blood sugar, which is counter-productive to concentrating.” Getting the right carbs is a must. “Most individuals are consuming too much soda, sugar, and white grains,” says Strickland. “We need to transition to whole grains.”

Herbs. “Research shows that ginkgo biloba and ginseng may improve brain function and attention and may prevent dementia,” says Strickland. “Try it for one month. Do you respond? If so, continue. If not, don’t.” Some people see benefits from herbs while others do not, she explains.

Trying an ADHD Elimination Diet

“Research within the last 15 years shows that people with ADHD have a higher rate of food allergies,” says Strickland. But many adults do not associate their symptoms with food sensitivities, says Hara. “They may be depressed or agitated and write it off to normal aging or stress when it isn’t,” she explains. “I’ve had adult ADHD patients in their 20s and 30s who couldn’t sit during appointments. Then once [certain] foods were eliminated, they were able to sit still six months later.”

The idea behind trying an elimination diet is to take away potential allergens and slowly add them back in to see which foods might be triggering symptoms of adult ADHD. “The same foods will not have the same effects for everybody,” says Hara.

One elimination diet in particular is the Feingold Diet, developed by the late pediatrician and allergy specialist Ben Feingold, MD, in the 1960s and originally intended only to help allergy symptoms. It is based on eliminating foods and medications containing salicylate compounds, such as aspirin, as well as additives like food colorings. The diet had the unexpected benefit of easing certain behavior problems and, in the decades that followed, has grown in popularity as an option for children and adults with ADHD.

ADHD Nutrient Research Update

A recent review looked at numerous studies evaluating the role certain supplements might have in the treatment of ADHD. So far, only zinc showed that it may help ADHD symptoms. Results were mixed on L-carnitine, pycnogenol, and essential fatty acids and inconclusive for iron and magnesium, SAM-e, and tryptophan. St. John's wort, tyrosine, or phenylalanine in particular showed no ability to help ADHD symptoms.

As research continues, hopefully more specific nutrients will be found to help manage adult ADHD. But for now, trying an elimination diet holds the most promise. 

(everydayhealth.com)

This week's ADHD Solution is: Focus on the question.

Did you ever go online to find the answer to a question, only to get up three hours later without the answer? If you have ADHD, I’ll bet this happens all the time. It’s easy to get lost on the internet.

An easy way to prevent this is to write your question on a sticky note and put it on your monitor. This will help you stay focused on it. Usually we get lost because we forgot the question. Or forgot we even had a question.

But what about all those juicy related sites you’re drawn to? All that information out there just waiting to be discovered? Go ahead and open the link in a new window or tab (right click on it.) Glance at the page, and if it looks useful, bookmark it so you can find it later if it still seems important. Then close the page. Quickly!

If this suggestion doesn’t work for you because you don’t notice the sticky note on your monitor, try holding it in your hand. Or clear the clutter on your desk so the note is more noticeable. I’ll offer some strategies for clearing clutter in a future edition of ADHD Solutions. Until then, may your path to the answer be unswerving!

www.adhdsolutions.net

15 percent of population suffering from ADHD

By ARAB NEWS
Published: Sep 30, 2011 22:32 Updated: Sep 30, 2011 22:32

YANBU: Fifteen percent of the population in the Kingdom suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), more than three times the global average.

It was revealed by Prince Saud bin Abdullah, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and chairman of SABIC, who received at SABIC headquarters in Riyadh recently a delegation from the ADHD Support Society.

Saud, who was refering to the latest statistics, urged all sections of society to pay attention to this problem and understand how to deal with it adequately. This way, there will be more awareness on the subject and children with ADHD will benefit, he said. “Any delay in diagnosis makes treatment difficult.”

The delegation included Dr. Suad Al-Yamani, chairman of the society; Prince Nouf Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Saud, vice chairman of the society; Princess Madawi Saad bin Khalid Al-Saud, member of the board of directors; and Munira Khaled Al-Sudairi, chairman of the society development committee.

Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC vice chairman and chief executive officer, and other senior SABIC officials also attended the reception.

Saud appreciated the society’s voluntary activities and its role in raising awareness about ADHD. The society uses every available means of education and holds seminars and scientific meetings to shed more light on the disorder, he said.

The society’s reps appreciated  SABIC’s continuous support. They thanked SABIC for its prominent role in serving the community and caring for the younger generation by supporting research and helping to raise awareness about diseases, their prevention and treatment.

(http://www.arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article509346.ece)

Anger Control: Keeping Anger in Its Place

Anger is a basic emotion that is good when it's controlled and ugly when it isn't. If how you vent is costing you jobs, relationships, and more, you might want to consider anger-management training.
By Madeline Vann, MPH
Medically reviewed by Cynthia Haines, MD

Anger can be a pulse-raising response to other people's behavior, but it can also be triggered by your own thoughts and memories. It is rooted in a basic, biological instinct that empowers us to defend ourselves from a threat. But in the modern world, anger must be controlled or it can result in dire consequences.

People who have a hard time coping with anger may need - or be ordered to - anger-management training.

Anger Control: Evolutionary Consequences

"Anger is generally recognized as a fundamental emotion that everyone experiences as a consequence of evolution," says Charles Spielberger, PhD, distinguished research professor emeritus at the University of South Florida in Tampa. "As an emotional state, anger varies in intensity as a response to perceived danger in situations in which a person is attacked, criticized, or feels frustrated. As a personality trait, anger refers to the frequency [with which] the emotion is experienced over time."

Spielberger and colleagues developed the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), which is often used to evaluate anger. It is a written test that measures, among other things, the components of someone's anger, in terms of normalcy and abnormalcy.

Anger: A Learned Response

Anger is often a secondary emotion, says George Anderson, an anger management trainer with Anderson and Anderson Anger Management in Los Angeles. That means it comes as a result of another emotion — most often stress. Anger can be an unpleasant emotion with unpleasant results, including an increased risk of heart disease, if it is not handled correctly.

Many people learn how to cope with anger from the environment in which they grew up. Research suggests that people who have poor anger control grew up in homes that were chaotic and with people who had difficulty expressing anger well.

"What that means is if how you cope with anger can be learned, it can be unlearned," says Anderson, who provides anger management training to a variety of professionals, including doctors. "Unfortunately, the person who has the problem is usually the last to recognize it."

Anger: Signs That You're Losing Control

"Anger is a problem when it is too intense, occurs too frequently, lasts too long, affects health and relationships, or leads to person- or property-directed aggression," says Anderson.

You may have an anger-control problem if:

• People in your life tell you that you seem constantly angry, touchy, or irritable.
• You respond with violent words or actions out of proportion to the situation.
• Your supervisor, human resources department, or a judge has ordered you into anger-management training.
• You have a lot of broken relationships.
• You lose jobs often.

Anger Control: Common Thought Processes

Researchers know that there are some thought processes that are common to people with poor anger control. Consider the examples of road rage and parents who become violently enraged at their children's sports events.

Both situations demonstrate out-of-control anger, but both are due to a person's unreasonable desire to control others or belief that events reflect poorly on them.

Anger Control: One Big Button

"I think I was probably a little too sensitive," says 51-year-old Gary Galvan, a former elementary school principal who was referred to anger-management training by his district administrator. "I probably didn't read the social cues as well as I may have. I was one big button; people were able to push and I'd respond."

Galvan says anger-management training gave him skills he needed — he just wishes he had learned them earlier in his life. "It would have saved a lot of heartbreak," he says.

Anger Control: I-Statements

One of the skills Galvan treasures is a new way of speaking about his feelings. He's learned to use a formula called I-statements: "I feel ___ when___ because I need___," he says.

He offers the example: "I feel mad when you don't acknowledge my achievements because I need to know my work is valuable."

Anger Control: Strategies

If you are having trouble controlling your anger, try these strategies to keep anger in check:

• Slow down. "If you can recognize in advance a situation that is going to make you angry - if you can slow the process right down - you can prevent it from getting to the stage of rage," says Anderson.
• Empathize. Sometimes the people who are triggering your anger have their own problems and emotions to cope with. Empathizing with their situation can help you, too.
• Solve a problem. If a situation is making you angry, come up with a plan and then take action to change some of the angering aspects.
• Make a change. Elements in your day or environment may be making you more likely to lose control. For example, if you tend to get angry when you are stressed, try to find a way to de-stress before you hit the time of day when you are most likely to lash out.
• Change your thinking. If you can't change your environment, you might want to change the way you think about events. Seek help from a cognitive-behavioral therapist who can teach you coping skills.
• Use humor. A good laugh can break the tension or just give you a better perspective.

And, if there is a way you can avoid a person or situation that consistently makes you angry, do so.

(everydayhealth.com)

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