Comorbid: Depression and ADD —- ADD Tip o the day 258

We with ADD and ADHD have a 2.7 times higher rate of depression than the general public where the rate is about 10%.

Reasons: 1. Childhood abuse, shame, failures  make us vulnerable to depression.  2. our continued failures and poor performances, along with the criticism and poor relationships foster it.  3.  possibly the genes involved in each overlap, so they appear together  4. we also have higher rates of substance abuse, and the two conditions foster each other.

Depression is a medical illness, whereas unhappiness, sadness, blues, frustration, grieving, etc are all normal non-medical parts of life (tho one can sometimes benefit from help with them)

strategies:

1. get help – therapy, counseling, and if moderate or severe, medication

2. use strategies to cope better with the ADD

3. learn to stop the self criticism

4. minimize contact with negative critical people

5. stay active socially and physically even if you don’t feel like it

6. faith and a spiritual life are somewhat protective against depression; a critical restrictive religion is not.

doug