Strategies For Using Strategies for ADD ADHD — ADD Tip o the Day 454

Are you using strategies for your ADD ADHD problems?

Strategies are the key to living better with ADD ADHD, though medication (ritalin, adderall, antidepressant) can be very helpful. For one thing, it can help us focus enough so that we can use strategies.

But, sometimes it’s hard to come up with good strategies, or we forget to use them, or we find them hard to implement, or we’re too demoralized before we start to even start.

So, we can need strategies to help us use strategies:

We need to identify a problem, and one that causes us enough trouble that it’s worth working on.  It needs to be a small specific problem.  One lady is writing that her problem is that she’s distractable.  Well, yes, that is ADD ADHD.  And there can be strategies for that, but usually it’s better to come up with a more specific target – “I get distracted in the morning and forget to brush my teeth.”

If you are reluctant to try, for any of the above reasons (“Oh, I’ve tried before and it didn’t work for me.”), then a strategy is to try a two week experiment, not a life long contract.  Or, if that’s too much, try a one week experiment.

Get help.  Enlist your sig other or a friend or coworker, or even on the net (see links below).   They can monitor you or encourage you or remind you  or help you figure out strategies, or even help you figure out how they can help.  You don’t have to do it all by yourself.

Make a list of significant problems, then pick three of the most troubling, then break them down into small specific problems (if you haven’t already), and then pick one (that’s ONE) to work on.  You’re not going to change your whole life (or what you have had for a lifetime) right away, but you are going to make it better, one step at a time.

There is yet another New York Times article on medications for ADD ADHD, and what they see as over use.  For next time (hopefully).

What topics would you like to see next?  I’m soliciting suggestions, requests, comments and reviews.  Have had great responses from Homey and Scott – Thank You!  Will get to them soon.

doug

clik Jenna’s good posts on ADD issues, including transitions

Life can be peaceful..

clik Alan on memory aids – good!

clik from kiera, wonderful photos!  look!

clik  some good strategies

support:              ADDerworld    clik                                     ADDforums     clik

Quote o the Day:  White hair is a sign of wisdom, if you keep your mouth shut.