Putting the brakes on adult ADHD

Scientists have discovered that the ability to stay positive when times get tough may be hardwired in the brain.

Scientists have discovered that the ability to stay positive when times get tough may be hardwired in the brain.

Published May 15, 2012

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Many adults with ADHD are in perpetual motion – squirming constantly, fidgeting and incapable of sitting still. They are impulsive and often interrupt when others talk. It’s not easy for them to get along with their peers and they find it difficult to wait for anyone or anything.

They are derailed by the smallest distraction and are unable to focus on a particular task long enough to complete it. For them, daily life can be exhausting and exasperating.

Some ADHD men and women develop a pattern of getting involved in relationships very quickly and breaking them off almost as speedily.

Friends, relatives, husbands and wives may become irritated with ADHDers because they do not seem to pay attention or remember things they are supposed to do.

SYMPTOMS

The hallmark symptoms of ADHD – hyperactivity, impulsivity, and distractibility – are less noticeable in adults than in children. Instead of running around and constantly climbing up things, adults with attention problems may be seen constantly crossing and uncrossing their legs, jingling their keys or drumming a desk with a pen.

Their thoughts race and they lack the patience to hear anyone out.

They talk as fast as they think – and they talk excessively. It’s as if they can’t put on the brakes.

For them everything is important right now.

They find it difficult to prioritise whatever has to be done and then to set about dealing with each task one at a time.

They hop from one task and – without completing it – jump to another task. Their colleagues at work are amazed to see how disorganised they can be.

Walking up a street with them and keeping up can be exhausting. At parties they tend to bump into people, say the wrong things at the wrong time, spill drinks and trip over the furniture.

Some find it difficult to control the urge to gamble.

They like the thrill of not knowing what can happen next – maybe the excitement of winning big.

Others, on impulse, go on buying sprees or agree to wild dares.

* Caution: Not everyone with ADHD has every symptom listed above. Nor do they all experience the symptoms to the same degree.

Moreover, non-ADHDers are not exempt from the above-mentioned behaviours – we all display them on occasion. What’s different is the frequency, intensity and duration of these behaviours in ADHDers.

WHAT CAUSES ADHD?

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry notes that, despite extensive research, the cause of ADHD is still not fully understood.

A weakness for this disorder may be inherited. ADHD tends to run in families and is more common among close relatives of people with this deficit than in others. It is estimated that about a third of children diagnosed with ADHD have a parent or sibling with the same problem.

In other cases, researchers believe that something may have gone wrong during pregnancy that affects the development of specific areas of the brain.

THE NATURE OF ADHD

People with attention disorders live in a confusing and frustrating world.

Many of them are aware that their behaviour and responses are different from those of others – but they just can’t put their finger on a specific reason for this.

Practitioners often speak of parents who learn about their own problem when their child is diagnosed with ADHD.

These parents feel a sense of relief at finally hitting upon a possible explanation for the difficulties they themselves have experienced for so many years.

And they are relieved even further when they are told that, with treatment, they will be able to manage their symptoms well enough to enable them to cope better in their day-to-day life.

Treatments – medical, psychological and educational – sometimes in combination, sometimes separately – are available.

It dawns upon ADHD sufferers that they don’t have to go on struggling with an unidentified malady all their lives – with the resultant pains of being ostracised, criticised, or ridiculed as stupid or lazy.

They don’t have to go on drifting from job to job and place to place, never really settling down.

Their relationships don’t have to be short and stormy anymore.

They don’t have to go on abusing alcohol or drugs, nor do they have to be so accident-prone, nor do they have to think about suicide. They can choose to change.

Because there is no clear-cut method for detecting attention disorders, diagnosis can be tricky.

A careful, comprehensive history is critical. Basing an ADHD diagnosis on just a completed Conner’s Rating Scale is totally unacceptable.

One important question to consider in a diagnosis is when the first symptoms appeared. ADHD almost always begins before the age of seven.

If behaviours like daydreaming, poor concentration, fidgeting and not achieving up to potential began in an adult recently, the cause could be some other emotional condition, not ADHD.

WHO CAN HELP?

In addition to the professional team, working with an experienced ADHD coach can be a great help.

A coach can help you switch from dwelling on your weaknesses to focusing on your strengths.

He/she will work with you in overcoming difficulties arising from hyperactivity, impulsivity, distraction, procrastination, time management, perfectionism, poor social skills, ineffective communication and relationship problems.

A coach will not make decisions for you. Be under no illusions: the change itself has to come from within you. Coaching is not a magic wand. You have to be serious about wanting to get your ADHD symptoms under control.

You will have to do the homework you will be set and patiently practise relevant strategies over a period of time.

Undesirable habits learned over years cannot be undone in a matter of a few counselling sessions.

The good news: clients invariably report that the rewards – in the form of living a more productive, better organised and happier life – make the sacrifices and the effort well worth the while. Spouses often report that the differences are so clear-cut that they now feel as though they are married to a different person.

Before choosing your coach, make sure you feel comfortable with him/her. Coaching is a partnership. Explain your needs and expectations and get to understand the coach’s approach and philosophy of coaching.

Finally, never forget that ADHDers also have strengths – humour, energy, and a spirit of fun and adventure. Many of them are creative problem solvers who can think outside the box and come up with unique ideas and solutions that surprise others. - Daily News

* Ramphal is a Durban-based educational psychologist with special interests in career counselling and learning and behavioural problems

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