Reply To: A Doctor with ADHD

[sdwa]

While medication does provide only “temporary” help, it can alleviate some of the racing thoughts and anxiety that fuel overwhelm and a corresponding sense of paralysis. It can help you calm down, think clearly, reduce mental chatter, and help you handle things in a more methodical way. You know how sometimes everything feels just way too big to cope with? That’s pretty common. I don’t know if that helps, but my point is, we all experience that feeling – it is part of the ADHD, not a global statement about who you are as a person.

The best thing that has come to me from learning about ADHD is the recognition of the symptoms and common characteristics – to be able to distinguish that from my core sense of self. Sari Solden’s book “Journeys through ADDulthood” is good, as is Gabor Mate’s “Scattered.” Rick Green’s “ADD Stole My Car Keys” is another nice book for normalizing the experiences that come with ADHD – seeing what others go through, finding common ground.

So far, I don’t think there are any easy solutions to practical concerns. If there are, I haven’t found them addressed effectively by anyone in a way that is useful to me. Part of why I believe this is true is that we all do things in unique ways. What helps me organize might not help you organize. The best advice I have heard is to start to take note of when and where you are at your best, and try to change your life to put you in similar circumstances more frequently. We can’t change ourselves, but we can choose the environment to some extent.

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