Adult ADHD or ADD can be difficult to deal with. Modern life, especially here in New York City, can be highly stimulating, creating stress, distraction, anxiety, and disorganization in some people. But is it actually ADHD? And if so, what type? What category do your symptoms fall into? Getting an accurate diagnosis can be challenging.
While you may be struggling with symptoms of ADHD, you may have self-diagnosed (or diagnosed your spouse) based on what you have read or what someone who has ADHD has shared with you. Getting an accurate diagnosis is critical to help you develop the right plan of action to address your particular needs.
Some people try to cope on their own, but because of the nature of the symptoms, it can be very difficult, like trying to pull oneself up by one’s own bootstraps. If you feel unmotivated, how do you motivate yourself to become motivated? If you are always exhausted, how do you will yourself to exercise? If you’re distracted and disorganized, how do you keep focused enough to organize clutter and develop attentiveness? If you’re anxious, how do you tell yourself not to be anxious?
Overcoming these issues is possible, and the right therapist, counselor, or psychologist can help. It is critical to start working with a therapist you trust who has in-depth knowledge of these conditions and can walk you down a treatment path to find balance in life.
As a psychotherapist oriented towards psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy, I work with clients to find underlying causes of the issues that have brought them to my office. The problems you are dealing with may be rooted in a medical condition, which may find some alleviation through medication, but there may be other causes that we can work together to discover, to either free you from your symptoms or reduce them to a manageable level.
Once we look into possible causes or triggers, we will be able to chart a course of action. Some strategies, depending on your symptoms and your personal situation, include:
- Making changes to your work or home environment that will make it easier to maintain an orderly environment
- Using technology, such as apps, to help you maintain an accurate schedule, provide reminders, and help you track things like budgeting, exercise, and healthy food consumption
- Developing relaxation techniques to improve sleep
- Examining root causes of anxiety or negative inner voices and re-learning how to think about yourself and events in your life
The most important thing is to come in and talk about the issues you are experiencing. You may just need a little help getting some structure put into place in your life, or you may need to heal old wounds that have set up negative patterns of thought and behavior that have caused your symptoms. You may have ADHD, or some life experiences to work through, or both. We won’t know until we talk. If you are in the NYC area, give me a call to see how I can help you.