With ADHD and other mental health issues, what works for one person does not necessarily have the same effectiveness for another. Which is why it's important to understand what you need to do in the areas that you struggle with the most, in order to effectively deal with them.
Consider this as your cheat sheet for weaving your way through your life, in order to make ADHD your friend and not your enemy.
Medication: Even though there's a great deal of stigma regarding pharmaceutical products, medication is still a major part your mental health treatment. Let's look at a few basic tips that'll make a huge difference in your life and your treatment.
- Take your medication exactly as prescribed.
- If you experience an issue with your medication, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about it. Don’t rely on Google or YouTube for medical advice, as a substitute.
- Don’t give into people wanting to buy your medication, it’s illegal to sell it, and also it takes away from your own treatment.
- Medication works differently for everyone, like I’ve stated above, if your medication is not working properly, tell your physician or pharmacist. They’ll help you to find the medication that works best for you. They won't think less about you for coming to them.
- Taking medication, especially for a valid medical condition does not make you a drug addict. It makes you a person who is trying to treat something that is a valid medical condition, in order to make your life better.
- Don’t let people make you feel bad or weak for taking a medication. Especially when it can make huge changes in your life, you’ll still have good times and bad times. Medication will give you the ability to deal with those things more effectively.
Acceptance: Even though ADHD can be really frustrating at times, which I know from first-hand experience. I recall when I was first diagnosed with ADHD and still had bumps in the road, even with medication. How frustrating it was to struggle with things, even though I was on a prescription for ADHD. Remember, you will always have strengths and weaknesses. The key is to have the self-awareness and self-acceptance to work on those weaknesses in order to make those weaknesses into a strength.
Not excelling in every aspect of your life doesn't mean that your treatment isn't working. It simply means that you need to work on those things, to build them up. Not being perfect is normal; you're going to have good days and bad days whether you have a mental health issue or not.
Also don’t let those things that frustrate you control your life, instead think about why they frustrate you. Also think about what you have that’s within your power to fix. Start by having the self-awareness and self-acceptance to make the changes you need to and go from there.
Stigma: Stigma isn't something people diagnosed with ADHD are strangers to dealing with, whether you have to have something explained more than one time and are perceived to be stupid, or people thinking that you take medication for an imaginary illness. It honestly doesn't matter, stigma regardless of where it comes from, is a form of discrimination and can be very harmful.
What I discovered is that it's not you who has the issue. It's the people who are too narrow minded to understand anything outside of their own viewpoints. Taking what they say to heart is no different than believing a person who says, “1+1=3 not 2.” That's why it is important to talk to qualified professionals who have not only the education but also the experience to back up what they say. So you can get the proper help that you need.
Technology: Today's smartphones can do pretty much anything, it's like having a mini computer in your pocket basically. One aspect of ADHD I've always had an issue with is staying organized. With mobile applications such as memos and reminders, it can actually help to eliminate being late or forgetting something. Here are a few ways to use modern mobile technology to make your day run smoothly.
- Using your phones memo to make a daily schedule or to-do list.
- Setting alarms for when you have to leave for something.
- Taking notes on things that you are unsure about and notes on how become more effective at it.
- Directions
- Medication scheduling
- Creating healthy study habits
Being mindful: ADHD has a way of making your thoughts go in multiple directions at the same time, due to either over stimulating or under stimulating your brain. Mindfulness is a way to filter out the insignificant things in order to focus on what you need to focus on. I discovered this after watching a television show about mindfulness and decided to try it.
The person said, when you're taking your morning shower, do you think about all of the daily stress you have to deal with? Or do you think about how relaxing the shower is? That's what mindfulness is, here are a few simple things to keep in mind to help you stay in the moment.
- In stressful situations breathe in for three seconds and breathe out for five seconds until you feel more focused.
- Walking away from certain situations and taking a minute to respond sometimes is better than going with an emotional reaction.
- Having a strong sense of self-awareness and self-acceptance, the better you understand yourself the more you understand the world around you.
- In school, break down your homework and subjects. Instead of leaving everything to the last minute, do a little bit every night. Also don't be afraid to ask questions, or think asking questions makes you less intelligent.
- Understand your internal and also your external boundaries, and not letting others abuse those boundaries.
- Instead of hiding or ignoring your emotions, deal with them and what causes them in a healthy manner.
In conclusion, even though I've only talked about a few ways to make coping with ADHD easier, you can utilize these steps into other areas of your life that you struggle with.
Plus, seeing and understanding the difference between mental health facts and mental health myths, and how taking the wrong advice can honestly have serious long term and short-term effects on your life. It doesn't mean you won't have struggles, but those battles will be easier to handle with the right tools.
About the Creator
Hidden Costs and Lasting Shame of Financial Abuse
I’ve always been responsible with my money. I have a job that pays decently, although (like many in our inflated economy) I should definitely be making more for what I do. I regularly check my credit score. I don’t eat out much, nor do I spend frivolously on non-essentials.
By Veronica Wren24 days ago in Psyche
The secret journey to regaining emotional stability
Do you feel that the anxious and avoidant types both seem to be strong and independent, but in fact they are sensitive and fragile. They often fall into emotions because of small things and start to be anxious and avoidant? If anxious and avoidant types want to change these, what they actually need is to compensate for their missing parts and heal their injured parts. In this issue, we will teach the avoidant and anxious types how to cultivate themselves again, making their emotions more stable, more rational in relationships, and at the same time gaining the ability to actively output emotional value. If anxious and avoidant types want to overcome the sensitive and fragile parts of themselves and obtain stable emotions, they need not only cognitive adjustments, but also need to heal the traumatized parts of themselves and compensate for the regretful parts of themselves. For example, the regret of the avoidant type is that they have not been paid serious attention to and have never truly rebelled. Therefore, the avoidant type will not fight for their own needs in many situations, resulting in uncomfortable situations and relationships, and they are always running away and wandering. The trauma of the anxious type is that they are trapped in unstable relationships and have been hurt by the instability in intimate relationships. The slightest fluctuation will make the anxious type feel nervous and anxious. Therefore, anxious and avoidant types are inherently fragile, sensitive, and unstable. In summary, these reasons are that something is missing during the growth stage, or they have suffered some trauma, so if you want to solve these problems, this is the time. Compensate when you need to compensate, heal when you need to heal, exercise when you need to exercise, just treat yourself as a child and raise yourself again. If the avoidant and anxious types re-train themselves, what kind of growth can they gain? First of all, emotions will become more and more stable. For example, you can be aware of your emotions at the first time, avoid emotions from affecting your thoughts and judgments, and learn to regulate your emotions. Secondly, you can truly understand yourself and know your real needs and fears. In the process of re-nurturing yourself, you can clearly understand your needs and fears, that is, you can know why you are attracted to a certain person, why you behave like this, and then you can better understand what you need.
By angelababya day ago in Psyche
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.