10 Ways to Naturally Deal with your ADHD
1. Acknowledge your weakness. This may sound overly simple, but the truth is you must face your weaknesses in order to overcome them and deal with them in your every day life. Get over the fact that you are a little different and that you may not be cut out for sitting still or focusing for long periods of time, or paying attention to minute details. This also may mean that certain career paths aren’t suited for you. Don’t force yourself into a job or role that you won’t thrive in, it will only stress you out more.
2. Diet and Exercise. After reading several articles about this, I’ve found several different answers. It seems that there is no hard evidence of what food affects ADHD, but the general consensus is to watch your caffeine, refined sugar, and food additives and add Omega-3 Fatty Acids to your diet. I also read an article that said dairy had a large affect on her son. The best advice here is to consider trying different things in your diet and seeing how they affect YOU. We are all built differently, so what affects one person may not affect the next. Just keep in mind that it will take a while before you start to see the benefits of changing your diet.
3. Anticipate Forgetting and Plan Ahead. Are you the type of person who can never leave home without going back because you forgot something? Do you drop the ball at work because you totally forgot about a meeting or a client request? The best thing you can do is anticipate on forgetting and plan for it. Assume you will forget so that you can do things before you forget about them. Beat your mind at its own game!
4. Use Outlook pop ups at work and set reminders on your phone. I’m not just talking about a simple task list here, I’m saying totally lien on technology to help you get through your day. Set reminders for even little things such as “take home coffee cup” “get leftovers out of the fridge” or “eat lunch.” You’d be surprised how forgetting little things causes constant stress and inconveniences for those who struggle with ADHD. For those who do not struggle with it, this sounds ridiculous- but trust me it is so easy to forget the very basics when you are constantly distracted and hyper.
5. Never leave home without a calendar and a pen. If you have ADHD, then you need to start writing every thing down because your particular brain is probably not designed to remember all the details. Carry a small calendar, notebook or day planner with you in your purse and write things down. It is likely that you will have a fleeting thought of something important you need to do and will forget about it 5 minutes later unless you write it down.
6. Always leave your keys in the same place. Don’t waste time every single day on being late because you lost your keys again. Get in the habit of putting them in the same exact place every day so that you are on auto-pilot each morning before you leave.
7. When working on a group project, consider sharing your tendency to become distracted with your team so that you can take on a role that is best suited for your ADHD. Again, there’s no use fighting yourself and your weaknesses at work or in school. Those with ADHD are often the most creative, funny, and exciting people to be around. They can add a lot of value to a group, but only if they are being put in the correct role. Sharing your struggle may not be for you, but it may allow you to feel a bit less guilty, more honest and show your group that you are willing to work hard but may have to do it in your own way.
8. Don’t beat yourself up. Although there may be a societal stigma about being ADHD, it is not something worth getting down about. Change your expectations of yourself so that you can focus on your strengths and remain satisfied with your accomplishments. This may mean accepting that you might have to work harder, study longer, or have a slightly lower GPA, but don’t let these small hurdles define you.
9. Embrace your creativity. Creativity may be one of your biggest strengths. The world’s greatest businesses, products and services all started with someone creative. Don’t be afraid to voice your ideas and surround yourself with others who are more detail oriented to help you carry them out.
10. Develop a Routine. I imagine those with ADHD have lower credit scores than those who don’t. Why? Because it is too easy to forget to pay bills on time, or to start paying them and get distracted and never finish. Or perhaps some struggle with the impulsive nature that often comes with ADHD. If this sounds like you, I suggest putting your bills on auto-debit so that you don’t even have to remember to pay things on time. If you struggle with impulsive spending, develop a routine so that you can only access a certain amount and when it’s gone you’re done.
