Unfortunately many adults experience symptoms of ADD/ADHD that have gone unnoticed or undiagnosed since childhood. In some cases we have become so unaware of the ways we have figured out to cope in the way we work and in the way we communicate that it is hard to imagine life any other way.
As children with ADHD grow into adolescence, research does show that up to two-thirds will experience a noticeable reduction in motoric restlessness or hyperactivity. However, the core symptoms most relate to ADD/ADHD of impulsivity, impaired attention and lack of intrinsic motivation can stay the same over a lifetime if not addressed or managed.
The easiest way to think of ADD/ADHD is that the part of the brain that self-regulates and is responsible for executive functioning tasks is impaired. These are the functions that allow us to plan, be flexbile, have impulse control and manage our moods. Executive functioning also includes organizational skills, emotional control, working memory and short-term memory, time estimation and time management, focus and attention, problem-solving, verbal reasoning, intrinsic motivation, task initiation and shifting gears. With a deficit in any of these areas, imagine how much more difficult a job would be, in addition to how one might struggle with maintaining relationships, raising a family, completing daily living responsibilities and remaining connected in the community.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with ADHD also experience other situations such as:
- More unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases
- Higher arrest rates and propensity for repeating offenses
- More aggressive behavior
- More speeding tickets
- More shoplifting convictions
- More money management issues, impulsive spending habits and credit card debt
- More substance abuse (higher in unmedicated ADHD patients than in the general population)
- More risk-taking behaviors
- Higher rates of smoking (in unmedicated ADHD patients)
- Higher rates of depression (especially among males) and anxiety
- Comorbid diagnoses (more than half of those with ADHD have a dual diagnosis)
- Low self-esteem due to perceived failures at school or work and due to struggles in relationships
At Get Centered we offer counseling to help adults with ADD/ADHD symptoms learn coping strategies and ways to manage tasks differently. We also provide Neurofeedback to help strengthen connections in the brain assisting in the development of functioning and thinking patterns in the brain.
If you are looking for counseling to address the unknown reasons you are always late, the frustrations you and others have with the number of times you’ve lost your wallet or your keys, and are finding it more difficult to be motivated in the things you love to do we are ready to work with you and determine how ADD/ADHD may or may not play a part in your frustrations in life.