There is no ‘cure’ for ADHD. No’ permanent fix’ for adults with ADHD. There are methods to reduce the impact ADHD has on your life, much like wearing eyeglasses makes you able to see. Managing ADHD involves mitigating symptoms, enhancing strengths, and modifying triggers such as stress (both positive and negative), trauma, and life circumstances that make symptoms more severe. You do this through creating structure, developing organization, specialization of the environment, improving lifestyle, enhancing interpersonal relationship skills, and (yes) therapy. These management strategies can be used effectively in combination with each other and medication, or by themselves. The whole list of possibilities can be overwhelming, especially considering that not all will work for you. We’ve created a brief guide to get you started.
1. Structure Your Life
Structure your day to help focus on one thing at a time. Create a list with anchor tasks (meal times, work/school, appointments, self-care) first followed by other prioritized, flexible tasks (cleaning the bathroom, doing the laundry, writing fanfiction, or doing a hobby). Try not to be overambitious; you can always add more if you finish early. Intentionally create room for free-time to allow flexibility so you can adjust. If this feels overwhelming to you, I am here to help.
An Example of a Structured Schedule
- 8 am: eat a healthy breakfast
- 9 – 11 am: work on my flexible tasks
- 11 – 11:30 am: prepare for the meeting
- 11:30 am: leave for the meeting
- 12 – 1 pm: meeting
- 1 – 2 pm: lunch, followed by a walk
- 2 – 4 pm: flexible tasks
- 4 – 5:30 pm: leisure time to do something I enjoy
- 5:30 pm: partner arrives home, spend time together planning dinner and having fun
- 7 pm: flexible tasks
- Flexible tasks (in order of importance); schedule tomorrow, wash the dishes, fold the laundry, pay bills, organize paperwork, finish that email.
2. Strengthen Your Organizational Skills
Organization is the key to creating and maintaining structure. It is devising a framework for organization that is predictable and consistent to you. We can split organization into two categories: mental and environmental.
Mental organization is the framework for determining how you track your responsibilities, obligations, and appointments so that even if you forget, you can easily find out what you have planned. It includes creating lists, writing things down (a detailed calendar, sticky notes, phone calendar, or even a word document), and setting reminders.
Environmental organization involves creating a framework for where things belong, thus limiting misplaced items. Create rules for tidying up your space. Have intentional storage, filing systems, and assigned spots for items (keys, wallet/purse, and phone).
3. Create a Specialized Environment
Some adults with ADHD need stimuli to concentrate. Others need to reduce stimuli in their environment to focus. For those who need stimuli, consider adding music (not too intense or loud) or even white noise to the background. Try livening up your space with pictures, plants, or other visual stimuli. Get a chair that is slightly unbalanced and requires constant adjustment.
People who need reduced stimuli need to remove or limit distractions. Consider wearing sound-blocking headphones. Turn off sounds (such as television, stereo, or even a fan). Put away the cell phone and find a naturally quiet area. Face your desk toward a blank spot of a wall or remove pictures or plants so that there are no visual stimuli. Perhaps a weighted blanket over your lap or a soundproofed office would help. There is no one perfect specialized environment for everyone. Play around with your environment and watch how you respond.
4. Develop Coping Strategies
Mitigating stress in our lives is vital to reducing the impact ADHD has. Foundational coping is crucial. Foundational coping includes adequate and consistent sleep, exercise, diet, social support, hobbies, and distractions. These coping skills can be challenging to create and maintain. Try to work with yourself instead of against yourself in setting them up. “Better Than Before” by Gretchen Rubin is a great read providing motivation and insight into how to form habits. Foundational coping, like all other symptom management skills, varies from person to person. For the ideal that’s tailored specifically to you, I recommend working with a trained professional (like myself) who can support you in creating healthy expectations and strategy development. Here are some statistically average and acceptable guidelines to get you thinking.
General Lifestyle Improvement
The actual amount of sleep we require varies between individuals. Eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is the statistically average requirement. Getting that much sleep requires regular bedtime and good sleep hygiene. Exercise with moderate to intense energy 3-5 times per week with a full rest and recovery period between workouts. Eat a nutritious diet from mostly unprocessed foods in meals. Consume limited to no sugar, caffeine, or alcohol.
Hobbies
Meaningful hobbies should include participating in activities that you are passionate about and give you a sense of purpose. Some suggestions are: sports, craft making, volunteering at an animal shelter, or going for walks. Some of you may find it is necessary to limit yourself to one or two hobbies; others may function best with many hobbies. Be careful not to allow too many distractions. A little distraction is a break; a lot of distraction is often an unhealthy avoidance attempt. If you’re cleaning the junk drawer for the second time this month, you might be avoiding! An hour of Netflix can leave you feeling refreshed mentally. Six hours of Netflix can leave you feeling apathetic, lazy, and guilty. Make sure your distraction gives more to you than it drains from you.
Social Supports
An appropriate social support network can make a huge difference! Adequate social support is people you enjoy spending time with who respect your boundaries. Different people require different amounts of social stimulation. Try to be aware when you are feeling worn out socially. Ask yourself whether you’re socially exhausted because of the type of people you are spending time with, or if you are spending too much time with people.
5. Refine Your Interpersonal Relationship Skills
For those of us with ADHD, it can seem as though we are indifferent or uncaring in our relationships. Working on communication skills can improve this! ADHD may cause difficulties in listening to others due to problems focusing on conversations or becoming distracted, interrupting, or speaking excessively. There are many ways to improve communication.
Schedule a conversation so that everyone is mentally prepared. Be sure to select a specific time and date for heavy conversations so that neither partner has the full burden of starting the conversation. We can remind each other of why we are talking about the topic. For example, we are working together to stop blaming each other, because we are on the same team. Don’t be afraid to show your emotional math.
Limiting distractions can be a great help. Is it easier to stay focused while moving? It might be best to have a walk during the conversation. Or if it is easier to stay focused with no visual stimulation, try the basement family room with the lights off. Miracles happen when both partners agree to turn their device off for the duration of the chat! There are different ways to improve your listening and verbal skills. Whatever changes you make to your communication framework, be intentional, and let your partner know what you are doing.
6. Seek Therapeutic Support and Intervention
You might be wondering why therapy is on this list, given that I started by saying there is no cure. Getting treatment for Adult ADHD isn’t about ‘curing’ you of it. Professional help can make a huge difference in your ability to manage symptoms. Our ability to deal with stress in productive ways is directly linked to our emotions. The more our emotions are stuck or disjointed from logic, the harder it is to deal with even seemingly simple things. One of those seemingly simple things can be ADHD symptoms. It’s not always about creating better symptom management strategies; sometimes, it’s about creating more emotional capacity and energy so that you can use those strategies.
You are (and always will be) the expert on yourself. I am an expert in creating symptom management plans and guiding people to reduce stressors. Together we can tailor a personal plan that works for you.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged in the face of ADHD. You don’t have to manage ADHD symptoms alone. I know you can build a life that works with you, not against you!
