Many adults with attention deficit disorder (ADD) struggle with the same challenges. One of the biggest challenges faced by ADD adults is creating and implementing structure in their lives.

Life without structure can be chaotic and overwhelming. As an adult with ADD, you probably don’t need rigid structure, but some general guidelines to help order your day, your week, or even your month.

When you find structure that works for you and you stick to it, structure takes the pressure off. It allows you to go through your day without having to make too many decisions about what to do or when.

So if structure is so helpful for adults with ADD, why is it so difficult for us to create it for ourselves? Well, when you have a tendency to become overwhelmed with the details of day-to-day life in the way that adults with ADD so often do, creating structure is a skill that doesn’t come easily. It must be learned, often in adulthood.

And, as with learning any skill, the best way to build structure into your life is to do it slowly. I suggest starting with a bedtime routine. In this case, it’s easiest to work backwards:

1. Determine the best time for you to go to sleep each night. Choose a time that will allow you to get a full night’s rest. Let’s use an example to demonstrate, and say 11:00pm.

2. Next, take some time to “get ready for bed.” That might mean brushing your teeth, getting your clothes ready for the next day, taking medications, or whatever it is that you do before you go to sleep. If these activities take about 15 minutes, then you would begin getting ready for bed at 10:45pm.

3. Finally, pick a few “wind down” activities that will help you relax and de-stress. This might include taking a bath, reading, meditating, journaling, or even watching television–provided the shows you choose aren’t intense. Spend about an hour winding down and allowing your brain to slow down so that it’s not racing when you’re trying to fall asleep. In the example provided here, you would start winding down around 9:45 or 10:00pm.

Note: Whatever activities you choose to wind down, make sure they don’t involve the computer! Nothing will wake up the ADD brain faster than email or the Internet.

After you build structure into your evening and find yourself comfortably sticking to it, you can begin to build more structure into your day. Until then, bedtime is a great place to start!

And don’t be discouraged if it takes a while to make this routine stick. You may need to tweak the times and activities to suit you, and you may experience some trial and error along the way.

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How is Attention Deficit Disorder exhibited in adults? Actually, in much the same ways as in children. Adults with ADD often have difficulty in completing assignments, fail to pay close attention to details, fidget, are inattentive, are unorganized, and talk excessively. Unfortunately, adult ADD is often commingled with lack of self-control, poor memory, anxiety, depression, mood swings, employment issues, chronic lateness, and difficulties regulating motivation, emotions and arousal. Like their child counterparts, these behaviors cause an inability to function in every day activities, which can especially cause a problem in employment situations.

Adults that have grown up being undiagnosed as having ADD often suffer from low self-esteem and feel like they are stupid, lazy, or even crazy. Diagnosing them as adults may lay to rest lifelong perception issues they may have had with themselves and may allow them to improve on self-esteem, as well as work skills and performance. It is believed that these reasons could actually be the basis for the depression and other psychological issues they have as adults.

Treatment for adults often includes medication, education, behavior skill building to better cope with their disorder, and counselling. Stimulant medication, as with children, may be the first stage in treatment. However, this is not a cure and should be coupled with behavior modification to reach full potential. Counseling may very well be an important aspect of treatment, as ongoing psychologically issues have been present. Likewise, just being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder may cause reason to seek counseling in order to come to terms with the diagnosis.

The important thing for an adult to remember when they have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder is that there is help available and treatment is easily attainable. They should find comfort in understanding the root of their behavior and actions and knowing help is available.

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Over the past couple of years both online and local support groups have begun to form for spouses and partners of adults with ADD. The Non-ADD Partner Support groups seem like a miracle for spouses and significant others of adults with ADD. They finally have a place to be understood and supported. Well, at least that is what many Non-ADD partners expect when entering and participating in these groups.

Many of these groups do offer personal understanding and camaraderie which are essential parts of support. These same groups point their members towards vital resources about ADD which can help educate their members. Some even try to educate their members directly about ADD. Again these are all great steps in being a support group.

One may actually look at these Non-ADD Partner support groups and think that the group itself has ADD. Many of these groups fail to complete the actual task of being supportive. They tend to leave out some vital steps like offering helpful advice. There is advice given, like make sure your partner is diagnosed and put on medication, which in many circumstances can be very helpful. But, the advice seems to end there.

Many non-ADD partners enter these groups looking for day to day strategies and coping techniques. Some of their spouses and partners are already taking medication and some for their own personal reasons have opted not to take medication. Some of these support group leaders seem to push the use of medication on to the groups’ participants. It has even been reported that support group leaders give advice about specific medication from their non-medical backgrounds.

Non-ADD Partner Group participants have reported that some of these groups are very negative. These participants go into the groups expecting people to share problems and have its fair share of negativity but, many leave these groups because the energy is much too negative. Some Non-ADD partners are astonished of how much bad mouthing goes on in these groups and how hateful many of the participants are towards their significant others. Quite a few non-ADD partners feel as though they don’t fit into these groups because their issues don’t seem as important as other members of the groups.

So where do non-ADD partners who want tips, strategies and a more positive environment turn to? There different options out there. They can start their own Non-ADD Partner Support groups and set specific ground rules. They can speak up if they are already part of a group that does not seem supportive and let the support group leader know how they feel. They can become a member of ADDA which supports Adult ADD issues including non-ADD Partners. They can also hire an ADD Coach who works with ADD couples.

Non-ADD Partners need to know that they are not alone and that there is help and support for them too. There are others out there who are sharing similar experiences as they are. There are ways to find both support and understanding too.

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The common tendencies of those who suffer from ADHD include a lack of organizational skills, difficulty concentrating on a task, a inclination to jump from one project to the next without completing a current project, acting before thinking of the consequences and interrupting others.

If you suffer from these conditions and would like to start a home-based business how exactly do you manage with the distractions you may face?

The first thing that needs to be considered is what type of work will be possible in an at home environment for a personal diagnosed with ADD. If a project requires great concentration and long periods of time dedicated to its completion it would not likely be a positive work scenario for this type of individual.

If an individual can find work that allows for short bursts of activity to complete a project they may be more able to complete the task.

Take for instance writing. It is highly conceivable that an ADHD patient will have great talent in writing, but they should not be expected to write a novel. In many cases they can be successful crafting short articles or stories that are well written and read. If they can move away from a project before they become bored or distracted they will likely be able to fulfill requests more frequently than if they are expected to work on a singular, but more substantial project.

This type of worker may be able to complete work better if there are few if any distractions. This may mean no radio or television. It may mean wearing noise-canceling headphones and it may require the discipline needed to keep a work area clutter free so a messy desk doesn’t distract them.

Regular breaks will be needed to allow the individual to decompress and to get back in the mode of working on a new project. It will be difficult to continue working without a break.

It may make sense to turn phones off and close any web-based windows that might lead to email services. By eliminating things that may disrupt concentration there may be a better way for the ADD worker to manage tasks more efficiently.

The good news is there have been thousands of very successful business owners who have lived with hyperactivity, attention-deficit or sometimes both. The key to success has always been in finding a way to conquer issues and overcome difficulty instead of looking at yourself as a victim of environment or genetics. In this case it really is no different than living with any other handicap and learning ways to do your job – and do it well.

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Before my book on Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) was published in 2007, I brainstormed titles and subtitles with my Mastermind Group of coaches. The title “Odd One Out: The Maverick’s Guide to Adult ADD” was born out of that meeting.

A week later, I came up with the subtitle: “How to Be Happy and Successful by Breaking the Rules.” I loved it! It was a fantastic summary of my personal coaching philosophy. I sent it around to some close friends and colleagues and asked for feedback.

A few people liked it a lot, but a couple of people emailed me with the same concern: they suggested I use the subtitle “How to Be Happy and Successful by Making Your Own Rules,” instead of “…by Breaking the Rules.”

Breaking the rules seemed a little too strong, they said. And really it means the same thing in the end, doesn’t it?

I thanked everyone for their feedback, and chose NOT to change the subtitle. Here’s why: Mavericks aren’t content to just make new rules. Mavericks don’t even like rules. And we tend to not like the people who make the rules much, either.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not encouraging anyone to indulge in a crime spree. What I am suggesting, however, is that there are a number of social rules and constraints that many ADDers struggle to adhere to, and that these rules do, in fact, need to be broken.

Think about all the rules that you feel pressured to follow, like:

- You must put money before happiness when it comes to your job or career

- You must sit perfectly still in a meeting or classroom so as not to disrupt others

- You must have a super-clean houses if you have guests over

- You must put everything away in a neat and tidy place if you want to be organized

- You must put the needs of your family and friends before your own needs

- You must be productive throughout the entire day

- And worst of all – you must do everything in your power to hide your ADD from everyone around you

I call BS on all these rules, and the others like them!

Maverick ADDers actually function better with guidelines instead of rules. When we create structure for ourselves, it needs to flexible, not rigid.

The maverick approach to ADD management requires that you take a good, hard look at the rules you’re pressuring yourself to follow, and decide which ones need to be broken.

When you embrace the maverick within and make a conscious decision to break the rules that have been holding you back, you give yourself permission to be happy and successful according to your own guidelines. You move beyond your challenges, and into your authentic self.

In this regard, the maverick approach to ADD management is easier than you might think. Following the rules can be painful… but breaking them can set you free.

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As I got older and grew into an adult, terms like “Adult ADD or ADHD” became buzzwords on television and magazine advertising. I had certainly convinced myself that that must be EXACTLY what I had!!!

How many times have I been in meetings for work, and a superior will say, “So, what do you think about this?” And I would jump out of my own little world and be like, “Huh? Could you repeat the question please?” This would of course embarrass the hell out of me and would shock me into giving extra effort into paying attention, which only lasted until I once again became distracted.

It wasn’t until later on when I really started putting two and two together. I began to notice that the days that I felt incredibly anxious or panicky, everything people would try to explain to me would go in one ear and out the other. Anxiety seems to give a person extremely selective hearing. It seems that with anxiety, the only thing I seemed to be able to focus on were things that I was naturally very interested in. Such things did NOT include school lectures and office politics!!

Then I found the program that cures panic and anxiety. It made me realize that anxiety will completely cloud your logical thinking with emotion. Fear is a very potent emotion. When one is consumed by it, all logic and common sense is thrown out the window. It is extremely difficult to focus on anything of importance when your minds is clouded by anxiety or panic.

So as my anxiety died down more and more every week, my sense of focus returned. What I had been calling, “brain fog”, slowly dissipated. (I had orginally thought that perhaps this “brain fog” had been the result of smoking and anxiety.  But the effects of smoking on my attention span were short lived.)   I started to experience a sense of clarity that I hadn’t felt since I was a teenage, when I was focused on my favorite video games. It was then I understood the relationship between the symptoms of ADD and ADHD and anxiety.

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Overcome all of your inattentiveness. When you are unable to pay attention or focus, it can be a very annoying trait; however it is not really all that difficult to deal with. You have to train yourself to follow a certain schedule each and every day based on everything that you need to get accomplished. By doing this, you will have something concrete that you can focus on and follow; because you have already acknowledged all of the tasks that you are held responsible for. Now this will not always help. There will be days when you just cannot concentrate on what you know you should be doing that day. Despite this you do not need to lose the entire day to non-productivity. Consider treating yourself to a project that you would love to be working on rather than what you know you should be working on. This will redirect your thinking into a positive mode, you will become motivated and you will redirect that hyper energy into something positive and probably get the entire project done that day. This will make the next day seem brighter since you will feel that you have accomplished something and your focus will come back to what you know you need to do as well and your productivity will continue.

Face the actual problem. There is not anything that can be more comforting than facing up and admitting that you have a problem, and that does not mean you are not normal. By taking the time to admit that you really have a problem, you are going to find that it is a lot easier for you to take all of the active steps needed in order to treat your problem.

Kick the restlessness. Your body and mind are completely restless because they find that certain tasks on hand are too boring or that they lack the overall challenge. You should engage in frequent exercise sessions, like playing soccer four times a week or going to the gym.

When necessary, you need to distance yourself. Once you have talked with your family and friends, you should have the ability to identify certain situations and quiet possibly the warning signs that you are becoming agitated or that you are beginning to lose your focus. Once you feel that the symptoms are coming on, you should take a few deep breathes and start calming yourself down.

Get rid of the boredom. In the event that you are aware that your job is a little too boring for you, you need to try to find ways that you can make it challenging and interesting. There are different ways to challenge yourself in a job. If the job is boring, challenge yourself by trying to finish certain projects quicker. You need to find ways to motivate yourself during boring types of projects.

Overall, you can overcome your adult attention deficit disorder by following these methods and visiting your doctor on a regular basis.

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ADD is essentially the same condition as the one children have. If you are an adult and you are having trouble focusing at work, difficulty listening to people in everyday conversations, find yourself interrupting people a lot, losing things frequently, are easily distracted from tasks, are easily frustrated or find yourself feeling over stimulated often, you may have adult attention deficit disorder.

Treatment for the disorder mirrors the treatments used for children with the condition. The first step you need to take if you suspect you may have an adult attention deficit condition is to of course see a doctor. There are a bunch of other disorders that can mimic an adult attention deficit condition, such as anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, or bipolar disorder, and its important that these be ruled out before trying treatments.

Typically, most doctors today will begin your adult attention deficit disorder treatment by prescribing a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, or SSRI, such as Prozac, Zoloft, or Lexapro. SSRIs have been helpful for many in treating their adult attention deficit disorders. If you aren’t getting any relief in your symptoms with an SSRI, you may be prescribed a stimulant, such as Ritalin, Adderall or Concerta. These should be taken with caution as they are addictive drugs, and should be avoided entirely if you have a history of substance abuse.

Most health professionals will agree that there are also a number of non-medication based steps you can take to alleviate some of your symptoms. Getting regular vigorous exercise has been shown to help a lot of people with ADD. Also a diet high in lean protein is recommended. Keeping lists, writing notes, breaking large tasks down into smaller parts and taking other similar steps to counter your disorder will certainly help as well.

This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.
Since natural and/or dietary supplements are not FDA approved they must be accompanied by a two-part disclaimer on the product label: that the statement has not been evaluated by FDA and that the product is not intended to “diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease”.

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Symptoms in children

A child affected with ADD will have difficulty in concentrating or focusing on something. He will also find it difficult to organize things or follow instructions and directions. They have difficulty in controlling their natural spontaneous responses such as speech, movements, and attentiveness. They are unable to finish tasks, make plans, participate in activities around them or even sit still. They have a tendency to get distracted by the smallest of things and consistently make small careless mistakes in their activities that require patience and following instructions.

These children have lots of things simultaneously going on in their mind and are unable to concentrate on anything specific. Multiple activities like the teacher talking, two students whispering, and people walking on the corridor outside the classroom, all affect the ADD affected child’s concentration. While most children are able to block the other noises and concentrate on the teacher’s voice, the ADD affected child is unable to do so. They also have a tendency of losing their belongings and even very intelligent and bright children with this disorder may be getting low grades.

Symptoms in adults

ADD is also quite common among adults though in most cases it goes undiagnosed as the symptoms overlap with other adult disorders such as stress. Adults suffering from ADD are mostly restless and are unable to concentrate on their work. They also have difficulty staying organized and may even have difficulties in maintaining their relationships due to their compulsive behavior. However adults are much more equipped to deal with their problem and are mostly recommended to control their symptoms with proper diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes.

The other symptoms which are reflected both in children and adults affected with ADD are short attention spans, poor listening skills, tendency to be bored and being impulsive in speech and action. These symptoms are however noticed in various degrees in the patient and only a trained medical professional can diagnose how serious the problem is and treat it accordingly.

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