Attention – deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental disorder that affects people’s way of thinking and behaving. People who suffer from ADHD have a problem with focusing their attention, short-term memory, and they often have trouble controlling their emotions and sitting still and quiet. This disorder mainly affects children and more than 60% of children diagnosed with ADHD experience the symptoms as adults. Since this disorder can greatly affect one’s everyday life, treatment is crucial, and in this text, we are going to help you learn how to deal and live with ADHD.
Source: Spillwords
In order to learn to live with ADHD, the first thing you have to do is to take care of yourself. Put yourself first, before anyone and anything else. First of all, change your nutrition completely. Even though it hasn’t been proven that sugar and carbohydrates directly affect this disorder, you should still cut it out. Instead, you should carefully plan your diet and eat food that is rich in proteins, omega 3-fatty acids, and vitamins. Omega 3-fatty acids are important for brain cells and the whole neurological system, which is why people with ADHD should increase the levels of this nutrient. Furthermore, proteins are also very important because they prevent the rise of sugar levels in the blood thus controlling hyperactivity. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains help maintain energy levels. Moreover, iron and vitamin b6 increase levels of dopamine and zinc regulates it. As you can see, the benefits of healthy nutrition are multiple.
Physical activity is equally important. The best-known benefit of exercising is the increase of endorphins which improve your mood. In addition, exercising increases levels of dopamine and serotonin which further improve your span of attention and focus. Any type of physical activity will benefit you, even 30-minute walk every other day. However, martial arts or ballet are recommended for persons with ADHD.
Source: Parents’ Universal Resource Experts
There are a number of techniques that will help you manage your ADHD. People who suffer from ADHD often feel exhausted, anxious and disorganized, so it is a good idea to create a plan and a structure, and to stick to it. If you create daily planners and use calendars, you will feel calmer and won’t be afraid that you’ll forget something. Create a schedule and mark the most important task you need to finish. This way you won’t be distracted by some minor and not so important tasks. Furthermore, use an alarm on your phone. Some people with ADHD rely on their phones and set alarms to remind them of every business meeting they have to attend to and chores they have to carry out. The most important thing is to go easy on yourself. No one is perfect.
Treatment for ADHD includes medication and behavior therapy. According to healthline.com medications such as Adderall improve attention and focus in adults and children with ADHD. It also helps with controlling your emotions and behavior. However, this medication can cause some minor side effects like dry mouth, troubles with sleeping, headache and so on. On the other hand, Cognitive Behavior Therapy will help you quiet down the critic inside of you, and it will also help you realize that not everything has to be perfect. Therapy is a really important part of treating ADHD because you will learn how to deal with behavior caused by ADHD in school or at work.
Source: ACAMH
To conclude, being diagnosed with ADHD can be quite scary, especially if your young child is the one diagnosed with this disorder. However, as mentioned in this text, there are a number of things you can change and do in order to help yourself or your child deal with this disorder.
