An Issue in Later Life: How You Can Deal with ADHD as an Adult

When I was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) as a kid, I didn’t know what to expect. All I remember was feeling terrified. I felt like as though something was seriously wrong with me that would make my life difficult to deal with. Luckily for me, it was easier to manage than I expected once I learned about ADHD and followed through on some of the tips my psychologist gave me. Now that I’m an adult, doing a few seemingly small things here and there like keeping distractions out of my way at work or making lists of things to do make my ADHD easier to cope with. There’s no doubt that a wandering mind can make things tough sometimes, but by remaining mindful of this, forgiving myself for when I get off track and using strategies I’ve picked up over the years, thing usually turn out fine for me in the end.  

These days, it’s easy to forget that ADHD is an issue faced by people of all ages. Due to what we see in the media or read about online, many tend to think that ADHD only affects young kids and teens. An adult dealing with this problem can feel overwhelmed and unable to do tasks at work or even home. We want to offer you a few ideas that you can implement immediately to help make your ADHD easier to deal with.
These days, it’s easy to forget that ADHD is an issue faced by people of all ages. Click To Tweet

Rice Psychology Group is familiar with various behavioral issues faced by people of all ages. If you think that our services can help you, then contact us in Tampa today.

Write it Down

One of the symptoms of ADHD as an adult is having trouble organizing priorities. Juggling the responsibilities of work, caring for kids and paying bills can be a real challenge for adults with ADHD. One of the best things you can do is prioritize your responsibilities by writing them down in a list or on Post-it notes. Seeing them on paper can make it easier to address them without having to remember what you need to do and when. Check each off once you’ve completed them. This way, you won’t be scrambling to remember something that you might’ve forgotten.

One of the symptoms of ADHD as an adult is having trouble organizing priorities. Click To Tweet

Get Rid of Possible Distractions

Another symptom of ADHD is being easily distracted from a task. Many of us spend our days in fast-paced work environments. Imagine trying to juggle writing reports, attending meetings and catching up with clients while dealing with ADHD. When at your desk, try to get rid of anything that might distract you from doing your work. This can include turning off and putting your cellphone away or closing your laptop if it’s not being used for work. That way, you won’t be distracted by text messages, social media or other things that take your time away from what you should be doing.

Ask for Help

There’s nothing wrong with asking for a friendly reminder to keep you focused on a task. If you have ADHD and tend to “zone out” often, give your coworker permission to give you a signal if they see you taking too many mental vacations at your desk. This can also apply if you’re a college student. If you’ve been studying for a long amount of time, then taking regular breaks is a must. But remember, a 15-minute break can easily turn into a much longer one for an adult with ADHD. Use a reminder, timer on your phone or a friend snap you back to attention if they catch you drifting away from your studies.

There’s nothing wrong with asking for a friendly reminder to keep you focused on a task. Click To Tweet

Complete a Task Before Perfecting It

Have you ever written a report and found yourself going back and rewriting a sentence or paragraph because it didn’t sound right to you? Many of us have a tendency to second-guess the work we do before completing it. For an adult with ADHD, this can be very hard to deal with. Try to avoid critiquing your work before it’s done. By not doing so, you’ll more than likely be going back over and over again redoing the same thing due to wanting it to be perfect. This can take up a lot of your time and effort. Complete a task first, then go back and touch it up. At Rice Psychology Group, we say that done is better than perfect, and on some occasions, we go as far as to say done is better than good!

Here When You Need Us

Dealing with an ADHD diagnoses can be overwhelming, but with the help and guidance of our psychologists in Tampa, it can be manageable. We’ve assisted countless people of all ages with their issue and are more than confident that we can come up with a plan that will help you. Contact us today for more information about our services.