ADHD

A recent study that followed children with ADHD into adulthood demonstrated that only 38% of the children in the study were free of ADHD by the time they were adults. What is even more troubling about the results is the fact that 57% of those children with ADHD had at least one psychiatric disorder as adults. The most common psychiatric disorders were substance abuse, antisocial personality disorder, hypomanic episodes, general anxiety disorder and major depression.  What is sobering about these statistics is that they demonstrate the fact that ADHD is not a myth. It is a very real disorder that, if left untreated during childhood, can have disastrous consequences during adulthood. Clearly, parents need to get help for their children who may have ADHD.

What are the symptoms of ADHD? The following is taken from the National Institute of Mental Help (NIMH). The URL is:

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/what-are-the-symptoms-of-adhd-in-children.shtml

*Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the key behaviors of ADHD. It is normal for all children to be inattentive, hyperactive, or impulsive sometimes, but for children with ADHD, these behaviors are more severe and occur more often. To be diagnosed with the disorder, a child must have symptoms for 6 or more months and to a degree that is greater than other children of the same age.

A. Children who have symptoms of inattention may:

Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another

Have difficulty focusing on one thing

Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless they are doing something enjoyable

Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new

Have trouble completing or turning in homework assignments, often losing things (e.g., pencils, toys, assignments) needed to complete tasks or activities

Not seem to listen when spoken to

Daydream, become easily confused, and move slowly

Have difficulty processing information as quickly and accurately as others

Struggle to follow instructions.

B. Children who have symptoms of hyperactivity may:

Fidget and squirm in their seats

Talk nonstop

Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything in sight

Have trouble sitting still during dinner, school, and story time

Be constantly in motion

Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities.

Children who have symptoms of impulsivity may:

Be very impatient

Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences

Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games

Often interrupt conversations or others' activities.
* (Taken from NIMH)

Adult ADHD is one of those disorders that people can learn to control. For example, if one of the symptoms is forgetting important dates, such as anniversaries and birthdays, the solution is to program either the computer, or cell phone to send reminders.

Some of the treatment options for childhood and adult ADHD are:

1. Stimulant medications. Some of these do carry the danger of being abused.

2. More important than medication there is the use of ADHD coaching in which patients are taught coping behaviors that help them learn to fulfill responsibilities at home and at work. For example,
Making a daily list of important tasks and appointments both at home and at work.

3. ADHD is often accompanied by depression, irritability and quickness to anger. Plenty of exercise, especially aerobic types, are essential in helping relieve tension, depression and irritability. In fact, it has been found that daily exercise can reduce many ADHD symptoms.

Adapted from Allan N. Schwartz

Anxiety

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stressful situations. But in some cases, it becomes excessive and can cause sufferers to dread everyday situations.
This type of steady, all-over anxiety is called General Anxiety Disorder. Other anxiety-related disorders include panic attacks—severe episodes of anxiety which happen in response to specific triggers—and obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is marked by persistent invasive thoughts or compulsions to carry out specific behaviors .
Anxiety so frequently co-occurs with depression that the two are thought to be twin faces of one disorder. Like depression, it strikes twice as many females as males.
Generally, anxiety arises first, often during childhood. Evidence suggests that both biology and environment can contribute to the disorder. Some people may have a genetic predisposition to anxiety; however, this does not make development of the condition inevitable. Early traumatic experiences can also reset the body’s normal fear-processing system so that it is hyper-reactive to stress.
The exaggerated worries and expectations of negative outcomes in unknown situations that typify anxiety are often accompanied by physical symptoms. These include muscle tension, headaches, stomach cramps, aches and pains. 
(see previous entry on progressive relaxation)
 

 What is Mindfulness? 

Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.

What is meditation ?

 Meditating is nothing more than focusing on the present moment. The easiest way to meditate is to simply focus on your breath—not because your breath has some magical quality, but because it's always there with you. The challenge is to keep your attention on your breathing. Inevitably, your mind will wander and thoughts will arise—and that's fine. When it happens, just let go of the thought and bring your attention back to the present by focusing once again on your breath.

Resentment can be poisonous

Anger and Resentment

Trying to let go of old wounds

According to the Oxford American Dictionary, resentment is defined as "bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly. The definition includes the fact that people can harbor resentments going back many years."

Even though is may very well be true, that someone hurt you very badly in the past; if you continue to hold on to this feeling; you may not be able to move forward,  you can not empower yourself to let it go.  An important step for all adults is to acknowledge that what happened in the past cannot be undone and that what we can do NOW is build better lives for ourselves in the present and future. To do this is to take responsibility for one's behaviors and choices in the present. 

While most people believe that if they receive an apology from someone who has "wronged" them in the past, they will feel better; research shows that the act of FORGIVING  has a much more profound effect.
There is no better way to hold onto the bitter past than to relive horrible events that happened then. There is no better way to relive the awful past than to continue to blame others. Resentment is malignant.There is a quote from Buddha about how anger and resentment are like holding hot coals, intending to throw them, but in the meanwhile, it's your hands that are burning.

 "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."  ~Buddha
 
adapted from an article by Allan N. Schwartz, PhD

Who are we in a relationship?

Whoever we are, one thing is certain, we are all very much shaped by those who raised us, our parents and/or caregivers. We are the product of human relationships, and most of us spend our days within the context of relationships with other people. In order to have a "healthy, happy" life, most people  need other people to be close to us in our lives. Who we are is very much a function of where we have come from, and who we surround ourselves with. Despite their vital importance in our lives, relationships can be very difficult to manage. We expect our intimate partners to provide for many of our needs, but often find that differing expectations, frustration, and a need to be right create conditions for conflict and erosion of intimacy. Often, our children (especially tweens and teens) test us for weaknesses.  Our adult parents grow older and require care, placing a burden on our other responsibilities. A diverse set of communication and relationship skills is required if one is to successfully meet the challenges of family life. Primarily, we learn how to be in successful relationships by experiencing them directly; by watching our parents manage conflict successfully and stay true to their loving union. Similarly, we do our best learning on how to become a good parent while being parented ourselves. Problems experienced in our early relationships are often expressed in our own behavior towards others (child abusers were often themselves abused). Unfortunately  relationship skills are seldom taught in school or other institutional settings. All of this adds up to the fact that many people end up making a mess of their relationships, in part because they never learned how to do them properly. Therapy is a great place (to start)  to learn how to improve the quality of your relationships. Adapted from an article by  Mark Dombeck, Ph.D.