“You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius A Mind Becomes Seriously Cluttered This story is true. The names have been changed. I’m telling this story to illustrate an extreme example of mind cluttering. A Childhood Prank Jimmy, at age 10 or 11,…
Explosive Emotions are a very challenging aspect of ADHD. Doctors have found dysregulated emotions difficult to test and diagnose because they occur randomly. According to Attention Magazine, it has been determined that the memory loss that accompanies ADHD often enables stronger than normal emotional outbursts. The brain networks carrying and transferring emotional information are limited…
All of us, at one time or another, use blame as a defense mechanism to protect ourselves from having to take responsibility for our actions. Unfortunately, ADHDers seem to use blame more often than others because of their ADHD characteristics such as procrastination, forgetfulness, time blindness, impulsivity, and thinking they are always right. For example: A…
Listening legend Dr. Ralph G. Nichols stated,“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.” Listening in Business Unfortunately, people in general do not listen effectively. Statistics show that the lack of listening skills is a major problem in…
Runaway emotions are one of the characteristics common in ADHD. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked in diagnosis because it does not present with hyperactivity. In children and adults, it is often misdiagnosed as a mood disorder, as in the following story. Dennis and Gracie Dennis and Gracie, a young couple who had been married a…
Dennis and Gracie, a young married couple, had been best friends during high school but found themselves in uncharted territory when Dennis revealed that he had been diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD as a teenager. This information explained to Gracie why dealing with him was often very difficult. Sometimes, what he did and said seemed like…
Hearing vs. Listening Many people, men more than women, but women too, are not listening to what’s being said. They might be able to tell you the words that were said for a few seconds, maybe a couple of minutes, but they definitely couldn’t tell you the meaning. I know one woman who got tired…
People, in general, think faster than they talk. For all of us, it’s hard to listen, especially if the speaker is slower in finishing his thought. The ADHD Adult Fast Brain runs even faster creating even more communication problems. They often get sidetracked in their own thoughts or get very impatient with the speaker. This…
Conversations can go from a peaceful discussion to a hurtful argument in seconds when one partner has ADHD. ADHDers often find it difficult to keep their emotions in check and under control during intense interactions. Anger, resentment, and arguing are common when ADHD is present. Both the ADHDer and their partner must take steps to…
In my last post, “What does ADHD have to do with Anger,” Gracie thought she and Dennis had finally turned a corner in being able to communicate effectively until Rejection Sensitivity showed up. Dennis finally revealed that he had been diagnosed with ADHD. Even though they were neighbors and friends during childhood, Dennis had never…
