Through the years more and more individuals are being diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD stands for, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. If you find it difficult to concentrate, relax, or have issues with impulsivity, there is a chance you may have undiagnosed ADHD. I am here to bring awareness and share with you the tools I use to manage my ADHD without the use of medication. The most important thing I have learned on my journey is to embrace my ADHD and view it as a superpower. Once I accepted that I have ADHD, I was able to use it to my advantage.
It is important to know that there are many causes of ADHD and there is not one cause. So we may never know how we ended up with it, yet we have it, so what do we do now? Well, the first thing I did was get on medication. My body did not react to the medication well so I decided to start doing research. This is where I came up with my first tool for managing my ADHD.
Tool #1, Educate yourself! The more I learned about ADHD, the more aware I became of the behaviors I had that were caused by the ADHD which made it easier to reassess and control these behaviors. For example, I am a major procrastinator. I didn’t realize I was procrastinating though. I just thought I had an increased amount of energy; however, I was just avoiding a certain task by drowning myself in other tasks. I would recommend keeping a journal and writing down your daily activities and anything you think is important. Reread and eventually you may notice patterns.
Tool #2! Self-care! When suffering from ADHD, it is not uncommon to worry about everyone else around you and to forget to take care of yourself. Anxiety, depression, and social anxiety can all be symptoms of ADHD. It is essential to self-reflect and ask yourself, “
Tool #3 Take it one step at a time! Other symptoms of ADHD are racing thoughts, feeling overwhelmed, and inability to focus on one thing. This is where we have to give ourselves grace and take it one step at a time. Know that it is okay if you don’t accomplish every single task. What is the most important thing? Start there! What can wait? Let it go!
Tool #4 Diet! I am sure you have heard about diets to help with many different health issues, however, I found that switching to a whole-food diet worked for me. Processed foods like sugars were making me feel sluggish and I felt like I had constant brain fog. Not a good combination with racing thoughts, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed. Once I detoxed my body from fake foods and sugars, I was able to gain some mental clarity and I had more energy. When you feel good physically, you can accomplish anything! I am not saying there is a specific diet you should follow - experiment and do what feels good to you!
In conclusion, I am not an ADHD professional, although I have struggled for years with things I didn’t know were a symptom of undiagnosed ADHD. These are just a few of the life changes I made that have helped me significantly and I felt that maybe you could benefit as well!
