Adult ADHD Treatment & Therapy

 

Adult ADHD Counseling

Do you find it difficult to stay focused?  Do you often feel overwhelmed?  Do you procrastinate, and later beat yourself up over it, again and again?  Does ‘slowing down’ cause you distress?  Do you get bored easily and often?  Do you find yourself constantly reaching for the next cup of coffee, or the TV remote, or your phone, or skip from one website to the next, needing to stay in motion by constantly “doing something?”

Do you get anxious or restless when not occupying yourself with these “busying” activities?  Does it seem like your brain “switches channels” rapidly?  Do you focus and function well with “interesting” things, but often “check out” with boring things, even when you don’t want to?  Are you misunderstood by yourself or others as lazy, flaky, odd, incompetent, absent-minded, dreamy, or perhaps smart, but lacking common sense?”

Do you have a love-hate relationship with structure?  Does it seem impossible to plan tasks and see them through?  Do you wonder why others seem to organize and prioritize easily enough, and for some reason you struggle mightily with the routine and mundane?  Do you regularly feel irritable, frustrated or impatient toward yourself or others, especially when someone or something is “in your way?”  Are you fidgety?  Do you tend to act on impulse more than you would like, and later regret it?  At work or otherwise, do you find yourself “pretending to pay attention” at times when you “check-out?”  Is time management your Achilles heel?  Has accomplishing normal tasks in a normal time frame frustrated you throughout your life?

Adult ADHD

ADHD is not relegated to teens and children.  ADHD is neurological; it is not a mental illness, and it does not require you to be hyperactive (relatively few adults with ADHD suffer hyperactivity).  Most importantly: If you struggle with ADHD, it is not your fault!  As one prominent ADHD authority suggested: ADHD is no more your fault than nearsightedness is the fault of those who wear glasses.  And yet, sadly, many undiagnosed ADHD adults never come to realize and accept their own “neuro-diverse” reality.  Too often, when such adults view their difficulties as character deficits, or unexplainable flaws, they become susceptible to self-shaming, and a negatively distorted self-image that stands to worsen throughout adulthood.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms

Common symptoms of adult ADHD vary from person to person, and may include:

  • Difficulty focusing and concentrating

  • Inattention

  • Disorganization

  • Frequently bored

  • Frequently distracted, or need to distract self

  • Sometimes, can “hyper-focus” on something interesting or desireable

  • Feeling “overwhelmed.”

  • Intense sensitivity toward perceived rejection

  • Avoidance of tasks or activities

  • Restlessness or excessive activity

  • Seems not to listen

  • Accompanying depression or anxiety

  • Often self-shaming or blaming

  • Difficulty following directions

  • Difficulty starting tasks and/ or seeing them to completion

  • Problems planning ahead

  • Time Management difficulty

  • Memory difficulty (Ex. May tend to forget tasks or misplaces/ loses items)

  • Difficulty keeping emotions in check, or impulsive behaviors

  • Talks excessively/ Interrupts conversations

  • Tends to act impulsively, or without forethought

You Are Not Alone

Adult ADHD is very common. Although it is often diagnosed during childhood or teen years, many adults, whether diagnosed or not, struggle with ADHD throughout their lives – not understanding why they have a harder time than others with seemingly normal activities.

Adult ADHD is very treatable.  Many adults with ADHD learn to effectively manage their symptoms and function at a high level.  Mario Uribe will assist you therapeutically, as well as guide you in seeking the help and resources, medically and otherwise, so that you can better understand and cope with your challenges.  Those with ADHD often struggle with feelings of failure, rejection and shame.  Their anxiety often relates to a life pattern of failing to complete tasks, or otherwise not “measuring up” to their own expectations and the expectations of others.  Treating adult ADHD is an individualized process, and working with a well-matched therapist can begin a process of self-acceptance, healing and effective life management.

Mario Uribe Counseling