It's funny to read the above picture that I found on Pinterest, but this kind of thought process is common among millions of adults and children today, including me.
I am not sure why it took me 20 years to figure out that I have ADD. I think the symptoms have officially caught up with me, and I am sure there are many people that feel the same way. I have been misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety for years, not that I didn't have those at a certain point in my life, but I simply had them partly because of ADD 'symptoms.' But I am not trying to create some kind of sob story here.
I did a little bit of research of things that people with ADD/ADHD can do to help their 'symptoms' improve. I know there is medication out there, and that medication is a personal choice, but I choose to not be medicated. I was once on a anti-depressant/anti-anxiety pill for a few years and I didn't like how it "numbed" me. It was also hell to get off of, so I try to stay away from medication. However, I understand that medication can really help some people so I do not judge personal choices at all.
How to deal with ADD/ADHD the natural way:
1) Therapy- This probably isn't the answer you're looking for, but therapy really does work wonders for people! I believe that everyone could use a little bit of therapy, especially people who suffer from ADD. It is pretty difficult to just "live with" ADD without any guidance, so a therapist can help you recognize your more negative symptoms and help you learn how to deal with them in a positive way.
2) Brain Games- It is important for people with ADD to constantly work their brain to avoid Alzeimer's and other brain diseases. I would much rather sit on my phone playing Candy Crush Saga in my spare time, but we really need to exercise our brains. Try something simple like sudoku or crossword puzzles. Take a class on something you have never learned before, or on a subject that you might be particularly bad at (math?). Reading is also a great way to work out your brain. Check out luminosity.com for some free "brain games." You can work different parts of your mind and check your progress over time!
3) Diet- Eating right is very important for people with ADD especially. Eliminating trans fats, unhealthy sugars, and refined grains for your diet can be very beneficial for you brain and body. Too much sugar actually directly affects a brain chemical that promotes learning and storing memories, two things that could be difficult to begin with for the average individual with ADD. Also, Omega-3s are SO important for people with ADD, and any other individual. Omega-3s help enhance brain power and they physically strengthen the bonds within your brain. Try eating fish 3-4 times a week, or opt for a fish oil supplement. If you are
vegetarian, find a vegetarian Omega-3 supplement in your nearest health food store. This nutrient is crucial!
4) Exercise: My psychology teacher freshman year told us "there is something that the body loves about exercise." This is very true! Exercise is good for literally everything in your body, including your brain! It helps people focus and function more efficiently during the day as opposed to someone who does not exercise. Yoga is also shown to help people people with ADD immensely by teaching them to focus and relax their mind. So get your butt to the gym, not only for ADD-related reasons, but to live longer and happier!
5) Coffee...maybe: This might be my opinion alone here, but caffeine personally helps me focus much better than I do normally. I'm not advising to drink an energy drink (never!) or get a sugar-filled latte from Starbucks, I'm only suggesting that 1-2 cups a day might really help you focus better. My entire family has some sort of ADD, but when we go out for coffee together, our brains function better together than ever before! I drink my coffee with about 1/3 cup of soy milk because cream and white sugar is just plain bad for you. If you can't stomach milk alone, try to add just a little bit of sugar and then ween yourself off. Sugar is dangerous for ADD individuals, after all.
I am not a doctor by any means, but these are just some suggestions from my personal research. Obviously, consult a doctor before you start running 6 miles per hour on the treadmill while drinking coffee and eating a heap of fish every day. Also, I have heard that the book Driven To Distraction by Dr. Hallowell is awesome for people who have ADD. So you can help yourself, and keep your brain power going strong!
Finally, don't let ADD/ADHD get you down. It isn't who you are, it is just how you do things. Even if it gets somewhat difficult, remember that you are not alone.
Famous minds who have/had ADD/ADHD: Will Smith, Jim Carey, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Babe Ruth, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Leo Tolstoy, Robert Frost, Edgar Allen Poe, Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Steven Spielberg, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Mozart, Beethoven, Cher, Buddy Rich, Winston Churchill, President John F. Kennedy, President Thomas Jefferson, President Abraham Lincoln, President Dwight Eisenhower, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Nicolai Tesla, Louis Pasteur, Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Socrates, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Some positive qualities of people with ADD:
*creative
*intuitive
*imaginative
*flexible
*humorous
*resilient
*good at problem-solving
You can focus on the negative, or bath in the positive! See? We are brilliant minds just waiting to bust out of our shells. If only we could learn how to focus...
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