“it is not about attention, it is an intention deficit disorder,” says Dr Russell Barkley. We just can’t connect the dots!
If the leading scientists are saying the name doesn’t relate to what it really is, then no wonder we remain confused as to what ADHD is!
According to Wikipedia, “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, or excessive activity and impulsivity, which are otherwise not appropriate for a person's age. Some individuals with ADHD also display difficulty regulating emotions or problems with executive function.”
Dr. Russell Barkely argues that this definition is not helpful in understanding ADHD as it is more about an intention disorder and the issues that arise from poor executive functions in the brain. When you hear this for the first time, it is hard to take in as our defense mechanisms kick in automatically saying we have survived this long so it can’t be that bad or we blame someone else normally our close partner if we have one. The important thing is to consider how these symptoms of ADHD have impacted your life so far negatively and positively to get a balanced view.
“Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one 'right' way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits."
Additionally, it is important to note here that there are gender differences, here is an article that relates to the differences for women and girls. For women, we suffer in silence and the emotional issues are multiplied. For men with ADHD, it is about career shame and emotional dysregulation mainly coming out in anger or in some cases violence. Then once you have this awareness, it is possible to start investigating the source of these issues in order to get a better outcome for your life based on where you really want to go.
Time to face reality - Is there a gap between what you want to do and what you actually do?
Do you ever feel like you have all the good intentions to do start a new positive habit and then everything remains good for a few days until something new takes your attention away? Do you feel like a failure and experience feelings of guilt and shame?
Well, this is exactly what Dr. Russell Barkely is referring to, the consistency in tasks, relationships, and how we manage our emotions is affected by our executive functions to focus on tasks and short-term memory system. It is about knowledge Vs performance, it is not that we don’t know what to do, it is the fact that we cannot be consistent in applying it. This is particularly present in time management with our relationship with time and self-regulation of our emotions.
Impulsivity, risk-taking, and inattentiveness are frequent symptoms that are being shared by many diagnosed with ADHD. There are three types of diagnosed classifications, inattentive, hyperactive, and combined types and they usually are associated with comorbidities such as anxiety, depression, dyslexia RSD, and ODD to name a few.
Should I get a diagnosis or not?
“About 1.5 million adults in the UK have the condition, but only 120,000 are formally diagnosed.”
Many people are self-diagnosed, but a formal diagnosis can help you come to a level of acceptance on how ADHD impacts your life and give you to motivation to do something about it.. If you are not sure where to go for a diagnosis, book an initial chat. It is important to understand defense mechanisms that are unconsciously in place as they can sabotage our self-development plans. For more information check out the presentation to understand what these are. Link to defense mechanisms. When you work on a one-to-one basis with an ADHD coach these defense mechanisms can be identified and you can explore ways to overcome them to get better results for your life.
Due to the diagnosis process taking up to 7 years on the NHS within the UK, coupled with private healthcare and personal ADHD one-to-one coaching becoming more expensive around the world, we need to take action now and investigate what is holding us back.
Are you ready to take charge of ADHD?
Celebrating ADHD is a holistic, practical and useful way to take charge of your ADHD symptoms incorporating coaching and mindfulness training as the underpinning tools. The organisation has been set up and run by someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD, and has trained in Mindfulness for over 10 years.
Click the image to join now for free
