ADHD Behavior | Untapped Brilliance

ADHD, Dopamine and Getting Things Done!

Posted on May 24, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 1 Comment

At school I was never a of fan chemistry. However, now I find the chemistry in our brains fascinating. Dopamine, oxycontin, serotonin and endorphin are all chemicals that keep us safe and happy. Dopamine is particularly interesting as the ADHD brain has less dopamine than the average brain. This results in ADD challenges, such as focus and concentration.

There are ways to increase dopamine, both with ADHD meds, and natural ways such as taking omega 3, exercising and meditation. You can also increase dopamine by getting things done!

When you set yourself a goal and achieve it, you get a shot of dopamine and feel good. Because we like the good feeling we naturally want to achieve something else. Human brains don’t distinguish between big goals and small goals. It just rewards you for accomplishing something you set out to do. So you can use this to your advantage and set a small achievable goal every day.

Unfortunately, most ADDers are hard on themselves and only give themselves permission to feel good after achieving something BIG. For example, studying for a degree, you could wait 4 years until the degree is completely finished to feel good. Or you could set mini goals for yourself every day of the journey. Remember, big achievements come from many small ones. Don’t minimize the small ones as they are vital to success.

The other trick to getting more dopamine in your daily life is to set your mini goals at the right difficultly level. If they are too easy, you won’t get a satisfied feeling. If they are too hard you will give up trying. Be careful if you recognize yourself in this because rather than helping you to succeed, it demotivates you and you get less done.

Your challenge this week is to…

1) Break a goal into small achievable parts

2) Achieve a mini goal every day

3) Notice and enjoy the sense of satisfaction and your dopamine shot!

emailADHD, Dopamine and Getting Things Done!

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Symptoms, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adhd, dopamine, endorphin, meds, oxycontine, serotonin

Alternative Ways To Treat ADHD

Posted on May 17, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield Leave a Comment

How the body responds to food and lifestyle choices and its effect on ADHD have always fascinated me. Earlier this year a reader of the Untapped Brilliance blog contacted me and said,

“I just came across your blog and I love it. I have never tried medication for my ADHD. I have made quite a few lifestyle changes in the last few years. I have tried many things out there in the world of naturopathy, alternative therapies, etc. You are right on about gluten…. ”

They went into a little more detail about everything they’d tried and then said, “Feel free to contact me if you would like me to share more so you could in turn share it with your readers. “Greg Weinstein

After a few emails to and fro, it was clear Greg was a wealth of knowledge it and it would be better for you to hear directly from Greg. So, here is a 40 minute interview with the man himself!

http://budurl.com/rurb

During the interview Greg shares what trigger him to start exploring alternative ways to treat ADHD.

He also talks about…

The Small intestine (the second brain)
Blue green algae
Water
Green veggies (kale etc)
Mucus producing’ foods (such as dairy)
Colonics
Internal cleanse that utilizes psyllium husk and bentonite clay
Stress management

Greg’s enthusiasm makes you want to try everything! Even if some of the things sound weird or are very new to you, I am positive you will curious to try at least one of the suggestions.

http://budurl.com/rurb

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Treatment, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adhd, alternative, choices, greg weinstein, lifestyle, TREATMENT, trigger

The Power of the Group ~ How a bit of support helps your ADHD

Posted on April 26, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 2 Comments

We live in a society that prizes independence, at work employees value autonomy and at home more people live on their own than ever before. However, humans weren’t designed to forge ahead as lone wolves. We are pack animals. We perform better at work and live longer and are healthier (physically and emotionally) when they are connected to others.

There are 1000’s of research studies to support this, however here are two. Babies that have all the physical needs meet, but aren’t picked up and held, gain less weight than babies who are given exactly the same amount of food, but have lots of cuddle time.

Pre-diabetics who tracked their food intake, exercise, weight and attended small weekly group meetings saw much better results control group that were just taking medication (AND they were eating a diet that we now know isn’t helpful to diabetics)

From my own personal experience every time I have run a group program, no matter how the great I think the content is , the thing people love the most is connecting with other positive ADDers. Even though they hadn’t joined for that reason, that is, what they enjoyed the most.

When you connect with people who ‘get’ you, who have the same struggles and challenges, it’s validating and healing. That in turn changes something inside you, so you can be the best version of you possible.

This week your homework is to get social and join a group. It could be an ADHD support group (just make sure it’s a positive, action oriented one) or you could join a group that isn’t specifically for ADHDer, but addresses one of your challenges.

For example, an exercise group.

If the thought of joining a group is really off putting research also found that even teaming up with just one person is helpful. So you might find a friend or colleague who is interested in the same goal as you, perhaps decluttering or tackling your procrastination list and work on that together.

Happy Socializing!

~Jacqui

PS The best way to find a group near you is the ask the fountain of all knowledge…the Internet…to help you:)

emailThe Power of the Group ~ How a bit of support helps your ADHD

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Treatment, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adhd, connection, groups, join, social, society, support

ADHD and Kitchen Timers!

Posted on April 19, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 4 Comments

One of the best ways to work productively when you have ADHD is to use a kitchen timer. By setting the timer for 30 minutes and not changing activity until the timer rings, you develop the ability to stay on task and make progress on even the most difficult or boring task. It also helps you beat procrastination because you break overwhelming tasks into small do-able 30 minute chunks.

Using a timer like this isn’t a new idea…Behaviourist Psychologist, B.F Skinner used a timer to track his work. His timer went on when he sat down to work and off when he got up from his chair. It’s surprising the power that a simple timer has on even the most brilliant minds.

The variety of timers on the market has definitely advanced since Skinner’s day…but which one should you choose? Below is a short review of my client’s favourite timers.

The Simple Timer

This is the timer I use. It was $4 from the pharmacy. Over the years I have tried lots of different ones from the complex to the simple and it turns out that the simple one works best for me.

The Fun Timer

This Cube timer is both fun to look at and to use, which will properly mean you will use it more!

http://budurl.com/akll

The Dual Timer

This Dual timer is a step up from the simple timer. It has some practical extra features including a clock, 2 countdown timers, a stop watch and a keypad lock. You can stand it on a flat surface, or clip it to a belt or pocket. It also has a magnet so you can attach it to a steel surface so it can go everywhere with you! As well as an alarm it has a vibrate setting.

http://budurl.com/v7yq

The Posh Timer

A client discovered this Rolls Royce of timers in her yoga magazine. It has 150 alarms which is perfect to keep you on task, it gives you transition times between tasks and reminds you to do task at certain times. Rather than loud beeping or buzzing there is a choice of 4 gentle sounds, which is perfect if you are sensitive to sound.

http://budurl.com/ylu6

The dos and don’ts of choosing your timer:

1) Do get a timer you love and works for your needs.

2) Do get a digital timer. There is some fun wind up timers, but they tend to have a noisy, ticky sound that is distracting.

3) Don’t use your smart phone.
Even though phones have alarms and there are tons of great timer apps, a separate kitchen timer still works the best. There is something very powerful about having a separate timer, whose sole job is to keep you on task and productive. Your phone’s alarm is useful for other things, but for this purpose the kitchen timer is the best.

Thanks to Clare, George and Susan for your timer recommendations!

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Treatment, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adhd, B.F. Skinner, clock, duel, fun, posh, simple, sound, timer

Pets and ADHD

Posted on April 4, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 3 Comments

Photo by Reanna Evoy.

If you would like to listen to this week’s article, click here.

Having pets in your life when you have ADHD is very beneficial not only in reducing unwanted ADHD symptoms, but also for your overall physical health and happiness. While you may be thinking, “but I can barely take care of myself, let alone another living creature,” it has been my experience that adults with ADHD make fabulous pet owners. While they may struggle with the stresses of life, their pet’s health is never compromised. Far from it.

Here are five reasons why having a pet is good for you if you have ADHD:

1. Self-esteem

Self-esteem levels are often low in adults with ADHD after years of not measuring up to society’s “norms.” The good news is that your pet does wonders for your self-esteem. They are completely non-judgmental and provide you with unconditional love regardless of if you took the trash out or did a good presentation at work. Plus, knowing that you are able to take care of them so well will further boost your self-esteem.

2. Stress

Living with ADHD can definitely be stressful. Trying to live up to your own expectations and that of other people, missing deadlines and appointments despite making huge efforts, losing items or forgetting information can definitely be stressful. It is a double-edged sword because when you are stressed your ADHD symptoms are exacerbated. The good news is that it only takes 15 to 30 minutes with your cat or dog or even watching your fish is enough time for chemical changes to take place in your body and for you to feel less anxious and stressed.

3. Healthy Habits

Creating and maintaining healthy habits can be really tricky. A benefit of having a pet, particularly a dog, is that they provide you with structure to your day. They need you to wake up at a regular time in the morning so they can go for a walk, and since you know you are going to wake up at roughly the same time ever morning, this forces you to go to bed at a sensible time every night. Also, as dogs need walking, you will never forget to do your daily exercise.

4. Social Contact

Social interaction is vital to our mental and physical health. Various studies have found that dog owners have many more interactions with other people when they are walking their dog than a non-dog owner walking the same route. Adults with ADHD can find social interaction difficult, so have a dog is exceedingly helpful in facilitating this. Not only will you speak to more people when you are out and about with your dog, you will also gain confidence talking to people in all situations.

5. Physical Health

While you might think that dogs seem to be the most beneficial pet, there is good news for cat owners, too. In one longitudinal study it was found that people who didn’t own a cat were 40% more likely to die of a heart attack than people that did. Another study showed that cat owners had fewer strokes than non-cat owners.

Actions

Consider getting a pet! While it isn’t a decision to be taken lightly, they do provide you with endless joy and laughter and they are good for your ADHD.
If you are uncertain for whatever reason, remember knowledge is power. Do some reading on what taking care of a pet would mean. Also, talk to other pet owners.
Offer to pet sit for friends or family as practice.

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Treatment, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adhd, adults, cats, companion, confidence, dog owners, friends, life, mental health, pets, self esteem, stress, unconditional love

Celebrate Every Achievement

Posted on March 21, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield Leave a Comment

In her book My Stroke of Insight, the author and Harvard brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor documents her remarkable story. At the age of 37 years old, she suffered a stroke and then spent the next eight years making a full recovery. This involved learning to do the basics such as sit up in bed alone again, walk, talk, feed herself, drive, recall her memories, etc. The book is inspirational and also has some amazing pearls of wisdom. One of these pearls is how important it was for her to celebrate EVERY achievement no matter what the size. I found this attitude a wonderful one and would love all adults with ADHD to adopt too. She didn’t say, “Oh, you can sit up on your own now, big deal, you could do that when you were one years old.” That would have been discouraging after all her mental and physical effort it had taken. It would have also zapped her motivation to move on to the next step of her recovery.

I notice how easy it is for adults with ADHD to both minimize their achievements – “Well, anyone could have done it.” – and to focus on what they haven’t, didn’t, couldn’t do, rather than on what they DID do. If you made a difficult phone call or a big effort to arrive to a meeting on time, congratulate yourself and say, “Great job!” Allow yourself to bask in the warmth of this success for a minute before moving on to the next task. This is a much more effective method to encourage future successes than saying, “Well, I should be able to pick up the phone,” or “everyone else arrived on time.” This self-talk devalues your achievements and efforts and de-motivates you for future successes.

As well as positive verbal encouragement, also give yourself physical rewards. Celebrating wins, or victories, no matter how small, also does wonders for your mental well-being. Just like a small child or pet, adults love to be acknowledged for their achievements, and there is no better person to recognize your achievements than you.

When I use the term “reward,” thoughts automatically go towards something naughty. Like food that is bad for you, or alcohol. However, there are many ways to reward yourself that are fun, enjoyable and healthy. A bath after you have worked out at the gym feels amazing, curling up in bed with clean sheets after a physically demanding day. Often what feels like a reward is in contrast to the activity you have been doing.

The bigger the accomplishment, the bigger the reward. Graduating with a degree would quantify a BIG celebration, to acknowledge the big accomplishment. However, you should also reward yourself for every assignment you hand in on time and ever exam you sat on at a smaller level.

Positive self-talk will change your life! Not only will it make you feel good in the moment, it will also lift your self-esteem over time to new heights. That, in combination with a physical treat, makes pushing the mental or physical pain barrier even sweeter!

Actions

Every time you do something that is a bit tricky, give yourself lots of praise.
As well as verbal praise, give yourself a physical reward too.
Match the size of the reward with the achievement.
Think ahead of time a few of your favorite healthy treats you would like to give yourself as a reward.
Notice how much more fun life is!

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Treatment, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: achievement, add, adhd, celebrate, demand, encouragement, jill bolte taylor, mental, my stroke of insight, physical, positive, praise, reward, self-talk, well-being

ADHD and Weekly Reviews

Posted on March 8, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield Leave a Comment

When you have ADHD and want to make some positive changes in your life, chances are you are busy, busy, busy. However, sometimes it’s important to step back a little from the action and review how things are going.

Spending time reflecting sounds boring and time consuming, but you can make it fun, and it doesn’t take long, just 5 or 10 minutes every week. Create a new Word document, then each week write down what worked for you and what didn’t. You might review your week on a Friday afternoon, or a Sunday morning. The day doesn’t matter as long as it makes sense to you. An entry in your review document might look something like this

What is working:

1) Setting my alarm for 7:00 a.m. rather than 6:30 a.m. is good because I don’t press snooze, I just get up on the first ring. Got to work on time 3 times out of 5.

2) Setting the timer for 15 minutes at the end of the day to tidy the kitchen. Really enjoying waking up to a tidy kitchen.

What isn’t working:

1) Exercising every day, this didn’t happen, but I do have a new DVD player now which is installed ready for my workouts next week.

You can keep on doing the things that worked and tweak, change or completely stop doing the things that aren’t working.

Writing everything down is more powerful than just a mental review. It’s easier to notices themes that appear when everything is in writing. It also becomes a celebration of all the process you are making because it’s very easy to forget…even the good things. Finally, in times of stress when all our good habits go out of the window and this document is a reminder of what you were doing before the stressful event happened. You can jump back in to your good habits without having to reinvent the wheel.

So! Your challenge this week is to start your weekly reviews!

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Treatment, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: action, add, adhd, alarm, change, list, reflecting, review, stress, timer

The ADHD Filing System

Posted on March 1, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 4 Comments

Do you have a filing system? Or more of a piling system? If you have ADHD then probably the very thought of filing things away fills you with terror and you would much rather stick with your piles. However, filing systems can be your friend. If you develop a filing system that works for you, you will know where everything is and save tons of time when you need to find something.

Here are four tips to creating a system that works for you:

1) Keep it logical

Keep it logical and intuitive for YOU. Not anyone else. You don’t need to create elaborate systems or even alphabetize it. You just need to know where the logical place for you is. So, if I said ‘car’ you would know where all your car information is.

2) Keep It Current

Very often filing systems become grave yards for old information. If your filing cabinet or box gets full, or the files no longer reflect your life, you stop using it. Then you revert back to your piles. Remember you don’t need to keep everything forever. Even tax documents you can throw out after 7 years. Only keep what you need.

Many items that use to be on paper are now available digitally. From bank statement to tax returns. Do as much as you can digitally because paper documents cause so much mental anguish when you have ADHD.

3) Keep Files Manageable

When a file gets too full, break it into two or more…and label it accordingly, e.g. part 2 of 3.

4) Label Every File

Label everything. Even if you think you will remember what is in it…you probably won’t. So label every file with a label that is meaningful to you.

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adhd, current, files, filing, label, logical, organization, system

ADHD and Dopamine

Posted on January 18, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield 2 Comments

Dopamine 300x225ADHD and Dopamine Did you know that the brain of a person with ADHD doesn’t produce as much dopamine as someone without ADHD? This shortage affects the anterior frontal cortex part of the brain and impacts attention and focus and impulsivity, mood, and motivation…core symptoms of ADHD.

The way ADHD medications work is by positively affecting dopamine levels. For example, Ritalin and Adderall work by blocking dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake so the dopamine that is produced stays in the synapse for longer. Adderall causes more neurotransmitters to be produced.

When your brain doesn’t have enough dopamine, it craves it. You might find yourself driven to do activities that aren’t particularly healthy, like overeat on carbs, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, drive fast, have extramarital affairs, over spend or take street drugs.

However, there are things you can do to increase the levels of dopamine in your brain in a healthy and natural way.

1) Exercise

When you exercise your brain produces more dopamine. Find an exercise you love and do it every day.

2) Take Omega 3

Omega 3 increases your levels of dopamine. Take a supplement as well as including more Omega 3 rich foods in your diet.

3) Meditate

When you meditate you also increase your dopamine levels.

4) Vitamin C

Include lots of Vitamin C in your diet. Vitamin C is very helpful in ensuring the dopamine synapses is working well.

5) Eat foods that raise dopamine levels contain the amino acid phenylalanine, once eaten the body converts it to tyrosine and then tyrosine manufactures dopamine. Include beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, nuts and seeds in your diet as these are all good sources of phenylalanine.

6) You body needs iron and vitamin B6 to convert food from phenylalanine to dopamine. So get your iron levels tested by your doctor, if they are low ask about taking a supplement. In one study researchers found that 84% of the children with ADHD had an iron deficiency, so it’s worth finding out.

7) Sleep

When you sleep you don’t use much dopamine, which means your dopamine levels increase overnight ready for the new day.

8) Reduce stress… stress depletes dopamine.

Filed Under: ADHD Behavior, ADHD Symptoms, Adult ADHD, Untapped Brilliance Blog Tagged: add, adderall, adhd, attention, brain, dopamine, excercise, focus, impulse, iron, meditation, MOOD, motivation, Omega 3, ritalin, vitamin c

ADHD and New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 4, 2013 Written by Jacqueline Sinfield Leave a Comment

The New Year always brings with it an enthusiasm to look at yourself and your life and make some positive changes. While tons of research has been to done to show that New Year’s resolutions don’t work. We also know that creating habits and setting goals do work.

So, why not make use of this New Year energy to make some positive changes using goals and habits in your life? Wondering what areas to address? Why not your health? As the healthier you are, the less problematic your negative ADHD symptoms are. For example, getting enough sleep, eating healthy food, exercising every day, taking supplements, such as, Omega 3, managing stress are all known to help your long term health, but also your ADHD symptoms right now.

There is a brilliant website that is dedicated to your health called http://www.realage.com/. The site’s creator, Dr. Roizen is a cardiologist and wanted to motivate people to take better care of their bodies. He realized everyone wants to be youthful so used this as an incentive. Some people are younger physiologically and mentally than their calendar age because they active make healthy eating choices while some people are older.

Take the quiz which covers all topics related to health, from what you eat, drink and smoke to how fast you drive and how often you use your cell phone.

After you get your results and find out how old you ‘really’ are you are given a compressive checklist of actions to take to reduce your real age. You can use the checklist to motivate you and guide you to know what new goals and habits to make in 2013

Good luck and I would love to hear what changes you will be making!!!