Untapped Brilliance

Alternative Ways To Treat ADHD

Jacqueline Sinfield — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:45:44 +0000

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

ADHD and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

Jacqueline Sinfield — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:03:07 +0000

Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is a form of anxiety that occurs after a traumatic event. The severity of PTSD depends not on the event but on the individual’s perception of the event. Traumatic events vary from losing a job, being involved in an accident, sexual abuse, or natural disasters, such as, earthquakes or witnessing war. PTSD is a condition that frequently co-exists with ADD. In fact, Dr Hallowell believes most ADHD adults have a mild form of PTSD because if left unmanaged ADD can mean repeated traumas, humiliation, rejection and failures.

Having ADD can also increase the likelihood of developing PTSD, as an ADHDer can put themselves in situations that can cause trauma. For example, the Hyperactive and impulsive ADHDers are looking for stimulus and excitement without thinking of possible negative consequences. While the inattentive ADHDer might not notice the early warning signs that would have alerted them to get out of a particular situation.

If you have ADHD and suspect you also have PTSD here is what to do:

1) If your PTSD is server, get professional help straight away. Therapy will help you process the event. Remember there is no shame in seeking help.

2) If you feel that your PTSD is because of your life with ADHD, then you might decide to treat your ADD first. By managing your ADD, your chances of experiencing traumatic events will be reduced (if in doubt speak to your doctor).

How to manage your ADD is a big topic, but you will find lots of great articles here on this blog.

Here are a few article suggestions to get you started.

You will also find my ADHD book ‘Untapped Brilliance, How to Reach your Full Potential as an Adult with ADHD’ a great resource to learn what you can do to manage the negative aspects of ADD so your gifts can shine bright,

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

Jacqueline Sinfield — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:58:59 +0000

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:)

ADHD and Kitchen Timers!

Jacqueline Sinfield — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:16:15 +0000

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!

Pets and ADHD

Jacqueline Sinfield — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:00:15 +0000

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.

Celebrate Every Achievement

Jacqueline Sinfield — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:00:23 +0000

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!

Exercise and ADHD

Jacqueline Sinfield — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:00:03 +0000

To the average adult with ADHD exercise takes a back seat to almost all other activities. Work, family and friends, errands, sleep and even housework! These activities are important, however so is exercise. Exercise not only helps the longevity of your body, but it helps reduce some of the negative effects of ADHD too. For example, exercise improves your attention, mental focus, memory, mental stamina and allows you to expend pent up energy. Dr Hallowells says “Exercise stimulates epinephrine, dopamine and serotonin, like meds. So exercising is like taking meds for ADHD in a holistic, natural way”.

So what can you do to make sure exercise is part of your daily life? As well as choosing a form of exercise that is fun for you and one that is convenient, a powerful way is to look to those people who you admire and are inspired by. Perhaps your favourite sports personality or someone who you know personally. There is one particular example of someone we all know who I find very inspiring and that is Barack Obama.

On the 4th of November 2008, the eyes of the world were on America and its election day. Barack Obama made history by becoming the first African American president. His political views, beliefs and sincerity resonated with millions worldwide. It was a huge day for him and his young family. Over two years of hard work on the campaign trail culminated on this day. We can only imagine the intense emotions he must have felt. That evening when the results were official, he stood in front of 125,000 people in Chicago and gave a speech that brought people to tears and gave people goose bumps all around the world. I am guessing he didn’t get much sleep that night.

Do you know what Barack did around 6 am the morning of the 5th of November? After this momentous day? He went to the gym. Then he put on a suit and started his day.

Now if anyone could excuse themselves from a visit to the gym that day, it would have been Barack Obama. Some thoughts that might have popped into his mind: I am too tired, too busy, I have just been voted the next president of the United States! Even if those excuses did come to his mind, he went to the gym anyway.

What can you do to make sure you exercise regularly?

Make exercise part of your daily routine so that it would be just as hard not to exercise as not brush your teeth at night.
Think of who inspires you to exercise and use them as a motivation to get you moving.
Give yourself a healthy reward after you exercise.
Next time an excuse pops into your head about not exercising, think of Barack.
Notice and enjoy the benefits that exercise has on your ADHD.

ADHD and Weekly Reviews

Jacqueline Sinfield — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:00:56 +0000

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!

The ADHD Filing System

Jacqueline Sinfield — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:17:57 +0000

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.

Which Professionals Should I work with when I have ADHD?

Jacqueline Sinfield — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:19:34 +0000

When you have ADHD it is a good idea to have a team of professionals behind you. Each professional has their area of expertise and can help you manage your ADHD. Which means you can be the best version of you!

Here is a brief guide of who to have on your team:

Doctor

If you decide to take ADHD meds your medical doctor will prescribe and monitor you. Your family doctor might do this, or if they aren’t comfortable see a psychiatrist. Once you are on the right meds and dosage, you will probably visit your doctor every 3 months to get a repeat prescription.

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist will be on your team if you have other conditions in addition to ADHD, such as, bipolar or if your family doctor isn’t comfortable prescribing ADHD meds. Some people feel there is a stigma attached to seeing psychiatrist, but there is no shame to getting the right help from the right person.

Psychologist

Working with a psychologist or therapist helps you process issues from your past, help change your beliefs, thought patterns and increase your self esteem. They can also help with issues such as anger, anxiety and addictions.

ADHD Coach

Coaches are great for the practical stuff. They can help with accountability so you follow through with tasks, and work with you to combat procrastination, develop time management skills, organization skills self esteem, implementing habits into your life and much, much more.

If you live in the middle of nowhere, you might be wondering how to find these ADHD experts. That is where ‘the source of all knowledge’ aka the internet comes in!

You can find great psychologists on www.psychologytoday.com either in your area or one that works via Skype.

Coaches, including me, work with clients in person or using Skype or phone so location doesn’t matter.

Doctors are slightly more challenging…but not impossible. One option would be to travel to see a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD. When you have your prescription your family doctor will usually be happy to continue write repeat prescriptions.

Good Luck creating your team!