Blog

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    ADHD and Solving “Insurmountable” Problems

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

    Can you think of a time when you were worrying about an issue, but not doing anything about it? Just worrying… I mean the kind of worrying that seems to take over your brain; it is like a record that is stuck playing over and over again. Some call it ruminating or perseverating. Maybe you are even doing this right now. If you are an adult with ADHD, you can’t afford to rent out this valuable real estate in your head. You have too much on your plate that you want to accomplish to devote your time and energy to just worrying. If you feel stuck and are tired of thoughts flooding your mind, there really are steps you can take to make a molehill…

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    ADHD and Creating a Supportive Environment

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

    Too often I see adults with ADHD who believe that the primary way of reaching their goals is to try harder and exert more willpower. After all, if you are one of the many adults with ADHD who was diagnosed later in life, you may have a history of being told that you just need to try harder. So, over time you may have come to internalize this belief. If this is true for you, what if you could design your environment to support you in reaching your goals while exerting less effort? Sure working hard is an important part of reaching your goals. But eventually you will reach your capacity and redoubling your efforts may not yield the results you want. In fact, it…

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    ADHD and Using A Task Manager

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

    What does your To Do List look like? Is it those scribbled notes that you have lying around that are supposed to remind you to call Bob, email Sue, pick up the milk, etc.? But what happens when you leave: the piece of paper with “milk” written on it still on the counter? the sticky with “call Bob” stuck safely on your monitor at work… and you are working at home? the reminder to “email Sue” on your calendar for last Tuesday… and it is a week later? your To Do’s in your head? I know, leading questions, right? If the above sounds familiar, and you are feeling overwhelmed and disorganized, maybe it is time to give up the system that works… kinda, sorta, some…

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    Do You Know How You Feel About Having ADHD?

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, Blog

    You may be familiar with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ model of the Five Stages of Grief.  If you are, then you know that the intent of her model is to describe the stages  of feelings you may go through in response to the death of another or to your own terminal illness. Subsequently, using her model as a foundation, others created similar models to describe the cycle of feelings that people go through when faced with an event that they perceive as negative. At some point after being diagnosed with ADHD you may have considered having ADHD as a burden, something negative. That is normal, to be sure. If you are trying to accept your ADHD and work with it, one of the keys is understanding and…

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    ADHD and Procrastination: Steps To Move Forward

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Time Management, Blog

      Everyone procrastinates! But, as an adult with ADHD, your ADHD symptoms may exacerbate your tendency to procrastinate. When talking with clients about procrastination I often hear some variation of, “But everyone can do it! I should be able to do this!” Shaming yourself is never a good strategy to motivate yourself into taking action. Has it ever worked for you? In fact, I bet you are more likely to procrastinate when you heap a “big dose of shame and blame” on yourself. What is helpful, though, is being aware of why you are procrastinating in each situation, and being will willing to adopt strategies that will work with your ADHD. Where To Start And How To Proceed A common challenge for those with ADHD…

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    ADHD and Friendships: Are You Tending To Yours?

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Communication, Blog

    We all know that you need to tend to your garden, if you want your plants to thrive. You need to water, weed, remove some if they are crowded, etc. And it is no different with relationships. If you want to have thriving, healthy relationships, you need to be mindful and tend to those that are important to you. You already know this. And maybe this is what you want. But you may not have the quality or quantity of relationships that you want. In all likelihood your ADHD symptoms may be part of your challenge in cultivating connections. You can change this. ADHD and Connections Dr. Edward Hallowell notes that for adults with ADHD connections with others are critical to our well being. It…

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    ADHD and Communicating: Finding the Right Words…

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Communication, Blog

      For adults with ADHD communicating can be a veritable landmine at times. Sound familiar? You are not alone. These are common communication challenges when you have ADHD. Of course, some of the challenges may be due to differences in communication styles or the difficulties the other person has in communicating. And some challenges may be due to your ADHD symptoms. That is the good news, really!  After all, it is easier to focus on an area where you have the most control, yourself. This is the focus of this article. Once you understand how your ADHD may be impacting your ability to communicate effectively you can create an action plan to help you communicate better Retrieval For adults with ADHD the filing system for…

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    ADHD and Being More Proactive, Not Reactive

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Time Management, ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

    Do you know what is on the horizon? A common concern I hear from clients is: “I don’t know how to prioritize. So, I can plan?” If you are an adult with ADHD, planning and prioritizing may not be your strong suit. But it is possible to strengthen these muscles. While there is no easy answer or one right way to do this, the key is to review and plan on a regular basis, weekly and daily. And, as you do this consistently, the pull of immediate gratification (doing whatever catches your attention in the moment) will weaken. Below is a step by step method you can use to make this easier. Advantages of Regular Planning: And if you can do this consistently, you will…

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    ADHD and Meetings: How To Take and Use Your Notes

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD in the Workplace, Blog

    You walk out of a meeting confident that you have all the information you need. Then later that day or days later you look at your notes. You wonder: What was I supposed to do? What does that mean? What did Joe say about that project? You just can’t remember. Yes, it is that wonky short term memory. Unless you take good notes that you can also decipher later, following up from meetings can be frustrating. At times, it can even be embarrassing, if you need to go back and ask people from the meeting: What did I say I would do? When did you say you wanted the documents? If you find yourself struggling to remember important information later, it is time to stop…

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    Summary of Causes of ADHD

    ByMarla Cummins ADHD Symptoms & Diagnosis, Blog

    You may have heard in the media that poor diet, food dyes, too much sugar, environmental chemicals, poor schooling, too much TV, poor pre-natal care or poor parenting are causes of ADHD. Whew! It is possible that drug or alcohol use during pregnancy could alter the brain and may be a possible cause of ADHD. As for the other factors, while credible research has not been able to validate any of them as causes of ADHD, they definitely can exacerbate ADHD symptoms. What we do think is that ADHD is a brain based biological disorder, caused by a number of factors that affect how the brain develops and functions. And the one factor that stands out is a neurotransmitter imbalance. Neurotransmitter Imbalance As you know,…