Verywell published a special edition of their magazine recently, ADHD A New Understanding. I purchased my copy at a local grocery store. Relevance? The global pandemic and associated shortage of stimulant medication used to treat ADHD has brought the brain-based condition to the forefront. This publication and others like it are highlighting the fact that like addiction – there’s a genetic component to it and struggles with treatment and therapy have nothing to do with lack of desire or willpower.
I was a bit miffed that LPC’s and other clinicians were not noted as being able to provide assessment and diagnosis, whereas psychologists were. The only form of therapy noted was CBT and although mindfulness was highlighted, it wasn’t in conjunction with DBT, ACT, somatic or any other evidence-based modalities.
When it came to adults navigating lives and careers with ADHD, @CHADD and @ADDA were cited but ADHD coaches and vocational counselors weren’t. And while there was a blurb on the Americans with Disabilities Act and job accommodations, there was no mention of how prevalent discrimination and shaming are in the workplace or the number of employers who can terminate at-will.
There was a great article written by Rachael Green, How Embracing the Chaos Helps My ADHD that encourages adults with ADHD to have self-compassion, looser turn-around times on self-set to-do’s and allowing space for giving into (non-harmful) impulses if balanced out with productivity. The article that spoke to me the most, however, was tucked away near the end of the journal – Music to ADHD Ears.
Music literally saved my life. I don’t know where I’d be today if I didn’t have an intuitive sense of its healing powers. A few years ago, I wrote a memoir about my struggles with undiagnosed (and later, diagnosed) ADHD. My chapter titles were based on songs and lyrics (reprinted with permission) to further enhance key emotive themes.
It was affirming to read that my LPADP’s (Laundry Putting Away Dance Parties) are indeed a force for good. The dopamine my brain receives from uplifting music (and yes, I consider Disturbed and Foo Fighters to be uplifting) provides me with the momentum I need to begin and continue with the otherwise mundane task of folding laundry and putting it away. As the article states, “the part of the brain that is rewarded by music – the nucleus accumbens – is the same one that psychostimulant ADHD medications work on… it can be thought of as the brain’s control center between motivation and action.”
I don’t want to spoil the article but rock on my ADHD friends!
