ADHD: A Guide to Understanding and Managing ADHD

By Louise Lowe

ADHD

Contrary to popular belief, ADHD is not the result of poor parenting skills, excessive sugar consumption, or a lot of screen time.

Behavior is affected primarily by the brain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ingram Publishing
• Release date: Feb 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781761038037

Book preview

Introduction

You probably picked up this book for many reasons, but ultimately, because your life could be much smoother than it presently is. Maybe you always had to work harder in school, or you found yourself losing things you urgently need, or no matter how hard you try to get on top of daily routines, you put off tasks that seem too burdensome to complete in the moment. Despite your best intentions, life has always looked like a big ball of stress, and managing emotions has not been the easiest of tasks.

Maybe you are a parent looking for ADHD remedies for your children, or you are a spouse hoping to help your partner thrive in a world that is constantly pushing on them to do more and be more. Or perhaps, you have just discovered that ADHD runs in your family, but you don't know what this means for you or your loved ones.

Whatever inspired you to pick up this book, I hope that I will be able to offer an answer or two for all of the questions plaguing your mind, and provide guidance on how best live and thrive with ADHD.  

Chapter 1: What Is ADHD?

ADHD is short for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a mental health condition, which is also referred to as a neurodevelopmental disorder. This condition mainly affects people’s behavior and often makes the sufferer look restless, unable to concentrate, or to act impulsively. People with ADHD might come across as having above-average levels of energy and may find it hard to focus or sit still for long periods. The differences in brain development and brain activity of people with ADHD influence their attention levels and self-control. Tedious activities that require sustained attention over a long time might be difficult for people suffering from ADHD unless it is something they absolutely enjoy doing and will voluntarily engage in.

ADHD is not the result of poor parenting skills, excessive sugar consumption, or a lot of screen time, and it can be hard to explain this to non-sufferers. It is fair to say that everyone has, at some point, forgotten to turn in an assignment, misplaced their keys, or spaced out during a conversation. What sets someone with ADHD apart from someone without is how frequent these incidents are. When someone with ADHD does these things, it is very easy to assume this is normal behavior since people who do not have ADHD do them as well.

If someone with ADHD misplaces stuff all the time, shows up late for appointments, or often seems spaced out during conversations, they might come across as careless, not being time-conscious, or inattentive to those who do not have a clear understanding of ADHD and what it is.

Behavior is affected by the brain. ADHD brains develop and function much differently than neurotypical brains. If you are surrounded by the right support system, the attributes of a brain with ADHD can be extremely beneficial in certain situations; otherwise, they can be highly debilitating for the sufferer and those around them. Although AD stands for attention deficit, it does not necessarily mean people with ADHD showcase a lack of attention but rather find it difficult to regulate their attention or shift it onto the right task. Think of a brain that is jumping from one thing to the next or, the other extreme, hyper-focusing on one task. The executive function system of the brain acts like the self-management system helping to plan, prioritize and distribute efforts over different tasks. This internal system will help one inhibit their impulses and only switch from one task to the next when appropriate. These executive functions tend to develop slower in brains with ADHD.

People with ADHD tend to have a deficit in certain brain chemicals that help them function this way, like norepinephrine. This is a chemical in the body that should be a naturally occurring one. Norepinephrine, also known as NE, is a neurotransmitter that helps send signals from one nerve cell to the next. The deficiency, or lack thereof, can cause ADHD. NE usually bonds to dopamine, another chemical messenger in the body primarily responsible for feelings like pleasure, motivation, memory retention, and attention. It also helps in planning and thinking. The frontal cortex, the limbic system, the basal ganglia, and the reticular activating system all have reduced neurotransmission activity in an ADHD brain.

The limbic system is located deep inside