Springboard Clinic

Disorganization is a common and often debilitating ADHD symptom. As part of this, many ADHD adults struggle to keep their physical space organized. Their home is messy, or they have giant piles of paperwork all over their desks. As you can imagine, this can waste a lot of time, and sometimes even money to deal with. Being chronically disorganized also takes up a lot of mental energy. A disorganized environment can fuel a disorganized mind.

Getting organized - and staying organized - is not always (or ever) a fun task. But, as difficult as it can be, ADHD adults thrive with structure and organization. It's a necessary - and beneficial - part of life.

ADHD and New Years Resolutions – oil and water. Perhaps this is an exaggeration, but if you have an ADHD diagnosis, it might feel like this comparison is pretty accurate!

This is the time of year when people emerge from the blur of the holidays, and start thinking: Now is time to make a big change. What better time to start something new than at the beginning of a new year?

We’re not sure if you’ve noticed lately, but the holidays are here. Yes, Christmas is all around us, Kwanzaa is approaching, the Menorah will be lit soon enough. Even if you don’t have a specific holiday that you celebrate, the holidays can’t be avoided. 

Don’t get us wrong, we here at Springboard Clinic view this as an awesome fact. We’re all for parties, yummy treats, and spending quality time with our friends and families during this time of year. But…

…there can a dark side to the holidays.

If you have adult ADHD, the holidays can often feel like an anti-vacation. We've talked before about ADHD and vacation planning, but aside from that it's just so easy to get wrapped up in the pressure of planning the 'right' kind of holiday for you and your family, without really stopping to consider what we want that to look like.

This year, take the time to pause, talk with your loved ones, and really assess what would be the best use of your hard-earned holiday time.

Check out the video below for Brene Brown's powerful talk on Vulnerability.

Brene Brown is a social worker who spent time researching social connections and vulnerability. In her research, she found that the one thing that keeps us disconnected from others is a belief that we're not worthy of love and belonging. So, we cut ourselves off from being vulnerable - we disconnect before others have a chance to really see us. The problem with this, as Brene Brown says: "You can't numb those hard feelings without numbing the other affects, our emotions. You cannot selectively numb. So when we numb those, we numb joy, we numb gratitude, we numb happiness."

Everybody compares themselves to others - it's human nature. But is it a helpful practice?

If you have ADHD, the 'comparison game' is pretty strong. People with ADHD often have difficulty with "easy" things such as organization and time management. You see other people breeze through their days getting places on time and keeping on top of their to-do list. It's hard not to compare and think: Why is it so easy for them, but not for me?