Taming Of Adult ADHD

It was an ordinary day.  Picked up my morning paper and began to read Dr. Mike Roizen's column titled "Taming Adult ADHD.  Went like this...Can't focus?  Are easily impatient?  Hate dealing with multitasking?  You may be contending with adult ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).  Join the crowd.  More than 15 million adults have been diagnosed with ADHD (many more go undiagnosed) and have to deal with the work, relationship and internal conflicts that can arise as a result of the disorder.  So, what can you do to tamp down your symptoms and lessen your risk for associated health problems such as alcohol dependence, obsessive compulsive disorder, drug abuse, intermittent explosive disorder and - yup-obesity?  Stimulant medications such as Ritalin and Adderall can be useful - around half of adults diagnosed with ADHD have been prescribed such drugs.  But fully 71% of them report that they have trouble finding available medication.  Fortunately, there are non-drug therapies that can ease symptoms.  Establish routines.  You can help yourself get organized by making lists for different tasks and activities and using a calendar for scheduling events.  Break down large projects into smaller, manageable tasks.  Enjoy daily aerobic exercise.  It can reduce impulsivity and hyper-activity and improve executive functioning.  Yoga and meditation are also calming and improve executive functioning.  Plus, research indicates that neurofeedback (a kind of biofeedback that teaches self-control of brain function) can help control impulsivity and agitation.  Consider various supplements.  Research shows that there are potential benefits from taking melatonin (ADHD can disrupt sleep cycles), pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark), green coffee bean extract, and caffeine or caffeine and L-theanine.  For more ideas, read "The Best Supplements for Boosting Focus and Attention" at iHerb.com/blog.  Dr. Mike Roizen is chef wellness officer and chairman of the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic.  To live your healthiest, visit shareware.com.   p.p.s. - I have found that writing a daily blog is a big help in staying young and staying healthy.  I look forward to writing each day, sometimes a few times each day, so that I can pass along my life's stories as well as stay healthy along the way.  I'm sure that just about everyone reading my stories has just as many interesting stories they could write about and share with others.  Give it a try sometime and see how much fun writing can be.  You don't need to be an English teacher to write a blog!  I was only a "C" student in my English classes in high school and college, and no one writes to me telling me how awful my stories are due to my spelling and writing.  Hey!  Send me how to reach your blog and I will gladly read it.  Being that I'm retired, I have all the time in the world....some days!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.