Let's Bring Awareness To ADHD

October is ADHD Awareness month and for people without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder it can be difficult to grasp what it feels like for those who do. Individuals with ADHD may hear people flippantly say, “Everyone is a little bit ADHD” or dismiss their experience without compassion. However, contrary to popular misconception, ADHD is not a new term nor a medical fad. The medical condition was first mentioned in 1902 by British pediatrician Sir George Still who described “an abnormal defect of moral control in children.” He noticed that some children were unable to control their behavior the way a typical child would but were still intelligent.

Originally, ADHD was known as hyperkinetic impulse disorder. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) formally recognized ADHD as a mental disorder.

What Is ADHD?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects children and young adults and can continue into adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty remaining still for long periods of time, limited attention spans, and high activity levels. You may notice that these are generally common behaviors in young children; however, the difference with children who have ADHD is that their hyperactivity and inattention are noticeably greater than that of their peers. This can lead to distress and/or problems functioning at home, school, or with friends and family.

ADHD is diagnosed as one of three types:

• Inattentive type
• Hyperactive/impulsive type
• Combined type

Although some research indicates that genetics may play a factor in ADHD, scientists have yet to discover the specific cause of this mental disorder.

What Are the Effects of ADHD?

Many adults and young adults with ADHD do not realize they have the disorder, which can put them at a higher risk for developing other issues such as depression or anxiety. Often someone with undiagnosed ADHD will turn to substance use to self-medicate in an attempt to calm themselves or control feelings of anxiety or depression. Addiction and other compulsive habits are more likely in adults with undiagnosed ADHD than individuals in the general population are.

Potential symptoms of ADHD include:

• Chronic lateness and forgetfulness
• Anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Employment problems
• Difficulty controlling anger
• Impulsiveness
• Substance abuse or addiction
• Poor organization skills
• Procrastination
• Low frustration tolerance
• Chronic boredom
• Difficulty concentrating when reading
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Relationship problems

Attaining the right diagnosis and the proper treatment can transform your life.

ADHD Help at The Meadows

The Claudia Black Young Adult Center, a specialized treatment program of The Meadows, utilizes the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A) in the assessment protocol of its young adult patients. Essentially, T.O.V.A. is a computerized test of attention that assists in screening, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring of attention disorders, such as ADHD.

T.O.V.A. complements the work of the multidisciplinary treatment team at the Claudia Black Young Adult Center. The T.O.V.A. report often accompanies a history of substance use disorders, relational trauma, anxiety disorders, and mood dysregulation. The symptoms of ADHD may at times be directly due to a substance withdrawal syndrome, the consequences of trauma or a mood disorder itself. The presence of such comorbidity complicates the diagnostic process and necessitates a careful consideration of the specifics unique to each individual’s clinical presentation.

Using the T.O.V.A assessment raises the high standard of service and outcomes at the Claudia Black Young Adult Center.

At The Meadows family of treatment programs, we work closely with patients to tailor treatment to best fit their unique needs. This highly specialized focus is one of the many reasons why we have successfully treated thousands of patients for over 40 years. To learn more about The Meadows or the Claudia Black Young Adult Center, please call 800-244-4949.

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Approach ‘13 Reasons Why’ with Curiosity Instead of Fear

By Lindsay Merrell, Therapist, Remuda Ranch at The Meadows

Since the years of my internship, working with patients facing suicidal thoughts has been concerning, challenging, and inspiring. Individuals struggling with such hopelessness come to professionals in desperate need of relief from what is starting to feel like an inevitable outcome. Our responsibility as professionals is to be persistently and empathically interested in the individual’s struggle. Our curiosity gives them the courage to look at the very pain they fear.

Netflix’s hit TV Show 13 Reasons Why provides the audience with a window into the multitude of opportunities a community often has to intervene when an individual is living in fear of their pain.

In 13 Reasons Why, the main character, Hannah, struggles with suicidal thoughts. She risks reaching out to her guidance counselor—the very person tasked with being a support to adolescence in the educational environment-- for help; but, as a result, we as an audience witness the harm that occurs when helping professionals lack curiosity.

The guidance counselor dismisses Hannah’s pain and a disconnection from help occurred. The show portrays very well how the disconnection from compassionate support leads to an increase in isolation and stigma for the individual and for the community as it experiences a traumatic event.

Adolescents are already at an anatomical disadvantage when it comes to seeking support. They are experiencing normal, but tumultuous hormonal changes within a neurological system that hasn’t yet developed insight into cognitive distortions or the ability to restructure distorted thoughts. As professionals, we have the opportunity to assist and educate individuals and families on how to navigate the ups and downs of the adolescent years; however, this opportunity often only comes after worrisome symptoms appear.

13 Reasons Why has given teenagers, schools, and families a framework from which to process situations which may already be occurring right under their noses, and will hopefully give them the chance to intervene before the individual’s desperation takes over.

Recently, the media has reported that many parents, teachers, and counselors are concerned that 13 Reasons Why “glorifies” suicide. But, it seems to me that 13 Reasons Why could bring about more awareness on how to support an individual struggling with suicidal thoughts or how those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts can seek support.

As friends, therapists, and parents, aren't we better equipped to help when we are more culturally aware and curious about the nuances individuals’ struggles? It seems unreasonable to make a judgment about the “dangers” of the show simply based on the fact that the characters in the storyline do not handle the situations in the one size fits all manner we deem best.

Before her tragic death, Hannah records a series of tapes to illustrate how ignorance, fear, and judgment disconnected her, and disconnects others, from necessary interventions and support within the community. Through the lens of fear, Hannah's tapes may appear to assign blame to everyone involved; however, when fear is replaced with curiosity and empathy, can’t the tapes be viewed as an educational opportunity for the viewer? The tapes teach us that asking questions, paying attention, and speaking up can provide hope for recovery from what feels like insurmountable pain.

Fear of judgment from peers and adults coupled with the stigma around asking for support unnecessarily leads adolescents to suppress their perceived realities to struggle through it alone more than they have to. This often leads to the manifestation of eating disorders, substance abuse, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. The challenge for the individual and the community portrayed in the show is the suppression of the struggling individual’s perceived reality and the ultimate lack of awareness of the real pain of that struggle.

Compassion’s enemy is fear. It paralyzes people and prevents them from helping those who struggle with suicidal ideation. Let’s not allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the fear of what 13 Reasons Why could teach young people; instead, let use it to teach ourselves how to be more compassionate, how to best offer the support that is needed, and how to stay curious and ask questions that can help lead those suffering to peace.

13 Reasons Why is a show that illuminates the difficulties adolescents face. As adults, when we put our fear aside and become curious, we open the door to protecting a vulnerable individual from a life-altering decision and breathe hope back into those we care about.

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We’re Paying it Forward with a Special Offer

Human beings make about 35,000 conscious decisions every day. Each one of those decisions, no matter how small, is likely to have an impact on someone, somewhere, in some way. But, we typically have no idea what kind of impact our choices have made on the world around us.

If you decide to have lunch at the local deli, you’ve made an impact on the success of the deli owner’s business. And, the way you interacted with the staff may have played a role in shaping their outlook on their work that day. If you were gracious, they may have felt a sense of pride in helping others, which may have had a ripple effect on the level of kindness and care they showed to other customers after you.

If you are struggling with addiction and unresolved trauma and you decide not to seek treatment, your decision will likely impact others in much more negative ways. If your relationships seem to be falling apart in the face of your drinking, drug use, depression and/or anxiety, today may be the day for you to make the most important decision of your daily 35,000.

Are you going to choose to continue on this way, holding on to your pain and acting out in ways that can have devastating effects on the people you love?

Or are you going to get treatment, and start a ripple effect of happiness and healing in your world?

Those of us at Meadows Behavioral Healthcare want to help you start the right ripple effect. In honor of Pay it Forward Day—an international initiative to create a huge ripple effect of kindness around the world—we’re reducing the cost for our 45-day inpatient treatment programs by thousands of dollars for A LIMITED TIME. Call 866-331-3368 and mention the Pay It Forward offer for more information.

We hope that by giving more people access to our high-quality, scientifically-tested, and individualized treatment methods, we can help start the powerful ripple effect of recovery throughout the world. Our internationally renowned experts in trauma and addiction can not only help you overcome your trauma-related issues and/or addiction, they can also show you how to treat yourself the love and kindness in a way that will ripple and flow through your life and relationships.

Please call 866-331-3368 today to take advantage of this special offer. When you change yourself, you change the world.

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