ADHD in Adults - The Great Reboot

​ADHD in Adults – The Great Reboot
 
Wherever I look through the health sections of newspapers recently there always seems to be a new piece on ADHD in adults, and word is spreading. My best girlfriend told me she was waiting in a London post office listening in on two women talking about their ADHD symptoms.
 
This conversation is not limited to the UK – everywhere more of us are being diagnosed with ADHD in adult life. The Australian government is taking the issue seriously, and I am glad they are as I think the potential population is vast. Here in Melbourne, I have clients who are part of the same conversation and would likely find they have ADHD if they sought an official diagnosis, and often the reason they do so is through parenting their own children with ADHD.
 
Once the ADHD diagnosis is formalised and accepted, then it can very quickly help these individuals better understand their lives and address the symptoms whose cause was previously unknown. This also presents the opportunity for change, or a “reboot”, as Zoë Rose mentions in the Guardian on her recent diagnosis, “You’ve got to relook at your entire life”.
 
This change can come about in many ways, but often the strategies employed to do so realise multiple benefits. For example, turning around negative coping behaviours means saying farewell to substance abuse, overspending, compulsive lying and controlling behaviours (the list goes on).
 
In their place, positive coping strategies help people understand key triggers linked to ADHD, and with this understanding they learn to be a fully present partner, parent, colleague, and friend. And to know that they are supported.