Adults with ADHD struggle with being on time, making and maintaining healthy relationships, staying organized and being successful at work. Daily tasks such as housecleaning and paying bills can become a struggle for someone who suffers from this mental health issue. Adults with the disorder, however, can improve their organization, relationships and ability to concentrate with therapy, meditation and self-help tips.
Learn about ADHD
The first thing a person with a mental health issue such as ADHD should do to empower herself is learn about the disorder. Learn about the symptoms, the effects the disorder can have on your life and how the disorder is treated. Learning about this disorder will show you how important exercise is, why you need to develop structure and how prioritizing can positively affect your life. If you're in therapy, your therapist should provide psychoeducation around ADHD and answer any questions you have about the disorder.
Reduce Stress
If you have ADHD, you might become frustrated and stressed out due to symptoms such as difficulty staying organized and impulsivity. Learn how to reduce stress and implement stress-reduction techniques regularly. Helpguide.org suggests incorporating healthy habits into your daily lifestyle to improve your mood, which in turn allows you to gain even more from doing so than the average person who deals with stress. You should also choose healthy options at most meals, create a bedtime routine, get eight hours of sleep each night and exercise regularly. Don't make excuses for not exercising; find a way to fit it into your day. You could take a quick 15-minute run with your dog in the morning, take five-minute walk breaks throughout your work day or ride your bike to work. Helpguide suggests you choose something you like to do so you boost chances you'll stick with it.
Set Small, Specific Goals
Adults struggling with ADHD become overwhelmed with large tasks and get distracted easily. To stay motivated and get large tasks completed on time, break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. For instance, if you want to clean and organize your entire house, break it down into daily and weekly tasks, as it may be too overwhelming to try to organize and clean your house all at once. Instead, you could focus on one room each week. For instance, if you're focusing on your bathroom one week, you might launder the bath towels and bath mat Monday, clean the shower and toilet Tuesday, organize the medicine cabinet Wednesday, clean the counter Thursday, empty the trash and clean the trash can Friday and sweep and mop the floor Saturday.
Get a Planner and Filing System
It's important to stay on top of bills and papers in your household, so set up a filing system that works for you. Place a recycling bin near the entrance of your house and sort the mail as soon as you pick it up. Place the junk mail in the recycling bin and then sort the rest of it. Set aside 30 minutes each week to pay your bills and then file them in an appropriate way. Color code your files, so you can access them quickly. Use your planner to set daily goals and to check them off as you complete them. Make lists for projects, deadlines and appointments, so you're able to stay on top of things you need to complete in a timely manner.
