Understanding and Managing ADD and ADHD

Joshua Dietz is a New York sales professional who has a background as therapist and developmental psychology instructor. Joshua Dietz also has a blog and wrote an article about managing attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Attention deficit disorders affect approximately 11 percent of children and 4 percent of adults and have three primary components: hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. Inattention reflects a “wandering mind,” or a tendency to be distractible and forgetful. This can manifest as being disorganized and socially disengaged, except in cases where the activity undertaken is perceived as being extremely stimulating.

In many ways, impulsiveness is an outgrowth of this inattention, with an individual unable to regulate action or speech before it comes out. Every person has experienced moments of impulsivity, such as acting out of turn. However, those who have ADD/ADHD find controlling such impulses to be much more difficult. Hyperactivity compounds these issues, where a constant seeking of psychological and physical engagement leads to struggles during moments of inactivity or motionlessness.

Ideally, managing ADD and ADHD starts by taking time to understand how the brain operates and why it may not align with others’ expectations. Resolving attention issues involves a person understanding the types of activities that motivate them, as well as those that do not. Then, it becomes a matter of productively funneling energetic impulses into life endeavors that they find personally fulfilling.