Summary
- ADHD can make life hard.
- A diagnosis of ADHD doesn’t tell you which treatments will help you.
- To me it makes sense to start with medications via your GP or psychiatrist because for most people they are well tolerated and relatively quick, straight-forward and cheap.
- Only get an expensive formal assessment for ADHD if you need it.
- If you think there might be any psychological or environmental factors contributing to the ADHD symptoms you have, then seeing a psychologist like me can be a good idea because we might be able to resolve some of the symptoms you are experiencing.
- There are some resources listed in the second half of this page that might be worth checking out.
- If you would like to see me for help with ADHD please click below.
One thing I have noticed in talking with people is that there is frequently an important misunderstanding about ADHD and this misunderstanding means that people are not getting the right types of help.
What is this misunderstanding?
Having a diagnosis of ADHD does not tell us if the symptoms represent a are a permanent (biologically based neuro-developmental) condition that has to be managed or if, with the right treatment, the symptoms might resolve. For example, fairly frequently I see people who have experienced an invalidating emotional environment growing up and who have the symptoms of ADHD. By working through their emotions the symptoms of the ADHD resolve. However, I also see other people for whom psychological therapies don’t do anything, and in this situation we work on managing the symptoms of ADHD.
I am not saying that ADHD can be cured or cannot be cured, rather that it is still not well understood. Or to put it another way, that the diagnosis of ADHD might actually cover multiple conditions, some quite neurological and some quite psychological in nature. In addition, it is not unusual for people to have been misdiagnosed. Misdiagnosis can go both ways, often ADHD is missed until late in life and often people are told that they have ADHD when it was something else.
Given the difficulties diagnosing ADHD many people understandably consider getting a formal assessment. Unfortunately, I think there are two issues going down the path of formal assessments. First, they can be quite expensive. Second, having the formal assessment often does not add much to treatment planning over a less formal (and less expensive) assessment. At the end of the day all you can do is try different treatments and see what works for you.
So what do I think is the right course of action with treatment?
I think start with the medical route (in my experience some GPs are happy to prescribe while others will ask you to go and get an assessment done with a psychiatrist or psychologist). For some people medication helps a lot. For other people medication does nothing or has negative side effects. To me (as long as you monitoring and support with a medical practitioner and there are no issues taking the medication) medication is a relatively quick, straight-forward and cheap treatment to try, and a good place to start.
ADHD Symptoms
- Difficulty maintaining attention or focus
- Impulsiveness or acting without thinking
- Challenges with organization and completing tasks
- Frequent forgetfulness in daily activities
- Restlessness or feeling constantly “on the go”
- Talking excessively or interrupting others
Getting Help with ADHD
Self-Help and Community-Based Treatments for ADHD
- There are two main websites for support/services in Melbourne if you are wanting to get started on your own. These are the ADHD Foundation and ADHD Australia. Both have a bunch of resources and I think are worth checking out
- ADHD Foundation
- ADHD Australia
Books
- There are a lot of self-help books out there for ADHD. Unfortunately, I don’t have recommendations other than to start with ones written by experts. Some of them may also be available at your local library.
- Another angle to consider if you are up for a bit of reading (and if you have made it this far down the page you are doing well) is to read books written for clinicians. If this does interest you then head into your local university library and they should have a collection.