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Adhd coping methods


10 Coping Mechanisms for Thriving With Adult ADHD

by Eileen Bailey Health Writer

Medical Reviewer

Jerry Kennard, Ph.D.

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Medical Reviewer

Jerry Kennard, Ph.D.

Many adults with ADHD have found systems and coping mechanisms to manage the everyday symptoms of ADHD. However, others struggle daily with distraction, lack of organizational skills, and becoming easily overwhelmed. The strategies below can help adults with ADHD develop coping skills:

1. Make time for exercise every day. Exercise helps increase focus and attention, decrease excess energy, and helps combat symptoms of depression. Including an exercise program in your daily routine will provide you with many benefits.

2. Accept yourself and your limitations. Remember that ADHD is not a made-up diagnosis. A diagnosis of ADHD can help you to understand why you act in a certain way, but it is not an excuse for inappropriate behaviors.

3. Find people that accept you. Adults with ADHD may feel that those around them do not understand them, and criticize or judge them for their behaviors. If the people you are spending time with make you feel uncomfortable or inadequate, find other people to be with. Look up local support groups in your area or create your own network of friends that accept you and you feel comfortable around.

4. Look for time in your day to unwind. Use transitional time between activities to de-stress and unwind. Stop on your way home from work to sit at a park for 10 minutes or let your family know that when you arrive home you need a few minutes of downtime before entering family activities.

5. Create a system for prioritizing your day. Look over what needs to be accomplished and complete the items that are most important first. Leave those that are less important for later. Should you become distracted, you will know that you still have accomplished the most important items for the day.

6. Use your own internal clock to your benefit. If you are a morning person and are more productive early in the day, arrange your day for the most important items to be accomplished in the morning. If you find that you do best in afternoons, arrange your day this way. Look for jobs that will allow you to be flexible in your schedule to make the most of your own productive patterns.

7. Create deadlines for projects. If you find that you constantly procrastinate, outline a project you are going to begin and set deadlines for each step of the project. Even if you are working around the house, give yourself a time limit to complete portions of the task.

8. Break down all tasks into steps. Adults with ADHD are often overwhelmed with large projects and tasks. Many times, this causes the project to go unfinished and, in some cases, never even started. Instead of looking at the project as one complete task, look at it in steps. For example, if you are going to clean your house, make it a system: first, make the beds; second, straighten the living room; third, dust and vacuum. Don't worry about any steps other than the one you are currently working on.

9. Provide your own structure. Develop systems to help you give your day routines such as a daily schedule. Use organizational helpers like to-do lists, PDAs, daily planners, and tape recorders.

10. Learn about ADHD. The more you learn about your diagnosis, the more prepared you will be to handle the daily difficulties. Read books, ask your doctor questions, or join support groups.

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Eileen Bailey

Eileen Bailey is an award-winning author of six books on health and parenting topics and freelance writer specializing in health topics including ADHD, Anxiety, Sexual Health, Skin Care, Psoriasis and Skin Cancer. Her wish is

Midlife ADHD? Coping strategies that can help

Trouble staying focused and paying attention are two familiar symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a common health issue among children and teens. When ADHD persists through early adulthood and on into middle age, it presents many of the same challenges it does in childhood: it’s hard to stay organized, start projects, stay on task, and meet deadlines. But now life is busier, and expectations from work and family often are even higher. Fortunately, there are lots of strategies that can help you navigate this time in your life.

Staying organized

Organizational tools are a must for people with adult ADHD. They’ll help you prioritize and track activities for each day or the coming weeks.

Tools can include a pen and paper to make lists, or computer or smartphone apps to set appointment reminders, highlight important days on the calendar, mark deadlines, and keep lists and other information handy.

Set aside time each day to update your lists and schedules. Don’t let the task become a chore in itself; think of it like a routine task such as brushing your teeth, and do it daily so it becomes an established habit.

And a word of caution: smartphones and computers can also turn into a distraction. If you have adult ADHD, you may find yourself spending hours looking at less useful apps or sites. If that’s a frequent trap for you, set a timer for each use or keep the phone off or in another room when you are trying to work.

Staying focused

Just being organized doesn’t mean your work will get done. But a few simple approaches can at least make it easier to do the work.

  • Declutter your home and office. Give yourself an appealing work environment and keep important items easily accessible.
  • Reduce distractions. This could mean changing your workstation so it doesn’t face a window, moving to a quieter space, or just silencing your smartphone and email alerts.
  • Jot down ideas as they come to you. You may have an “aha” moment for one task while you’re in the middle of another. That’s okay; just write down that thought and get back to it later, after your more pressing work is finished.

Meeting deadlines

Deadlines pose two big challenges when you have adult ADHD. First, it’s hard to start a project, often because you want it to be perfect, or you’re intimidated by it so you put it off. Second, when you do start a project, it’s very easy to become distracted and leave the task unfinished.

How can you avoid these traps?

  • Put off procrastinating. Put procrastination on your to-do list — like a chore — and fool yourself into actually starting your work.
  • Deal with emails, phone calls, or other matters as soon as you can. That way there will be fewer things hanging over your head and overwhelming you later on.
  • Be a clock watcher. Get a watch and get in the habit of using it. The more aware you are of time, the more likely you’ll be able to avoid spending too long on a task.
  • Take one thing at a time. Multitasking is overrated for everyone — and it’s a nightmare for people with adult ADHD. Focus on completing one task, then move on to the next.
  • Be realistic about your time. This can mean having to say no to new projects or other commitments.

Get more help

The ideas listed here can help you start coping with adult ADHD, but they may not be enough to help you overcome adult ADHD’s challenges.

Consider hiring an ADHD coach who can provide more strategies and give you additional tools to cope with your condition. Look for an ADHD coach who is a licensed mental health professional who specializes in treating ADHD, and may also have a certification in ADHD coaching from the ADHD Coaches Organization.

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No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children | Zinov'eva

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ADHD in adults - treatment, symptoms, diagnosis

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Treatment of ADHD in adults

Rehabilitation clinic "A NEW DAY" specializes in the treatment of adults with ADHD. We have developed and effectively applied a set of rehabilitation measures for ADHD.

Individual approach

Each patient has his own doctor - a neurologist. He knows everything about the patient and his disease, if necessary, he can make adjustments to the course of treatment at any stage. The main thing is the result. At the end of the course of treatment, individually developed recommendations are issued.

Treatment is always complex

Taking into account the variant of the course, the age of the patient, the severity of manifestations, the most appropriate methods and their combinations are selected:

To correct motor activity and impulsivity, special methods of exercise therapy (LFK), stabilometry with biofeedback (BFB) are used.

In everyday life, ADHD patients are not recommended to engage in those sports that involve a competitive nature and have a pronounced emotional component, for example, martial arts, team games. Useful jogging, swimming (non-competitive), cycling, skiing.

To improve the psychological and emotional state, reduce anxiety, overcome depression, sleep disorders, various methods of psychotherapy are used. The choice of a technique suitable for a particular patient is carried out by a psychologist or psychotherapist.

Relaxation techniques: special relaxation massages, relaxation sessions, medical treatment.
Cognitive training is used for attention deficit. Acupuncture (IRT) is traditionally used to restore the regulation of many organs, including the brain.

Innovative techniques

Translingual neurostimulation (TLNS) is an effect on the brain through the stimulation of tongue receptors. This is an advanced innovative technique, most effectively used in the treatment of diseases of the central nervous system, and as we know, ADHD belongs to such diseases. The use of TLNS allows you to restore the regulation of excitation-inhibition processes in a short time, which ultimately leads to an improvement in the course of ADHD, the best psychological and motor correction. In addition, TLNS has a positive effect on cognitive functions, such as concentration and memory, improves sleep, allowing the body to restore its neurotransmitter stores and have a good rest.

Continuity and recurrence

ADHD has a favorable course when properly treated. It is important to maintain the results achieved. To do this, at discharge, we give detailed individually developed recommendations. As long as there is any residual symptomatology, courses of treatment should be repeated, as a rule, 2-3 times a year.

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Attention deficit disorder in adults

ADHD is a childhood-onset neurological behavioral disorder characterized by difficulty concentrating and maintaining attention, excessive motor activity (hyperactivity) and incontinence (impulsivity).

In recent years, the frequency of ADHD has increased, including among adults. It used to be thought that by adolescence, the symptoms of ADHD would significantly lessen or go away. However, now these ideas have changed: in 30-70% of cases, ADHD persists into adulthood. Most often this is due to insufficiently effective treatment in childhood.


More about ADHD

All processes occurring in the nervous system are based on two oppositely directed mechanisms: excitation and inhibition. Normally they are balanced. However, the formation of the nervous system does not occur immediately after birth. The brain is mainly formed before the age of 8 years, but finally only by the age of 25. Therefore, in children, arousal and inhibition often get out of control, in some cases leading to ADHD. Over time, the brain matures and the symptoms of ADHD improve or go away on their own. But even in an adult, cognitive, behavioral, and motor
disorders resulting from ADHD. That is why the prevalence of ADHD in adults, although it has increased in recent years, still remains much less than in children.

In general, the manifestations in children and adults do not differ, but there are features.

First, if a child does not have ADHD, then an adult will not develop this disease. Therefore, ADHD in adults is not a separate disease, but disorders that have persisted since childhood.

Secondly, in adults, attention disorders prevail over manifestations of hyperactivity. It is difficult for such people to concentrate and maintain attention, so many activities that require concentration may not be available to them. Hyperactivity can be manifested by restlessness, so sedentary sedentary work is not suitable for them.
Impulsivity can be manifested by conflicts in the family and at work.

And thirdly, the presence of ADHD in adulthood requires careful examination to exclude other disorders, incl. mental illness.

Manifestations of ADHD depend on the course of the disease.

Types of ADHD in adults

  • With a predominance of attention deficit disorder (deficit)

  • With a predominance of hyperactivity

  • Mixed version of the ADHD

Symptoms of ADHD in adults

Symptoms of inattention (in adults - at least 6 months):

  • Inability to hold attention for a long time
  • Often one gets the impression that he is not listening to spoken speech
  • Inability to follow instructions, algorithms, for example, to fulfill conditions tasks
  • Resistance to getting involved in tasks, avoiding or active resistance
  • Frequent loss of things, especially those necessary to complete tasks
  • Easy distractibility to extraneous stimuli or thoughts (“hovering” in thoughts)
  • Routine forgetfulness (errands, chores, being late)


Symptoms of hyperactivity (in adults, at least 5 symptoms for at least 6 months):