Guest Blog: Three Things You’re Doing Every Day That Make Your ADHD Worse!

I’m so excited to share a guest blog post this week from one of my favorite colleagues, Alan Brown, creator of ADD Crusher™ Videos & Tools! 

We ADD’ers are at a disadvantage from the get-go, so we have no business adding more troubles to our plate. Yet we do. The many things we do TO ourselves – or don’t do FOR ourselves – make our ADHD worse, or just seem worse. Here are five such things, and some fixes…

1. Eating Crap

What we eat affects our focus and mental clarity. There are three main areas of dietary junk that, wittingly or unwittingly, we are feeding to our vulnerable ADHD brains:

1. Sugar jacks up your blood glucose for a quick spurt of mental energy, but quickly dissipates, leaving your brain jonesing for…more sugar!
2. Simple carbs act just like sugar in an ADDer’s brain. Ever eat just one potato chip, Mr. Jones?
3. Artificial and processed foods tend to be loaded with sugar and carbs, but also can be problematic in metabolism.

So, we must…

• Cut out the sugar – a donut is NOT a breakfast.
• Switch from simple carbs (white bread, white rice, etc.) to complex carbs (brown rice, whole grains, etc.).
• Reduce processed foods by shopping only the perimeter of the grocery – where the fresh, REAL stuff is.

2. Crappy Sleep

You don’t have to be a clinical researcher to know how sleep deprivation makes our ADHD worse. There are a gazillion sleep hygiene tips out there, but here are some basics…

• No sugar or caffeine after 5pm – or earlier.
• No media at least one hour before bed: TV doesn’t relax you – it winds you up. And most devices with an electronic screen emit energy that’s proven to mess with our already dysfunctional circadian clocks.
• Protein snack – e.g. cottage cheese – a couple hours before bed.
• Dim the lights – we subconsciously react to light and dark, in the very ways you might expect.
• Bonus: Unsweetened cherry juice is a nice knock-out punch.

3. Playing Hide n’ Seek

We’re of course famous for losing things, in large part due to weak working memory – inability to call up info from short term memory, like where I last put down my phone…or that important file. The result is a constant game of hide-n-seek, gives us more stress, creates additional work, wastes our precious time, etc.

Here are three fixes…

1. Be very aware of your lousy short-term memory. When you put something in a drawer or a pile, it’s GONE. Therefore, keep important items and reminders in your line of sight.
2. Be wary of irrational desire to keep things – meaning STUFF that has no real importance. The visual clutter of stuff steals energy and makes it harder to find things. Give stuff to charity and get a tax receipt!
3. Obey the simple rule: a place for everything, and everything in its @#$%#! place. One consistent place for the remote. One for the stapler. So on.

These were just three examples of things we don’t need to be burdening ourselves with. I’ve got a list longer than my arm. I’ll be sharing more down the road. ‘Til then, don’t make your ADHD worse if ya don’t have to!!!

An executive and entrepreneur, Alan was diagnosed as an adult, but found it difficult to learn coping strategies from books — so he developed his own mess-to-success strategies. The resulting 10 “Ways” comprise the ADD Crusher™ approach — interactive, engaging videos and tools for ADHD adults seeking greater life fulfillment. www.ADDCrusher.com