The Eight Fold path And ADHD: The Practical Truths Part One

The Practical truths for ADHD treatment are those things that deal with day to day life. Everything leading up until now has been about building a foundation for success, and an end to frustration and suffering. Now it is time to take the foundation and begin to build a new life upon it!

The Seventh Noble truth is that of Right Organization and Prioritization. People who have ADHD are often very capable, hardworking, and able to laser focus on a task for hours. The problem is that many times, the task itself is really not a priority or is something that will actually delay urgent tasks from being completed. This where prioritization becomes so key; you have to be able to look at everything that needs to be done, and the order that it needs to be done, in order to ensure you are working effectively. For someone who does not have ADHD or Executive Function challenges, this would seem obvious. But, all too often, the person with these challenges will jump into a project with very little idea of what they need, or how long it will take. Additionally, they may not recognize that while it's fine to tackle painting the house, or cleaning out the garage they actually have to pay the mortgage so they'll continue to own the home!

Hand in hand with learning to prioritize is taking the time to organize. This is the great "stopper" in many people's lives, because the task can feel overwhelming. Taking the time to methodically organize your desk, your bills, your tools, or any number of other things can seem like a boring, dreadful experience. However, knowing where things are can become the one key thing that allows you to be successful in so many ways. Here's an example: hang a basket by the door of the house you use the most. In this basket put your car keys, sunglasses, parking pass, outgoing mail, and anything else you will need to get yourself out the door in the morning. Put an extra set of everything in the basket if necessary. The time, aggravation, and negative self talk you will avoid by doing this can turn your entire day around.

It is hard for people with ADHD to learn the skills of Prioritization and Organization, but they can make your life better, less stressful, and allow you to focus on the tasks ahead of you. Not everyone can do it alone! That's why our final Noble truth will be discussing Right Support.