7 Things to Do When You Get Diagnosed with ADHD
A diagnosis of ADHD can cause a lot to happen inside of you. A lot of thoughts will be swirling around your head, and it might be hard to know what to do. Well, here are 7 things to do when you get diagnosed with ADHD.
1.) Research ADHD
ADHD can be a bit tricky to understand. One thing that helps with the ADHD management battle is knowledge. Simply knowing more about this new diagnosis you ave received will help. You cannot tame what you do not understand.
2.) Learn More About Yourself
Once you learn more about ADHD, do some self-exploration. Learn more about you specifically. An understanding of ADHD will help you understand yourself a little bit more, but ADHD affects everyone uniquely. You will need to take time to learn about your specific ADHD traits and behaviors.
3.) Find Other ADHDers
ADHDers need other ADHDers. When you have ADHD, it can feel isolating. You know instinctively you are different from others. However, when you gather with other ADHDers, you begin to find other people who “get it.” In short, you stop feeling alone. There are many in-person meetings you can attend., but there are also virtual support groups for ADHDers.
4.) Make Peace with Your Past
One of the other challenges you will face when you get diagnosed is almost a sense of mourning over your past. You’ll look back at past experiences and missed opportunities and feel upset. You might find yourself angry that you did not get diagnosed sooner. However, you cannot go back in time and fix things. The only thing you can do is move forward. Make peace with your past. Tell yourself you did the best you could with what you had.
5.) Talk to Your Doctor About Medication
Note: I am not pushing medication on you. But, I do want you to at least consider it. According to scientific research, medication is the best approach to treating ADHD. Yes, there are possible side effects, but those side effects go away if you stop taking the medication. Yes, medication does not work for some people, but for most people, it does work.
6.) Take Care of Your Body
Two things that are really good for your body are also really good for your brain. Those two things are sleep and exercise. Sleep is crazy important for your health, and exercise has been found to be super important for one’s brain. Bottom line: taking care of your body can lead to brain benefits.
7.) Come up with a Management Plan
Most ADHD experts promote a multimodal approach to managing ADHD. That means approaching your ADHD management on multiple fronts. You could combine medication and coaching, coaching and a strict exercise routine, medication and therapy, or whatever mix of strategies work best for you. Your plan should be as unique as you are.