Help Us Expand Our Resources!

Hey all,

Help us help others by suggesting your favorite resources here. The best suggested resources will become part of the official PsychForums Resource List above.

We're looking for the following:

Favorite Books
Favorite Websites
Helpful Agencies

If we're missing a section please let us know.

On this topic:

Book: "Is This Your Child?" by Dr. Doris Rapp, MD
Link: http://www.drrapp.com/

Book: "A Compromised Generation" by Beth Lambert and Victoria Kobliner
Link: http://www.acompromisedgeneration.com/

Book: "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies" by Kenneth Bock and Cameron Stauth

Book: "It's Not Mental" by Jeanie Wolfson
Link: http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/

Best so far for me is:

Journeys Through Addulthood
by Sari Solden
http://www.addjourneys.com

www.playattention.com
Even if you don't use their product the site has an incredible amount of information that is free to the public. That's where I learned about 504s and omegas and they have great tips for dealing with day-to-day, holiday and schools. I like it because it's a one-stop shop for information.

Mini Habits by Stephen Guise

For parents with ADHD children:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/adhd_ad ... tegies.htm

ADHD in general
http://www.scienceclarified.com/As-Bi/A ... -ADHD.html

Adult ADHD
http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/815.html

Since my diagnosis, ADHD resources have been a great help. Here are a few of my favorite resources and books.
Driven to Distraction by John Ratey and Ed Halliwell
Delivered from Distraction by John Ratey and Ed Halliwell
What is ADHD HQ http://www.whatisadhdhq.com is a website that provides are large amount of great information such as organizational tools.
Blog Talk Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/add-adhd-coaching This provides many online programs tailored to helping ADHD symptoms.

I am glad I found this forum.

I'm copy-pasting a response that I (painstakingly ^_^ ) wrote for another post, because I believe it is very relevant indeed:
Oh, I so relate to this. I myself have adult ADHD, and wasn't really aware what that means apart from the science of it, because the literature simply doesn't exist, YET. Or isn't very accessible: The one book that made me realize that ADHD isn't a minor problem was marketed as a relationship self-help type book.

ADHD is a frontal lobe 'disorder'. That is the part that controls "Executive Function", which means the ability to self-motivate, the ability to choose to see something, and therefore not see the other things, in effect what we also call, "freedom of choice", "sentience", and "free will". I always felt like a spectator in my own life. My impulsivity meant that alll my energies were used to deal with the consequences of actions I never wanted to do in the first place.

Even now, if I don't take my medication, I can function, sure, but I'm more likely to leave taps running, more likely to forget why I'm in a room and end up doing something else, and I can't control my own thoughts. The more I tried to not think about something, the more I was forced to.Not in the usual reverse psychology way, in the way that I dated guys because I thought about NOT dating them. I could never trust myself, because on some level, I knew that if I was scared of something, it would probably happen. Terffiying, eh? Well, so is a lot of stuff, and none of it's the end of the world ^_^

Not knowing what ADD meant, I resented having to take medication. I ended up with severe clinical depression as a direct result of undiagnosed ADD. People saw my IQ and articulating skill as proof that it wasn't possible there was something wrong with me, and they began to judge my intentions, which I really couldn't handle. Internalizing my inabilities as "something wrong with me" was the direct cause of my depression.

So when I'd been diagnosed and was stable on my medication, I began tapering my antidepressant, with great success. And out of ignorance, I also reduced my ADD medication by 50 mg. I take Modafinil, possibly the most benign drug available to treat ADD. Businessmen and students regularly abuse it as a wakefullness aid and cognitive enhancer (I don't judge this, but I know I would never take it if I had a choice, but I don't, and I'm grateful that modern science allows me access to this drug.) I reduced my dosage from 150 to 100 mg and stayed on that for two years, almost.

I thought I was "fine", and so did everyone else (I'd moved away and stopped seeing my psychiatrist, not a wise move, or course). But being inadequately medicated led me to self-medicate with conflict. Most drugs used to treat ADD are stimulants, as is adrenaline. I lost a dear personal friend because of this; because I'd pick a fight and be crying before I even opened my mouth, because I didn't want to. It was too much for her to witness. That's why I was desperate enough to read this book, which I believe wll help immensely, whether you have ADHD, or love a person with it.

It's called, "Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Stopping the Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder" by Gina Pera. Yeah, it's a cheesy name, but when you're lucky enough to be desperate.. ^_^ It has an amazing wealth of anecdotal evidence, which can really give more insight than statistical data, and is written specifically for people like you (it's a bit harsh for the actual pwADHD, but also the only book I ever found that truly helped me understand myself, so a little sting was just fine by me.)

I'm honestly grateful that I did cut down my medication, unsupervised, because I'd never have known what it is I am without that desperation. As with everything else, ADHD has been a challenge, but it has also been my greatest blessing ^_^

Oh, and your questions:
1. In my experience, it doesn't mean you'll always face mood swings. Like I said, the pwADHD may be self-medicating with conflict. In my opinion (only very slightly informed opinion!), it's possible the medication used isn't adequate or isn't one that is suited to the pwADHD.

2. Being overprotective is another way to release adrenalin. What an unmedicated pwADHD feels is a constant level of unease, anxiety and no sense of control. Immedately after the conflict, the resulting adrenalin surge would always make me feel ridiculously 'normal' and much better. The brain is a wonderful thing, and rationalizing why a conflict happened can be very convincing, since to the pwADHD, it is truly their reality.

3. I don't feel I have any other particular issues, but it's only when I took adequate medication that I had the luxury to change my ideation, and myself, from scratch. I am extremely well-balanced now, perhaps more so than "normal" people, because adversity taught me to be grateful. If it's a bad thing, to be grateful for the challenge, take it as training! And if it's "good", to take the time to be greateful and never take it for granted.

People who are completely occupied with coping can appear self-centred and as if they don't care about anyone but themselves. I myself was misdiagnosed as having borderline traits for a whole year, and I thought my father may have narcissistic personality disorder before I read this book.

I hope this helped, and good luck! Be kind to yourself, you're fighting the good fight! <3

..