ADD/ADHD...SO WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?

I have previously blogged about ADD/ADHD [attention deficit disorder/ attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] and the amount of stress that can occur because of significantly limited amounts of sustained concentration and attention.  I am frequently reminded of this when I work with people with this disorder, especially if they have not had treatment or their treatment was only partially successful.  I have also worked with a number of adults who have ADD/ADHD but were not diagnosed as children or were diagnosed but their parents were reluctant to have them on medication.  Most of these undiagnosed adults in my practice are women.  I have also found that adults who have untreated ADD/ADHD and have had substance abuse problems [studies indicate an above 80% liklihood of substance abuse problems if ADD/ADHD is not treated], do well on medications for ADD/ADHD without a return to substance abuse.

The stress of having untreated ADD/ADHD seems mostly related to the impact of only having shorter periods of concentration or attention available and then only reliably present if the person is facing a deadline or other crisis situation, or if the person is facing a very interesting novel situation.  The brain will release focusing and concentraton for these types of situations so it easier to see why people with untreated ADD/ADHD procrastinate and depend on deadlines and crisis type situations to complete tasks. One can also see how this will lead to daily stressful experiences that can lead to chronic anxiety symptoms as well as depression.  It can also lead to post traumatic disorder [PTSD] symptoms that will then reduce focusing and concentrating even more as the brain automatically orients to the stress reactions and tries to reduce them.  

One way the brains of people with untreated ADD/ADHD attempt to reduce stress is to increase their reactions to minor frustrations so that they will withdraw from other people. This reduces their need to concentrate and pay attention as they are removed from human interactions that require a lot of focusing and attention. You can begin to see how all of this can have a major impact on someone's life and interfere with relationships both at home and at work and at school.  It also interferes with self-image as it requires more sustained concentration and attention to think about our life experiences and gain an awareness of ourselves and how we are living our lives. 

So that is why having ADD/ADHD is such a big deal, especially if it is not treated.  Treatment still centers around medication as very good studies have not found alternative treatments to be effective, although some of the brain wave work seems to be able to allow the person to reduce the amount of medication that they require to concentrate and focus.