I have ADHD. I’m sure I’ve always had it, but got diagnosed at 40 because I was tired of working so hard when focusing on things seemed easy for others. Since then, I’ve been on a daily medication, that helps quite a bit. I can focus on one thing for 90 minutes, which was nearly impossible before.
When you have symptoms of any disorder, or medical condition, that is your obstacle to overcome. Some things are overcome by medicine, others habits or routines, and some things will just be a struggle. But it is yours to overcome, and not an excuse for a lack of trying.
For example, let’s say you have asthma. Running a marathon may be a poor choice for you, and you should work with your body to do what makes sense. But if running a marathon was your life’s ambition, you might discuss it with your doctor, work up the stamina to run longer distances over time, and still carry your rescue inhaler. Your obstacle to work around is sustained lung capacity – which your body may or may not tolerate.
Since this is a mental health blog, let’s say instead that you have bipolar disorder which causes your mood to be both depressed then elevated with impulsivity. One way to balance that out is a mood stabilizer. You might also track your mood in a journal or on an app so you are prepared for when the manic phase is coming. Since you are impulsive when manic, you might give your credit cards to a trusted person during those days so you don’t overspend. Your obstacle is to work around the impulsivity and know when the manic phase will be arriving by tracking your mood.
Back to my ADHD example, I hate a task before a task. It takes an amount of executive function to begin a task that can be difficult to summon, so putting another in the way is frustrating and can make me want to quit. I know that my medication starts to wear off by 7pm, so I do well to get those high-executive-function tasks out of the way before then. A way this often comes up is in cleaning the cat box. I have to sweep the hall and laundry room of cat litter before I can get to the box. Sometimes I have to only sweep, and come back later to do the box. I can’t just not clean the box, so blaming ADHD is insufficient. I have to work around the obstacle of task-before-a-task frustration by separating it into two discrete tasks, and doing it before it is late in the evening.
Everyone has different obstacles, even within the same symptoms or diagnoses. That’s why cookie-cutter therapy does not work. We have to determine, for you, your obstacles, and how to help you work around them with grace.
Autumn Hahn is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist practicing at Clear Mind Group in Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, New York, and Virginia. Call 407-494-5280 for a consultation. Follow Clear Mind Group on Twitter & Facebook.
In September, 2013, Inc. Magazine‘s Jessica Bruder discusses the issues that entrepreneurs face with regard to mental illness. They often suffer from depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or bipolar disorder. Entrepreneurs are often swept up in new ideas and bouts of creativity that are actually mania or can mirror the symptoms of mania or hypomania. When followed by doubt in their business or product, failure to see growth, failure to make certain incomes, or not achieving certain markers of success, there can be depressive feelings. If these phases cycle, it can mimic bipolar disorder, or be an expression of bipolar disorder. Anxiety is often found in the entrepreneur as he/she worries about product launch, deadlines, and if the business is “good enough” to be a hit. The tendency to jump form one part of the project to the next is often a marker for ADHD and adults with ADHD will gravitate toward work that allows them to function in time with their brain chemistry. 
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