It's the start of the year, and many of us with adult ADHD resolve to getting organized. I'm making resolutions myself and, fingers crossed, I'm going to keep many of them. Being disorganized really puts a cramp in my studying and my life, though. I think, if I had to pick, getting organized and staying that way is something that would help me learn and focus better - which will lead to being more successful. But, how can getting organized work with adult ADHD?

Hello again, all! I've been writing the Living with Adult ADHD blog for a nearly a year and this seems, with the new year just around the corner, like a really good time to review what I/we have learned this year together. We've talked about some strategies to improve our attention span and decrease our anxiety. We've talked a bunch about adult ADHD medication - the good and the bad. We've talked about just how much time having Adult ADHD costs - needing to get prescriptions, fill them and invariably get distracted at some point during the process. We've had a great year together, I'd say!

Writing this Adult ADHD blog every week for nearly a year has made me slightly cuckoo about my ADHD. In order to write 350+ words every week, I need to be super introspective and think about my disorder regularly and with regards to nearly every aspect of my life. This week, I'm going to talk about the holidays, because that's what's on my mind. How to survive the holidays with Adult ADHD.

Ever wonder if tapping on your face could decrease your anxiety? Having Adult ADHD can be stressful and decreasing anxiety is always a good thing to strive for.

Do you have a bully inside your own head? Many adults with ADHD do. You know what I mean, those negative thoughts that keep putting you down and killing your self-esteem and self-confidence. Making sure not to minimize the bullying that goes on between people, I have to wonder, where is the program for the internal bullying that goes on in our own heads?

Adult ADHD is a "point of performance" disorder. We don't have difficulty learning, we have difficulty applying our learning when a situation calls for it. There are tools to help those of us with Adult ADHD to focus better, be more productive and, ultimately, be happier. And, for serious, who doesn't want to be happier?

Mom, can I have the keys to go meet Cheryl at the mall?” “Dad, I just need the car for about an hour so I can take my friends to get some ice-cream.” “Mom, it’s so hot out! Can I just drive to the pool?” Not only do adults often drive more in the summer, particularly on highways while on vacation, but teens who are no longer confined to the school setting often drive more as well. If you are an adult with ADHD or have a teen diagnosed with ADD, extra caution may be needed.

Before I start talking about how having Adult ADHD can affect being a roommate, I want to say I hope you all have a really great week this week. Mondays can be super hard - you've just gotten over the fact that yesterday was Sunday (maybe you had the ADHD Weekend Blues even) and now you have to start a whole week or school and/or work (my apologies to those of you I am leaving out of this by saying that - those of you who don't work the "typical" workweek). Anyway, have a great week ... now, roommate talk.

Paul made an appointment with me and arrived with a concern: “My wife keeps telling me I have ADHD because I am always misplacing things, forgetting what she says, and running late - even to work. But I have never been hyperactive, so can she still be right?” A week later, I met Jennifer upset with what her doctor had told her. “He said I have ADHD, but I know I don’t! I am very low energy, and my biggest problem is procrastination. I have ADD, not ADHD.” Is it ADHD? Is it ADD? What’s the difference?

Did you know that the answer to your productivity depends on the first 15 minutes of your day? Physically we know having breakfast in the morning is important to getting the right fuel to sustain our energy and metabolism throughout the day.  What we may not realize is that fueling our brain with what it needs to sustain focus and productivity is equally as important.  Similar to how we will grab and eat whatever is quickest when unplanned hunger strikes, we will grab aimlessly for something "to do" which may not be the most helpful or productive or valuable thing for us to focus on during the day.