The REAL Journey of T with ADD

Do you ever see someone successful and thriving and think…”Dang, they have it all?”Talent, drive, creativity, the list goes on…But, I wonder how often we dismiss the REAL journey they have experienced to grow from where they began.One of my favorite things to watch on TV is documentaries. I love learning the behind-the-scenes of people’s lives. I want to know the beginning, the rocky middle, and their current reality.No worries, I’m not publishing a documentary. However, I’ve decided to bring back The REAL Journey Show and share little 15-30 min episodes of parts and pieces of my REAL Journey.

In Episode 29 of The REAL Journey Show, I discuss my journey as an adult with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)/ADHD. Tune in right HERE or click the link below to watch it on my YouTube channel.During the show, I discuss how I recently had to go without my ADHD medication for two weeks prior to a major surgery. I also shared a few coping strategies I used during that time.If you give it a listen, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share them using the hashtag #RealJourneyShow on social media or send me a message.

On the episode, I did not share the full list of coping strategies I planned prior to stopping meds to stay productive while off medication. So, thought it might be helpful to drop it here.T’s Coping Strategies While Recently Off My Focus Medication:

• Wrote down my daily routine: My consistent schedule and times for waking up, eating meals, working, exercising, etc helped me have an outline of each day.
• Set timers for my routine on my phone. There were about 8-10 timers. Ridiculous but helpful
• Also, set my phone to airplane mode when I had a longer task to complete. I can waste some serious time on my phone! Wow!
• Break tasks/to-do lists into bite-size chunks: Large lists can be overwhelming, so breaking them down into smaller, more manageable steps helped me reduce stress.
• Noise-canceling headphones helped me during work hours. The fewer distractions the better productivity.
• Exercise: Increased heart rate, through exercise, has been proven to improve focus and help ease the mind. I certainly found that to be true.
• Lots of caffeine before 3 PM. Extra cups of coffee. Dark chocolate squares for snacks. Caffeine helps calm me when I’m off medication, and that is a known fact for most with ADD.
• Take breaks throughout the day. I set timers for breaks, too. Work for an hour. Take a 5-minute break. It gives you something to work toward, too.
• Go to bed at my normal bedtime. Although, I didn’t sleep well at all during my time off medication–3-4 consecutive hours each night was about all I could get.

Tune into Episode 29 (15 mins) below to learn more about my journey with ADD.

*ADHD is now the term used for all forms of this disorder. There are three subtypes to better describe the symptoms.

Watch Episode 29 on YouTube Here