Understanding what ADD is all about

I was perusing Pinterest today, and came across this BuzzFeed post about what ADD actually is:

This is only one of the illustrations found in the post, so be sure to visit the link “17 Illustrations That Are Incredibly Real For Anyone With ADD“, and take a look at the rest of them. I can’t tell you how spot-on these depictions are. Understanding  ADD/ADHD is the first step to coping with it.

As I have said before, the whole point is to understand the symptoms for the sole purpose of being able to find the right tools to cope with them and counter balance them.

Coaching

For those of you LIVING with someone else who has ADD/ADHD, please learn the art of empathy. Your loved one is beating him or herself up enough for the both of you. The best thing you can do is to be compassionate and offer solutions that are NOT belittling. The last thing they need is to feel like you are parenting them rather than partnering with them. Remember, you need to be a “coach” to the best of your ability rather than a boss or a manager. Take comfort in recognizing the positives in the illustrations from the post linked above and do what you can to HELP that person build on those positives.

Coping

For those of you who suffer with it, take comfort in relating to these illustrations and build on the positives. Don’t beat yourself up for the negatives. Recognize them and be fully aware of them at all times. Remain mindful of them so that you can avoid the pitfalls. So often, we are in a daze or a fog because we are on auto pilot instead of deliberately thinking about what we are doing. The more aware we are of what the issues are, the better equipped we will be to keep them under control and finally be able to conquer them.