ritalin

Hey Rollercoaster,

I've lived with ADD and anxiety all of my life. It's both painful and debilitating. Over the years, I've become more observant of my behavior. Developing a sense of humor about it has been helpful at times as has learning how to express it to the right person.

Stimulant medication can make anxiety worse. You can try a different type of medication or a different stimulant, reduce the dosage of the stimulant, or add an anti-anxiety medication to the stimulant medication. Talk with your doctor about these and other options.

Over the years, I've found many things that help. First and foremost is having a good friend to talk to who also struggles with anxiety. Sometimes I just need a safe person to listen as I spend a few minutes getting my "crazy thoughts" out. These conversations usually are along the lines of "when this happens, I believe...I feel...but I recognize this is mostly my anxiety talking...my fears may or may not have any basis in reality".

Over the years, I've learned to not share these thoughts with most people because they don't understand or know how to respond, and after a while, they find these types of conversations bothersome. A good friend who understands and is supportive is wonderful. There is also a forum here specific to anxiety. Check it out at http://anxietyconnection.com.

Over the years, I've found that more than one cup of coffee or tea in a four hour time period is...not good!

I also don't tolerate sweets well as snacks between meals or in place of meals. Within a short period of time I begin to feel surges of anxiety. It's an awful feeling.

Years and years ago, I studied cognitive-behavioral techniques for, I believe, depression, but they worked well for my anxiety too. Wish I had a title fo you. I don't. But most, if not all, anxiety workbooks use cognitive-behavioral methods.

A book that really helped me move forward is Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers. I underlined it, tabbed it, and made created handouts from it for my support group. 

My friends and I joined a book study group at a local church and read the book: Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. Having grown up in an environment of neglect, this book was life changing for me because I didn't understand what boundaries are and how empowering they can be, particularly for someone who has ADD and anxiety. Some of the chapters I skimmed over quickly because the authors began sharing interpretations of the bible that I didn't find helpful. However, the other chapters opened a whole new world to me. Interestingly, churches across the country still offer book study groups on this book. 

Other things that help are walking. Sometimes, when I'm really stressed, I'll walk out the door with a pencil and paper in hand so I can jot important thoughts down as I walk. These days, I more commonly read self-help books as I walk at our local Mall in the evening when it's not busy. These books inspire me, provide insight, and keep me grounded in reality.

I try to eat regularly scheduled, healthy meals. Nutritional supplements that specifically help reduce my overall anxiety symptoms are a B-complex, calcium with magneseum, D and K (to allieviate PMS symptoms), and fish oil.

My heart goes out to you. I'm in a stable relationship so my anxiety tends to center on work. A day hardly passes without the feeling that "today is the day they will finally fire me". Crazy, I know. But that's my reality.

Winnie, an adult ADD advocate