Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) combines elements of mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat conditions marked by emotional dysregulation, including ADHD, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders.

Initially developed by Marsha Linehan, Ph.D., in the 1980s to treat borderline personality disorder (BPD), DBT helps people learn to tolerate internal experiences (i.e., emotions), physical sensations (i.e., agitation and restlessness), and the urge to fidget or interrupt. It has become a go-to treatment for ADHD.

A central tenet of DBT is validation — accepting uncomfortable emotions and situations before trying to change them. By coming to terms with troubling thoughts and emotions, change appears possible, and patients can work with their therapists to create a recovery plan.

In this download, you will learn:

• The four modules that comprise DBT skills training
• Types of coping strategies presented in DBT
• How DBT improves emotional regulation skills
• How DBT improves ADHD symptoms
  The difference between cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and DBT
• And much more!

Few things spark more ADHD dread, anxiety, and overwhelm than the thought of sitting down and creating a budget. What’s more monotonous and depressing than meticulously calculating what you can and can’t afford? At the same time, bravely facing your cash flow is the only way to gain control of it. That takes a budget.

Use the following ADHD-friendly steps to get started. In this download, you will learn how to:
– Rethink how you define a budget
– Build a budget you can follow
– Review income and expenses
– Identify spending patterns
– Determine your monthly discretionary income
– Monitor cash flow
And more!

When administered at carefully selected dosages in clinical settings and combined with therapy before and after treatment, psychedelics like MDMA, ketamine, and psilocybin have been found to provide rapid relief from some of the most difficult-to-treat mental health conditions.

Learn more about the most promising psychedelics for treatment in this ADDitude Patient Resource Guide.

In this download, you will learn:

• How MDMA, ketamine, and psilocybin are being used to treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health conditions
• The legal status of MDMA, ketamine, and psilocybin
• Side effects of psychedelic-assisted therapy
• Areas of psychedelic research
• And more!

But with time and patience, individuals with ADHD can curb their habit of oversharing and build high-quality friendships. This download shows you how.

In this download you will learn:

• Why individuals with ADHD are prone to overshare.
• How to recognize circumstances and situations that lead to oversharing.
• How to edit and restrain yourself during a conversation.
• And more tips to keep you from oversharing!

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

Being a “highly sensitive person” (HSP) is not a disorder but an attribute common in people with ADHD. An HSP is more sensitive to environmental and social stimuli. They feel emotions deeply. Unkind words that bounce off others can leave them in tears. Stimulating environments and conversations may lead to angry outbursts, headaches, or rashes.

Though they share several similarities, hypersensitivity is not synonymous with sensory processing disorder (SPD), a neurological condition where the brain has difficulty organizing and processing sensory stimuli.

In this download, you will learn:

• Differences between HSP and SPD
• Featured characteristics of hypersensitivity
• How to treat hypersensitivity
• And more!

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

Experts call this significant and persistent disparity the “depression gap.” Why does it exist?

Experts believe the explanation is likely a combination of biological and sociological factors that uniquely impact women. What are they? And why are women with ADHD more likely to have hormone-related mood disorders and more severe symptoms than their neurotypical peers? ². Find the answers to these questions and more in this download.

You will also learn the following:

• How hormonal fluctuations increase the risk of developing mood disorders
• Signs of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
• Postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms
• The life events and circumstances that impact women more often than men
• Effective treatment options for major depressive disorder

The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and available 24/7. Call or Text 988, 988lifeline.org

Sources

¹“Prevalence of Depression Among Adults Aged 20 and Over: United States, 2013–2016.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db303.htm
²Dorani, F., Bijlenga, D., Beekman, A.T.F., van Someren, E.J.W., Kooij, J.J.S. (2020). Prevalence of Hormone-Related Mood Disorder Symptoms in Women with ADHD. J Psychiatr Res. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.12.005

31 New Year (Re)solutions

Starting a new diet, exercising regularly, learning how to play guitar — New Year’s resolutions are easy to choose but hard to maintain, especially if you’re living with ADHD. This year, cut yourself some slack; instead of impractical resolutions, try implementing some of these super-practical solutions — ADHD-friendly ideas for simplifying your life straight from other ADDitude readers.

In this downloadable calendar for January 2022, we’ve selected 31 of our favorite reader-submitted tips for regaining control of your work, home, and relationships, plus your mental and physical health.

Remember: “Most systems for planning and organization are built for neurotypical brains. You must create your own ‘owners manual’ for your ADHD brain.” — William Dodson, M.D.

Visual Tools for Organization

Out of sight, out of mind — many disorganization problems in children with ADHD stem from this truism. Thanks to ADHD-related problems with focus and working memory, the things that are no longer visible are quickly forgotten.

The key to solving disorganization problems is to make the invisible visible. Here, learn how to use visual tools like checklists and whiteboards to keep your child organized.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

The Learning Strategies That Work

Children with ADHD work hard to build a strong academic foundation, but their learning is sometimes interrupted by ADHD symptoms like impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity.

These practical learning strategies, designed for elementary and middle school students, pave the way to effective learning by anticipating and eradicating common challenges.

Here, learn strategies to:
1. Support reading, writing, and math skills
2. Increase focus and classroom engagement
3. Boost motivation

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

How to Build Working Memory in Children with ADHD

Working memory is an executive function that allows us to store and use items on our “mental shelf” to get things done. In school, students rely on working memory to answer questions about a text they’ve read, and to solve multi-step math problems. At home, working memory helps a child follow directions and stay on task.

Students with ADHD commonly struggle with working memory, and we can help them by doing the following:
– Break tasks into small steps
– Provide written information
– Use visual aids
– Provide a framework for information
– Develop routines
– Use checklists
– And more…

Here, find 10 tools for improving the working memory executive function that powers success and confidence at home and at school.

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

ADHD and Metacognition: A Daily Plan for Developing Positive Self-Talk

Metacognition is the executive function (EF) that helps us reflect on and manage our thoughts, attention, effort, organizational skills, and emotions.

When a child with ADHD says, “I can’t do math” or “I hate writing,” that is a sign of under-developed metacognition skills that require intervention strategies and supports. Guided questioning eventually leads children to develop their own self-talk and do their own thinking, direct their own attention, and recognize and regulate their emotions.

Here, find 19 questions to help your child develop the metacognition skills around these 5 EFs:
– Emotional regulation
– Initiation and activation
– Planning and organizing
– Sustaining attention, effort, and working memory
– Self-monitoring

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

When Executive Function Deficits Cause Classroom Disruptions

Talking too much. Blurting out answers. Leaving an assigned seat. These disruptive behaviors — commonly associated with ADHD — are often misperceived as intentional misbehavior. In truth, they are clues that point to a child’s belayed brain maturity and executive dysfunction.

For teachers: In this free download, find 12 helpful solutions to self-control and executive function weaknesses that cause classroom disruptions like talking too much, losing focus, and fidgeting loudly.

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

5 Strategies That Improve Students’ Emotional Control

Emotional control is a life-long skill that yields benefits in school, work, and relationships. Here, get simple strategies for teaching kids to recognize, name, and manage their intense ADHD emotions, including the following:

– Teach your child how their ADHD brain works
– Help your child differentiate a thinking vs. reactive brain
– Label emotions with detail
– Help your child get un-stuck by doing an emotional temperature check
– Challenge perceptions when your child seems reactive and overly emotional

Looking for all 11 tips for improving emotional control in children? Click here for part two.

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

6 Ways to Develop Emotional Control at School

Emotional regulation yields benefits in school, work, and relationships. Use these simple strategies to help kids recognize, name, and manage their intense ADHD emotions. Emotional control strategies include the following:

1. Create a “pattern interrupt” by engaging in exercise
2. Model emotional control strategies
3. Reflect on and talk about book characters’ emotions
4. Each morning, ask students to take a deep breath
5. Prompt students to step into each other’s shoes
6. Improve students’ emotional vocabulary by posting a rich word bank

Download ADDitude’s full Success @ School Executive Function Action Plan here.

NOTE: This resource is for personal use only.

Trouble Getting a Good Night’s Sleep?

If you’re an adult with ADHD, you probably experience one or several sleep problems – getting to bed is near impossible, falling asleep takes forever, staying asleep through the night is rare, and waking up is a nightmare on its own.

In this free ADDitude guide to sleeping better, you’ll learn:
– The most common sleep problems among adults with ADHD (there’s more than you think)
– The link between sleep problems and ADHD, as explained by science
– Sleep hygiene practices
– Strategies and tools to calm the mind and manage ADHD symptoms for better sleep – at last.