ADHD, Is it real?

Most clients that have been diagnosed with, or suspect they have ADHD come to me with some understanding of the disorder. Much of what they have been exposed to via google searches or social media is a way of understanding ADHD through the lens of a medical disorder, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM. In the DSM it is defined by a host of symptoms and one must experience a minimum threshold of these symptoms to qualify for a diagnosis.

Rather than the result of a medical disorder it is helpful to see the symptoms of ADHD as a dysregulated or out of balance nervous system caused by mal adaptations and problematic coping mechanisms. The causes of imbalance and mal adaptations can be many and are often the result of a mismatch between a nervous system and environmental factors in early development. Neglectful environments, chaotic ones, or ones of deprivation can spawn these adaptations.

When I work with ADHD clients my focus is on understanding how your nervous system works, what adaptations you made in early life that helped you to regulate it, and how to better regulate now as an adult. An additional aspect of the work I do with clients is understanding how your early experiences with your unique nervous system working within your environments shaped your sense of self and your identity, your “narrative”.

By addressing these factors I hope to help you mitigate the shame and guilt that results from struggles with a sensitve and deep feeling nervous system. I want to help you find better adaptations that are more sustainable and ways of being in the world that are more harmonious with your very nature.