coping mechanisms | ADHD Information
here are some of mine:
I have a purse with outside pockets as well as inside. My cell phone goes in the pocket on one end, the palm Pilot on the side middle pocket, Wallet in the middle.
Everything is in plain sight when i look at my purse which helps me remember to look at those things.
the palm is my biggest life saver! I tried the lists, but that doesnt work for me.. too much typing with the stylus,, yuck! However, when I have an appointment to remember I type it in then I set the alarm function to go off 30 minutes before the event.. that way if I forget to check it, I have the alarm as the backup. I am notorious for making receptionists wait on the phone while I type in the appointnment for health, dental, etc... If I don't do it then, it will not get done later!
Those are a few of mine.
Sherry
Brig - I'm with you.I make lists all the time, to do lists, grocery lists, ect . It's like I love to make list, I just never do it. After the fist item on my list, I get bored with it and never finish it. I have one right here on my desk from 2 weeks ago with only 1 thing checked off. And even when I do remember to take the list to the store, I get so distracted that I don't get things on the list I spent 20 min. making
oh and I tried the palm thing too, I would forget to write in it. Now I just write everything down. Sometimes at work my computer looks like 1 big sticky note, I have so many things stuck to it.
The thing I've found with lists is, there are those icky, yucky, IMPORTANT things, that never get crossed off the list.
I ask my boyfriend for help remembering things ...I do believe our relationship is close to collapse!!!
I use post its, and try to remember to get rid of them when task is completed. I suppose I need a post it that says throw out old post its ...boyfriend hates clutter ...I do believe ...I might have to get boxes...
For coping mechanisms..I use what I have been taught by my psychologist since 3rd grade, and my ADHD support group that I attended during my teens, and my parents...basically I think to myself: " You have the power to control yourself" or "This isn't necessary for yourself at the moment, you're in public" But I can also say that that doesn't work all the time. There are many times when I just go into my own fantasy world in my head and daydream and that usually keeps me quiet or less distrubed from conversations or things that are boring. I think daydreaming is another big cope, it shuts me up when I'm rambling so much, or laughing about something that's completely immature around peers and family.
[QUOTE=brig] You know seeker I tried the list thing as well and I lose them all the time too. I never remember the list for groceries after I spend an hour making it. Never remember dr appointments even when marked on the calendar and miss my meds half the time.....what cracks me up is that my fam and friends no this and still say to me "remind me to" I just laugh my ass off and say yeah right...[/QUOTE]
Wll, bblv it or not, the list thing sorta works for me. Not written lists, but digital lists. I have a calendar, an address book, and a task list, and notes and worddocs and headdocs and excelsheets. Problem is I forget to go bvack and look, or even worse. I know I should but shine it on...
[QUOTE=brig]
I just laugh my ass off ...
[/QUOTE] can you teach me that trick? I laugh all the time and I'm gaining wiegth[QUOTE=brig]
Davidornado: this is my release also!!!!
[/QUOTE]Was it as good for you, too?
ADHD Depression Copinghttp://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9020& ; ;KW=0&TPN=1
Coping with ADDults
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4003& ; ;PN=0&TPN=1
Physical Coping
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4055& ; ;KW=0&TPN=1
Aural Coping
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2155& ; ;KW=0&TPN=1
Therapeutical Coping
http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/search.asp?KW=therapy&SM =1&SI=TC&FM=0&OB=1
You know seeker I tried the list thing as well and I lose them all the time too. I never remember the list for groceries after I spend an hour making it. Never remember dr appointments even when marked on the calendar and miss my meds half the time.....what cracks me up is that my fam and friends no this and still say to me "remind me to" I just laugh my ass off and say yeah right...
Davidornado: this is my release also!!!!
lists that i invariably lose.
break things down into small parts, and keep my eyes on just that little part until complete.(well, almost complete)
pick what i know i can complete right then and set all other thoughts aside (yeah right!)
lists, that i invariably lose.
ask for help from everyone for reminders.(including helping me find my lists that i invariably lose.)
self-talk about my mood. i coach myself out of frustration when possible.
say to myself- "be here, now."
listen to music or talk radio to pick up the extra slack for all the tangents my brain seems desparate to go off in. classical usually works best.
talk myself out of those headversations that are unrelenting some days. earth to christof!
make sure i do a variety of things, breaking the day down into segments where i can switch gears frequently to keep from getting bored. e.g. work on a task to a good stopping point, switch directions a few times, and come back to it when my concentration falters in other tasks.
and, lists, that i invariably lose.(and restart again and again!)
i was wondering if a post could be started where people just wrote downwhat coping mechanisms they used (as well as/apart from the
medication)?
a little like the 'you know you have add...' post where you can just jot
something down as you think of it.
i would love to start it off but i don't think i know any yet.
Great idea, but I dont know any yet either.....anxious to see what gets posted.break down big tasks into smaller ones. If you have something big to do, figure out the steps to do it and concentrate on one step at a time. Don't think about the rest until that part is done.
I procrastinate until I either hyperfocus and zip through it or until my hubby gets sick of waiting and does it for me. It may be a lousy coping mechanism and I don't do it on purpose but its the most obvious one I use.
I find that if I have a very structured environment with a place for everything, I can keep things neat for quite a while. When something happens to prevent that, such as someone leaves a mess that looks overwhelming, then I lose it for a while and live in what looks like a burgled house. Of course, the burglers would have had to fix a few meals to leave the dishes like that, but you get the picture!
My mom had me stop the hard stuff and retun to it later. This helped me relax some. Reworded directions like in my sons iep. Short ones. Look at the copy of your childs iep it has some good ideas. Our daughter also helps her brother since she has already done this stuff.Web cites may also help or have a help in that material also. Just some ideas.Ivanhoe,Tx.38608.2879861111I use my hubby and my kids. They know that I forget things all the time. They remind me of dinner timers - I don't burn dinner or cookies that way - they help me rememeber to pick them up - They call me to tuck them in -
My loving family! The largest coping mechanism in the world!!!
[QUOTE=kibbles002]I have a purse with outside pockets as well as inside. My cell phone goes in the pocket on one end, the palm Pilot on the side middle pocket, Wallet in the middle.Everything is in plain sight when i look at my purse which helps me remember to look at those things.[/QUOTE]
A purse for everything, and everything in it's purse.
My dadD used to say that.
I use a man-purse. I took a
rescue belt (like what the police / emt use), and hung a camera bag, my
cell phones, my key hook, my flashlight and my kitchen sink on it.
I didn't like fanny packs for 3 reasons.
1. They didn't organize my needs, they just cluttered them up.
2. I didn't like, and still don't, the name.
3. They're sooooo efeminate, and I'm quite androgenous.
4. And they look cool.
5. The TSAs at the airport call me batman.