The Unmedicated ADHD

For the longest time I have been dealing with my ADHD unmedicated. Now there is nothing wrong with being medicated but being female it makes it even harder to have a medical professional take you seriously. Typically since this disorder is defined as being hyper active usually males will get diagnosed early on in life while most women don't until they reach adulthood. Even then usually it takes a series of tests and professional examinations to even get considered for the disorder. This is because ADHD manifests differently in females than it does in males. Lucky for me I wasn't one of those females as I got diagnosed at age four. However a lot of my ADHD symptoms growing up were also misdiagnosed as anxiety or depressions which lead me to taking medications I didn't need to. After fighting with medical professionals for so long to get on the right medication I started looking at other things I could control to help my brain function. I'm going to share my top 3 methods I do to try to keep myself under control.

1. Exercise. Now this does sound like the stereotypical answer but honestly a lot of people don't realize how much the brain depends on this basic thing to be able to function. I've said this to so many people & they all snapped back saying "I've heard that before" or "It's too hard for me to get a routine together" I'm not saying you have to do the same thing everyday. Exercise comes in different forms, such as yoga, bike riding, weight lifting. Even just playing Just dance with the kids is exercise. As long as you are moving around & having fun you are exercising! I went & joined a pole dancing group for awhile (pre covid), not only was it a good social activity but I also worked up a huge sweat each class. There are so many different ways to go have fun while being active!

2. Healthy Eating: As for my eating habits, when I started I made a goal to eat one healthy meal a week after a month I bumped it up to 2 meals a week. Eventually that turned into eating more healthy as I got used to consuming good food. I know lots of people who order meal kits where the food is already prepped for you to cook up in no time! However that can be expensive so I suggest meal prepping at some point during your week. Pinterest is great for looking up simple, delicious & healthy meals. I highly recommend food that are rich in Omega & Iron. Omega just simply for the fact that it is so good for your brain. It helps with proper functioning.

For those that don't know ADHD is actually a brain dysfunction disorder, its not all jumping off the walls or running around like a mad man. Literally some days I can't even bring myself to get my dishes done because my brain sees the task as boring. I'll literally procrastinate while telling myself I need to go get a task done.

Iron is good for cell production in the blood. Based on what I've seen online people with ADHD are more prone to having iron deficiencies. No guarantee if that is true but I know I for sure struggle with this. Blood cell are important because it is what transports the oxygen to the rest of the body (red) and also fight of illness (white). If the brain can't get oxygen of course it isn't going to be up to par on function. Same with not functioning properly if you get sick.

3. Cogitative therapy: Now if you can get a professional to take your disorder seriously I strongly recommend therapy. It may take some time to find a therapist that will work for you but please don't get discouraged if you are being made to feel like it's all in your head or if your therapist isn't helping you achieved your goals. My first therapist literally just shrugged at me whenever I asked her questions on how people can go living through life with no actual reason to do things. For me that was something I couldn't understand because with my ADHD I have to have a logical reason to do anything otherwise its too boring for me. I honestly just moved on to someone else because I felt she didn't take me seriously, like what kind of a therapist just shrugs and says 'I don't know that's for you to figure out" Even if you can't afford to see a specialist there are tons of phone apps that you can download for free that offer cogitative therapy. One that I liked to use is called Woebot. You can have a conversation with the robot & the app uses cogitative therapy to respond to you. Also brain puzzle apps are very useful simply because I found that if I kept engaging my brain in activity it was easier for me to function normally. It's when I let myself sit idle that's when my ADHD gets out of hand.

Well folks I hope you found some useful information in my little post. Now this is what has worked for myself, there is no guarantee that these tips will help you. Hopefully what this does provide is a starting point to help you figure out what you need. Everyone is different, each of our brains function in different manners, even when you share a common disorder such ADHD. The thing people have to realize is that most mental health disorders have a spectrum meaning some have a harder time than other when it comes to dealing with it. We all present differently when it comes to our mental state. Anyways take care everyone! Thanks for the read!