Written by: Rebecca Helps, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Friend or foe? Genetic or environmental? ADHD and ADD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit disorder) develop from genetic factors and environmental factors such as childhood trauma. We can't address all of the co-factors that cause ADHD, but through counselling, we can process and resolve childhood trauma which can help reduce ADHD/ADD symptoms.
A Response to Trauma
Is ADHD a disability, or is it a logical response to trauma? Or maybe it's both.
As a rational response to trauma the symptoms of ADHD are a way to deal with a stressful environment. By recognizing the trauma aspect of ADHD and ADD, we can see how the symptoms are a way to cope with an uncertain, unpredictable and unsafe environment.
Feeling Safe
One of the primary purposes of counselling is to help people to feel safe and recognize when they are and are not in danger. It is hard to sit still and concentrate when you don't feel safe—feeling threatened triggers our fight or flight response, resulting in excess energy, which needs an outlet. The extra energy generated by our fight or flight response is dis-spelled through excessive physical movement, excessive talking, and other symptoms of ADHD/ADD.
By recognizing these symptoms as a logical response and not an uncontrollable behaviour or behaviour with no cause, the person struggling with ADHD/ADD now has the power to affect change in themselves.
To find a feeling of safety, we need to recognize when we are triggered.
Recognizing Triggers
Often, we perceive a threat in the present when there isn't one. Something is happening in the present and subconsciously that event is triggering a feeling or belief rooted in our past. This subconscious memory makes us feel unsafe. We get overwhelmed by this feeling and react accordingly. In the case of ADHD/ADD, the reaction could be a loss of focus and inability to sit still.
Counselling helps to identify these situations. To recognize the overwhelming feelings and see that they don't make sense for the current situation. We are helping to bring the subconscious feelings into the present to process and work through them, working to recognize when we are actually in danger and when we only perceive danger.
Mindfulness
The third way counselling helps with ADHD/ADD is to teach mindfulness. Mindfulness helps us to stay present and focused. By being mindful, we can recognize where we are. We are less likely to be worrying about the future and any dangers it might hold. We are less likely to perceive threats in the present that aren't truly there. Focusing on what is happening at the moment and being fully aware of what is happening makes it less likely that our subconscious will trigger our fight or flight response. When our fight or flight response isn't activated, ADHD/ADD symptoms are less severe.
The next time you are struggling with your symptoms of ADHD/ADD ask yourself if you are feeling safe, ask if you are being triggered and then look for a counsellor that can help.
Rebecca Helps, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Rebecca Helps grew up thinking she was fundamentally flawed and believed people didn't like or want her around. This left her alone, exhausted, anxious, depressed and afraid. Rebecca's anxieties and fears impacted both her personal and professional life. She knew she needed to do something to get her life back on track. Rebecca took action, signing up for a personal growth course, which was also the start of a 3-year counsellor training program.
As a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor, Rebecca uses her counselling skills to help individuals and organizations heal, grow, and be the best version of themselves. Rebecca believes that because we spend most of our day at work, it is essential to foster mental health by bringing psychotherapy directly into our places of work.
