Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Long-standing patterns of impulsivity, hyperactivity, distractibility, and inattention characterize this mental health disorder. If these symptoms are severe, frequently occurring, and/or interfering with your life, mental health treatment is the solution. Get treatment HIPAA Compliant Do you need an ADHD diagnosis? These days it seems we all have a touch of ADHD. The impulsivity that our technology-saturated lives have gifted us has come at a cost. We want everything on-demand, get antsy when we have to wait more than a few minutes, and no longer have to be responsible for remembering things like phone numbers. But in ADHD, that edginess is at a whole other level. ADHD is a thought disorder originating in an imbalance of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter and hormone that plays many parts in the brain. With this mental health condition, areas of the brain dedicated to impulse control, emotional regulation, sustained focus, and internal communication don’t operate optimally for modern life. These “short circuits” can impact a person’s ability to function at school (where ADHD can exacerbate learning disabilities), work, social settings, home, and anywhere else people are expected to pay attention and accomplish tasks. If this sounds familiar to you, you may need to be evaluated for an ADHD diagnosis and treatment. At bonmente, ADHD therapists work with patients to arrive at an accurate diagnosis and develop a mental health treatment plan. What causes ADHD? Research is still ongoing to determine the exact cause of ADHD, but it is clear that genetics is a huge factor. Other possible ADHD causes include: alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy premature delivery low birthweight brain injury environmental exposure during pregnancy or in childhood A few things are for sure not causes of ADHD. Eating too much sugar or watching too much television, for instance, do not cause ADHD. Neither does poverty or a chaotic family life. What are the symptoms of ADHD? Due to impulse-control issues inherent in ADHD, patients may seem fidgety, impatient, or rude. Sometimes, their behavior could escalate into major mood swings and angry outbursts. Other symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder include: difficulty focusing and prioritizing forgetting meetings or social events missing deadlines misplacing important items like keys or cell phones Bonmente focuses on treating adult ADHD cases. Worldwide, the number of adults with ADHD is in the hundreds of millions. Many adult ADHD cases go without diagnosis or treatment. For those who go without mental health treatments, they may have grown up thinking everyday tasks are always challenging. As a result, they have likely devised coping mechanisms for managing the symptoms just well enough to get along in life. But such techniques may be only partly successful, or even have a harmful element. For instance, ADHD can lead some people to develop substance issues in an attempt to self-medicate. At bonmente, we want more for our adult ADHD patients. Our goal is to give them the tools they need to successfully control symptoms that have long been interfering with their lives. How is ADHD treated? Although Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a disorder, it’s not necessarily a curse. Many people with ADHD are highly creative, energetic, and charismatic. With the right treatment, patients can harness their ADHD and exist in modern life with much less stress. Treating ADHD requires a psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis by a qualified mental health provider. At bonmente, our assessment covers how many inattentive, hyperactive, and/or impulsive symptoms a patient has. We discuss how long these symptoms have been occurring and what areas of life they disrupt to measure their impact on the patient’s life. Additionally, our assessment explores the patient’s history to determine the age of onset and ensure no other factors could be causing ADHD symptoms. After diagnosis, we can begin our treatment for ADHD, which usually combines medications and therapy. Stimulant medications such as Adderall, Vyvanse, and Ritalin have been proven effective in ADHD treatments for decades. If stimulant use results in unwanted side effects or ineffective results, we may consider non-stimulant medications such as Strattera and Clonidine. Antidepressants such as Wellbutrin also have off-label uses for managing ADHD symptoms. Therapy is very useful for ADHD patients, especially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT can help rewrite ADHD patients’ thought process and teach behavioral modification to support healthy function. For many patients, a lifetime of excessive self-criticism has led to cognitive distortions, unhealthy self-beliefs, and negative emotions, all of which do more harm than good. Therapy can challenge these unhelpful thought processes to find a remedy that actually works. Lastly, a healthy diet, regular exercise, fresh air, meditation, and stress management with routines can be very useful in ADHD treatment. $100 Screening Now Available There is no definitive test for ADHD. However, with a thorough screening and professional consultation, bonmente’s qualified providers can help get you the correct diagnosis, so you can get the correct treatment. Get screened today. Complete ADHD Screening for: CaliforniaFloridaArizona
