Mental health disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs) frequently interfere with a person’s daily life. Areas affected can include one’s work life, home life, social life, and overall productivity during the day. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) causes similar disruptions. ADHD can detrimentally affect one’s productivity and concentration, and this can become frustrating. Seeking treatment and finding the right care to cope with ADHD is important in order to create a productive and fulfilling life without feeling limited by this disorder.
At First Steps Recovery, there are treatments and therapies available for those coping with ADHD. Engaging with these services can help people produce better results in their work, social, and home lives.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
ADHD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder defined by difficulty controlling attention and impulsivity. Clients coping with ADHD are at a higher risk of developing SUD as poor impulse control can lead to one using substances. Substances may also seem to provide temporary relief from ADHD symptoms.
ADHD typically develops in childhood and lasts into adulthood. Children may daydream frequently, forget or lose things, fidget, be talkative, make careless mistakes, take unnecessary risks, and have difficulties resisting temptation. Additionally, children may resist taking turns with others and have a hard time getting along with others.
The Three Types of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
ADHD presents itself in three different ways:
- Predominantly inattentive
- Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive
- A combination
Predominantly inattentive presentation is when one has a hard time organizing and finishing tasks, paying attention to details, following instructions or conversations easily, and not becoming distracted or forgetful.
When one is constantly fidgeting, talking a lot, finding it difficult to sit still for a long period of time, and struggling with impulsivity, they are experiencing predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentations.
Combined presentation is when the symptoms of predominantly inattentive and predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentations are equally present in the individual.
How Does ADHD Affect My Work Life?
ADHD mainly affects the prefrontal cortex of the brain. This section is responsible for judgment, emotional responses, and behavior. When the prefrontal cortex is not functioning properly, there is a lack of alertness and shorter attention spans.
In a work environment, clients may experience that their efficiency and productivity decreases because of the effects that ADHD has on the brain. Clients may also experience trouble with short-term memory, difficulty maintaining hobbies or activities, and trouble identifying when activities are distracting.
For those coping with ADHD in their work environment, these symptoms can lead to a decline in productivity. Work performance tends to decrease, and this can lead to one getting fired or struggling in social situations at work. It is important to seek treatment, engage in the therapeutic services available, and learn healthy coping mechanisms and management strategies in order to improve one’s work and life in general.
Treating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder at First Steps Recovery
ADHD is typically treated with a combination of talk therapy and prescription medication. Treatment programs and rehabilitation centers provide clients with a structure to help them properly heal. Small things, such as maintaining healthy eating habits, participating in daily physical activity, limiting screen time, and getting the recommended amount of sleep are lifestyle changes that can benefit one’s ADHD symptoms.
At First Steps Recovery, there are both clinical and holistic services that pair well with these lifestyle changes. For talk therapies, clients are encouraged to participate in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a psychotherapy that helps clients engage with their thinking patterns and restructure their negative thinking to produce healthier behaviors. Often clients with ADHD do not sit with their thoughts, leading to impulsivity and a decline in productivity. CBT, though, encourages clients to address these thinking and behavioral patterns, understand how these patterns influence their daily routines, and develop constructive thinking and behaviors to improve their ADHD symptoms.
How Can I Improve My Work Life With ADHD Treatment?
Clients are exposed to a number of tools and skills through services offered at First Steps Recovery. These tools can be used to help clients increase productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Standard treatments like talk therapy that involves CBT interventions can lead to better coping skills. Holistic care also provides clients with a number of these tools.
Yoga or physical therapy, for example, helps clients invite more physical activity into their daily routine. In yoga therapy, clients also engage in calming the mind and breathwork practices that help bring in a sense of inner peace and focus. Physical therapy educates clients on healthy body movements and nutrition in order to improve both physical and mental well-being. Exercise is important and can help clients with ADHD ground themselves and focus on physical exertion in the moment to release that energy.
Practicing these coping mechanisms can help clients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder improve their focus, concentration, and ability to exert energy in a positive way. This then translates into the workplace where clients can focus on their tasks at hand.
Here at First Steps Recovery, we work to provide clients with tools to help improve their attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. ADHD can greatly impact one’s home, work, and social life. In the workplace, people risk losing employment because of a decline in productivity or performance. Finding treatment and the right tools to cope with ADHD symptoms can greatly improve people’s work productivity and performance. Here at First Steps, we offer cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) paired with multiple holistic therapies in a whole-person approach. With this approach, clients learn new coping mechanisms that can help them find greater productivity and focus. Ultimately, they can improve their functioning in a work environment. To learn more, please call (844) 489-0836.
Dr. Curl is the Medical Director and primary on-site provider for First Steps Recovery. He is a Board Certified Internist and Addiction Medicine Specialist having attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completing his residency at Mount Auburn Hospital with Harvard Medical School. Following several years work as an internist and physiatrist (physical medicine and rehabilitation). Dr. Curl completed the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Howard University in Washington DC and participated as a RAM Scholar (Research in Addiction Medicine). While part of the fellowship, Dr. Curl pursued research investigating the barriers to expanding and improving medication for opioid use disorder. Following his fellowship, Dr. Curl spearheaded the Opiate Use Disorder outpatient clinic and worked in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within the Howard University Hospital. In 2023, Dr. Curl completed his Board Certification in Addiction Medicine.
