Living with Adult ADHD Hyperactivity can be an overwhelming experience. Constantly feeling restless, impulsive, and easily distracted can make it challenging to manage your energy effectively. However, there are strategies you can implement to regain control and find balance in your life.

We will explore practical approaches to managing your energy levels when living with Adult ADHD Hyperactivity. By understanding your unique challenges and adopting tailored techniques, you can minimize the negative impact of hyperactivity and maximize your overall well-being.

We will discuss lifestyle adjustments, such as creating a structured routine and practicing mindfulness, that can help you stay focused and calm.

Additionally, we will get into the benefits of regular exercise and the importance of getting enough sleep for managing hyperactivity symptoms effectively.

Whether you have recently been diagnosed with Adult ADHD Hyperactivity or have been living with it for years, we will provide you with valuable insights and strategies to navigate your daily life with greater ease and energy.

Let’s explore the tools and techniques that can help you thrive despite the challenges of ADHD hyperactivity.

Affiliate Disclosure:

We want to be transparent and inform our users that some of the links on this website are affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a commission, at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products or services that we believe will add value to our readers. Your support through these affiliate links helps us maintain and improve our content. Thank you for your support!

My Adult ADHD Hyperactivity Journey

Before diving into strategies to help you with managing ADHD symptoms, I’m going to share my journey and diagnosis as an adult.

• One thought to the next thought and the next.
• In the middle of a project and forget what’s supposed to happen next because another thought came into place.
• Misplacing something and swearing it was right by you.
• Forgetting things regularly.
• Getting distracted in the middle of a conversation.
• Trying to remember names and dates.
• Staying focused while trying to write this post.

Everything that was just listed is what it’s like daily inside my head.  These types of symptoms finally started to make sense when I was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder) in the fall of 2021.

ADULT ADHD HYPERACTIVITY TESTING 

Our oldest was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago.  To be honest, it was a relief.  Relief knowing something wasn’t right and not knowing what was going on and spinning my wheels to figure it out.

After her diagnosis, I dove into researching ADHD and how to best treat it.  Like many first-time diagnosed parents, we wanted to try the natural route without medication.

We changed our diet, went as clean as we could, and tried different parent techniques.  Nothing was working and after thinking through this long and hard, we finally decided that it was time for medication.

After medication, things completely changed for her and for the better.  We as parents saw the difference, her teachers saw the difference and we finally felt like we had turned the page.

Seeing how well she responded to the medication is what prompted me to get an official diagnosis.  It’s very common for adults to be diagnosed after their children because it is a genetic condition.

SCHOOL STRUGGLES AND LD DIAGNOSIS 

Third grade is when things changed, I was taken out of the classroom for testing in the third grade and started seeing a specialist for help.  I didn’t know exactly what was going on but I knew things were different for me.  That is when I was diagnosed with LD otherwise known as having a Learning Disability.

When middle school came, that was a different ballgame than elementary school.  It was harder and there were more tests.  I remember having a special ed teacher and classroom to help with homework.  Those accommodations worked well and helped me academically.  I did any extra credit that was available to improve my grades.

Things continued on a good path throughout high school, I made the honor roll a few times and was named “Student of The Quarter” my Senior year of High school.  The only difference was math, I was in a lower class than the rest of my peers.  I frequently used the office hours teachers had for help because it was needed.

Overall, my school years from elementary, middle school, and high school were great.  I struggled academically but got the help that I needed.  Athletics played a huge part in those years and thankfully I excelled at those because they gave me confidence in other areas.

COLLEGE

College came and hit me like a brick wall.  The struggles with school came out here.  I cried a lot, it was so hard.  My freshman year was such a blur because 9/11 just happened and I was trying to figure out what was going on with school.  The fear of being on academic probation was real, so real that  I went to my coach looking for help.  I got as many tutors as I could.

Eventually, I found out there was assistance for students with Learning Disabilities.  Even though things went well in high school, college was at another level, this was the big leagues and the symptoms came out.  I was able to get assistance taking tests, I received additional time and took them in a different room which helped.

Junior year of college, I studied abroad in Spain.  I wish there was more I could remember academically and how I did.  It was still a struggle, I relied on help from my friends.  Looking back on Spain and what I know now about ADHD, it’s truly remarkable that I was able to get through those classes.

Graduating in four years was a major accomplishment.

Get The Guide: ADHD Organization Tools

ADULT ADHD HYPERACTIVITY Diagnosis

The first step to getting the diagnosis was starting with a Psychology referral, given by my Primary Care doctor (it was 6 months before the first appointment was available).

The first appointment was 2 hours, and she asked me questions about my childhood and academic experience through college.  Then I took an online test.

Once that appointment was over, she sent me three other questionnaires that I had to take on my own which took me about 2-3 hours to take in total.

It was a long process, my brain was tired.  It brought back many memories of my childhood having to take those initial LD exams.  After all the testing was complete, she would follow up with me in a few weeks to go over the results.

The morning of the appointment I was excited and nervous, just wanting to know the results.  She explained to me the challenges of diagnosing someone with ADHD and how hard it can be because you’re not able to see inside the brain.

When she said that she was diagnosing me with ADHD, I was relieved.  It was that moment where you know it’s coming but need someone to confirm it. She said it was “an easy case” meaning that it was easy to diagnose me because the testing was consistent across the board.  The other thing she diagnosed me with was an anxiety disorder which really surprised me, I didn’t see that one coming at all.

We discussed the results and the next steps.

STRATEGIES MANAGING ADHD 

You may have ADHD or think you might have it or recently received a diagnosis and think “Okay, that’s great, now what?”

Understanding how your brain operates can do wonders for you especially once you know about the diagnosis as it’s now easier to treat.  It’s no different than you being sick and going to the doctor to see what’s wrong.  They’ll ask you questions and run some test to figure out what’s wrong.  Once they know, they can treat it.  That’s exactly how ADHD works with the brain.

The first thing to understand is how to  manage your energy with ADHD.  This is crucial because of our ability to hyperfocus, we can easily crash.

1. Using A Paper Planner

A common challenge with ADHD is out of sight, out of mind.  Using a paper planner has made the day-to-day more manageable and easy to remember things.

Trying a plethora of planners is very common for people with ADHD because we can’t seem to find one that works well for us.  A planner that I love and have worked well with is Ink + Volk.  Using the weekly planner and the planner dashboard has been an absolute game-changer.

The planner dashboard has helped organize all the tasks and ideas into lists that make it easy for me to manage.  From there, I use that list and incorporate it into the weekly planner.

Having a plan conserves your energy and keeps you on track.

2. Social Media Limitations

It’s a love/hate relationship with social media.  It’s beyond easy to spend hours on end on any of the platforms and end up in a rabbit hole because there are SO many distractions there.  From ads to groups to what’s trending, they’re good at keeping you on their platform.

Social media does have its perks and one of them is being able to share a message to the world to help others.

To make the best use of it:

• Turn off notifications, this will prevent you from constantly having to check it.
• Check it once a day if possible
• Wait at least an hour after waking up before checking social media and the same for when going to bed. 

3. Eliminate Caffeine

Coffee is a way of life for many, it’s what gets us going and helps us get through that afternoon slump. One of the things suggested for people with ADHD is to eliminate caffeine.

Caffeine had been giving me anxiety for quite some time and decided to go back to decaf.  It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

4. Break A Sweat

Exercise is extremely important for those with adult ADHD hyperactivity, it gives the dopamine hit that is needed.

I’ve always been one that’s more inclined to an intense workout due to my sports background, I need that good sweat.  Up until recently, I didn’t know those intense workouts were working in my favor with someone who has ADHD.  Working out gets the executive function of the brain flowing and helps the working memory.

5. Meditation

Adult ADHD hyperactivity and meditation, are two words you’d never thought you would see together in a sentence.

Never in my life would I have told you I meditate and that it does work.  It truly does help all of the thoughts, distractions, and what I need to be doing next.

Meditation is hard, really hard but it’s also something that works well and helps you conserve your energy by calming all those thoughts that run rampant.

Following this advice on mediation will give you grace and help you develop this important habit.

6. Creating The Right System

Many organizing systems are a challenge for people with adult ADHD hyperactivity because they are not simple. A common challenge with ADHD is having a low frustration tolerance.  When it’s not simple, we use unnecessary energy which is why having the right systems and products in place matters.

• Labeling –  Using labels has been a game changer in keeping things organized. Forgetting and losing things is an everyday battle and labels alleviate that issue.  Limit the label to one word to minimize clutter and confusion.

• Clear bins – Using clear bins allows you to see what is there. Out of sight, out of mind becomes an afterthought with these types of containers.

• Open storage bins – Using a bin without a lid minimizes the number of steps used, reducing friction.  Open storage bins make it easy to toss items into them.

• Stackable storage bins – Using stackable storage bins optimizes spaces and allows you to see everything, something ADHD brains crave.

• Expandable tiered shelf – This tiered shelf makes it easy to organize cans and eliminates that dreaded shuffle.  Everything is visible and accessible.

ORGANIZED MARIE MISSION

My mission when I first started this blog was to share everything I could about organizing because it’s what I’ve had to do my entire life to not forget or lose things.  It has now morphed into an in-home organizing business based in Charlotte, NC.

RESOURCES

ATTitudemag

It’s extremely common for adults to become diagnosed with ADHD after their child is since it’s a genetic disorder.  One of the best resources out there has been the ATTitudemag website.  This website truly has everything from tests to symptoms to treatment options.

Books

1. Healing ADD  by Dr. Daniel Amen.   It discusses the seven types of ADD/ADHD and how to best treat them.  Gaining insight into these different types helped me understand the complexity of ADHD.
2. ADHD: What Every Parent Needs To Know.  This book is by Mark Wolraich.  It discusses how to parent a child with ADHD and the challenges that are faced.
3. The Conscious Parent’s Guide To ADHD- This book is written by Dr. Rebecca Branstetter.  It discusses mindful ways to parent.  It’s common to feel overwhelmed when parenting a child with ADHD and this book provides useful techniques.

Podcasts

1. Mel Robbins Podcast – Mel is incredible, she has ADHD.  Her podcast is a wealth of information and ranges from how to get out of your head, taking action, and tackling your fears.
2. School of Greatness – This podcast is amazing. Lewis Howes is the host, he’s a former professional football player who grew up with a Learning Disability.  It’s extremely inspiring.  He interviews people from all different industries and discusses how they worked their way to the top.  Every successful person has struggled at some point in their life, this podcast will show you that and how they overcame those challenges to become great.
3. The Daily Meditation Podcast – Mary Meckley is the host of this podcast and she’s wonderful.  She has such a soothing voice that makes it easy to listen to especially when you are first starting.  The episodes are 10 minutes in length, the first five minutes are a review and the last five minutes is the actual meditation.

ADHD Tools For Home Organization

Last but not least our our comprehensive guide on ADHD tools for home organization—is an invaluable resource designed to help individuals with ADHD achieve and maintain an organized living space.

Drawing from firsthand experience, this guide is a curated collection of tools and systems specifically tailored to address the unique challenges associated with ADHD.

Discover effective strategies, establish better routines, and conquer clutter for good.  With insights into what works and what doesn’t, this guide is a practical companion on the journey to a more organized home.

Get The Guide: ADHD Organization Tools

FINAL THOUGHTS

There are plenty of ways out there to help you manage adult ADHD hyperactivity.  From using a paper planner to making changes in your diet to eliminating clutter.  All of these strategies will help you manage your symptoms and energy.