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The Adult ADD Solution: A 30 Day Holistic Roadmap to Overcoming Adult ADD/ADHD
"A clear-eyed but warmly reassuring self-help guide with loads of hands-on ADD advice." - Kirkus Review - How many times have you bought a paper date planner? hoping that this time you would actually use it! I know that the normal advice many so-called experts give to adults with ADD just doesn't work. Maybe because those experts don't have Adult ADD or Adult ADHD. Dr. Sachs has Adult ADD, so he knows that the typical methods for organization and productivity don't always work for us adults with ADD/ADHD.
In the Adult ADD Solution, Dr. Sachs offer "work-arounds" -- field-tested tools, tips and techniques that work for adults with ADD and take into account the unique way that adults with ADD and ADHD approach life.
Dr. Sachs believes in a holistic approach that starts with sleep, diet and exercise and includes emotional, relational and spiritual practices to truly overcome Adult ADD. This book deals with more than just tips to become more organized. He examines the impact of a life of untreated Adult ADD, and how that affects self-esteem, relationships and overall success. The key word is "overall." That is his holistic approach because Adult ADD impacts all areas of one's life.
Adult ADD / ADHD is challenging for oneself and loved ones, but with support and this book, you can overcome some of your worst symptoms and become the person you always knew you could be.
Forget the Ritalin and try changing lifestyle, outlook, and habits argue this energetic debut primer for adults with Attention Deficit Disorder. Dr. Sachs, a clinical psychologist with ADD, who specializes in treating it, contends that drugs rarely solve all ADD issues. He recommends instead a targeted regimen of self-analysis and behavior modification pegged to a monthlong calendar of daily lessons and goals (with weekends devoted to review).
The program starts with tips on getting a good night's sleep, proper hydration, exercise to flare off energy, and a suitable diet. Sachs moves on to techniques to counteract the impulsiveness, distractions, and inappropriate conduct that plague ADD/ADHD patients. He encourages readers to inventory their strengths and weaknesses and concentrate on tasks and careers they find interesting. Noting how persistent lateness, missed deadlines, and chaotic comportment harm families and co-workers, he suggests that readers embed themselves in social networks that train sufferers to become reliable, punctual, and considerate of others. (He credits the men's group The ManKind Project with helping him cultivate these virtues.) And Sachs offers many straightforward tricks to short-circuit ADD and ADHD symptoms: keep a notebook to jot down off-topic ideas instead of blurting them out at meetings; loudly say "No!" when attention drifts away from the work; use apps to avoid getting sidetracked by email; break big jobs into small steps with rewards to motivate incremental accomplishments.
Sachs provides lucid explanations of the brain science behind the cravings for stimuli and inability to concentrate that plague those with ADD/ADHD and probes sufferers' anguish as they cycle through failure, shame, self-loathing, and withdrawal. He conveys all of this with a mix of been-there insight and mordant humor. (The "Instant Gratification Monkey" is "the voice that pipes up when you're working on your taxes due tomorrow and says, 'Hey, let's take a trip down memory lane and see if our ex is still on Facebook.' ") People with ADD (and many others who recognize themselves) should find much useful guidance here.
In the Adult ADD Solution, Dr. Sachs offer "work-arounds" -- field-tested tools, tips and techniques that work for adults with ADD and take into account the unique way that adults with ADD and ADHD approach life.
Dr. Sachs believes in a holistic approach that starts with sleep, diet and exercise and includes emotional, relational and spiritual practices to truly overcome Adult ADD. This book deals with more than just tips to become more organized. He examines the impact of a life of untreated Adult ADD, and how that affects self-esteem, relationships and overall success. The key word is "overall." That is his holistic approach because Adult ADD impacts all areas of one's life.
Adult ADD / ADHD is challenging for oneself and loved ones, but with support and this book, you can overcome some of your worst symptoms and become the person you always knew you could be.
Forget the Ritalin and try changing lifestyle, outlook, and habits argue this energetic debut primer for adults with Attention Deficit Disorder. Dr. Sachs, a clinical psychologist with ADD, who specializes in treating it, contends that drugs rarely solve all ADD issues. He recommends instead a targeted regimen of self-analysis and behavior modification pegged to a monthlong calendar of daily lessons and goals (with weekends devoted to review).
The program starts with tips on getting a good night's sleep, proper hydration, exercise to flare off energy, and a suitable diet. Sachs moves on to techniques to counteract the impulsiveness, distractions, and inappropriate conduct that plague ADD/ADHD patients. He encourages readers to inventory their strengths and weaknesses and concentrate on tasks and careers they find interesting. Noting how persistent lateness, missed deadlines, and chaotic comportment harm families and co-workers, he suggests that readers embed themselves in social networks that train sufferers to become reliable, punctual, and considerate of others. (He credits the men's group The ManKind Project with helping him cultivate these virtues.) And Sachs offers many straightforward tricks to short-circuit ADD and ADHD symptoms: keep a notebook to jot down off-topic ideas instead of blurting them out at meetings; loudly say "No!" when attention drifts away from the work; use apps to avoid getting sidetracked by email; break big jobs into small steps with rewards to motivate incremental accomplishments.
Sachs provides lucid explanations of the brain science behind the cravings for stimuli and inability to concentrate that plague those with ADD/ADHD and probes sufferers' anguish as they cycle through failure, shame, self-loathing, and withdrawal. He conveys all of this with a mix of been-there insight and mordant humor. (The "Instant Gratification Monkey" is "the voice that pipes up when you're working on your taxes due tomorrow and says, 'Hey, let's take a trip down memory lane and see if our ex is still on Facebook.' ") People with ADD (and many others who recognize themselves) should find much useful guidance here.
162 pages, Paperback
Published July 21, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 11, 2020
This book had some helpful tips, a good structure of “one thing to work on a day,” and some great quippy takeaways, such as “being on time means saying no to yourself and saying yes to the people in your life.” As someone who was once late to work because I thought I could scrub the bathtub in the five minutes before I had to leave (I couldn’t), thinking of “saying no to yourself” as a way to keep myself on time actually feels helpful.
I think the author having ADHD himself in addition to being a therapist who treats folks with ADHD helps this book feel very relatable - you can tell it was written by someone who really does get it and has been there himself. The tips seem helpful and achievable, and at the end of each chapter there’s bullet pointed takeaways and things to work on that summarize the whole book up to that point, which I found quite accommodating.
However. PLEASE take some of the lifestyle suggestions with a grain of salt. For instance, yes, a healthy diet is important. NO, the books and diets he recommended are NOT science based and any actual registered dietitian worth their salt (ha) would tell you to avoid them. Don’t fall for fad diets, even if they brand themselves as lifestyles. Further, while Sachs acknowledged that ADHD is often seen alongside other diagnoses such as autism, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, he did not mention eating disorders at all in his chapter on diet, which (as someone with a bulimia diagnosis) struck me as irresponsible.
His chapter on medication left me feeling similarly uncomfortable. I think he was just trying to hammer the point home that there is no magic pill, and you have to do the work yourself to overcome ADHD. However he spent so much time focusing on how if you start meds, they might not work for you and you might forget to take them or just go off them anyway that it really came across as an indictment of medication. Obviously, anyone who is reading this book is trying to do the work and not just take a magic pill. Folks, if you and your psych are coming up with a pharmaceutical treatment plan that will work for you, please don’t be discouraged. Meds can in conjunction with therapy and lifestyle changes to help a ton!
That said though, 2 topics out of 30 striking the wrong tone with me isn’t too bad. If you’re trying to help yourself overcome some of your ADHD symptoms, this book is certainly worth a read.
Full disclosure: I do not have an ADHD diagnosis. However I do experience many ADHD symptoms, which I bought this book to help me overcome.
I think the author having ADHD himself in addition to being a therapist who treats folks with ADHD helps this book feel very relatable - you can tell it was written by someone who really does get it and has been there himself. The tips seem helpful and achievable, and at the end of each chapter there’s bullet pointed takeaways and things to work on that summarize the whole book up to that point, which I found quite accommodating.
However. PLEASE take some of the lifestyle suggestions with a grain of salt. For instance, yes, a healthy diet is important. NO, the books and diets he recommended are NOT science based and any actual registered dietitian worth their salt (ha) would tell you to avoid them. Don’t fall for fad diets, even if they brand themselves as lifestyles. Further, while Sachs acknowledged that ADHD is often seen alongside other diagnoses such as autism, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, he did not mention eating disorders at all in his chapter on diet, which (as someone with a bulimia diagnosis) struck me as irresponsible.
His chapter on medication left me feeling similarly uncomfortable. I think he was just trying to hammer the point home that there is no magic pill, and you have to do the work yourself to overcome ADHD. However he spent so much time focusing on how if you start meds, they might not work for you and you might forget to take them or just go off them anyway that it really came across as an indictment of medication. Obviously, anyone who is reading this book is trying to do the work and not just take a magic pill. Folks, if you and your psych are coming up with a pharmaceutical treatment plan that will work for you, please don’t be discouraged. Meds can in conjunction with therapy and lifestyle changes to help a ton!
That said though, 2 topics out of 30 striking the wrong tone with me isn’t too bad. If you’re trying to help yourself overcome some of your ADHD symptoms, this book is certainly worth a read.
Full disclosure: I do not have an ADHD diagnosis. However I do experience many ADHD symptoms, which I bought this book to help me overcome.
December 1, 2019
Getting your head around ADD
For me, this was an excellent overview of what I can do immediately to feel less overwhelmed and more on top of my game.
For me, this was an excellent overview of what I can do immediately to feel less overwhelmed and more on top of my game.
September 17, 2020
I've read numerous books in the genre of Adult ADHD self-help, many of them by leaders in the field who also have a diagnosis to inform their clinical expertise. I therefore was optimistic about this book but didn't expect it to necessarily suggest anything shockingly new or radical.
My expectations were correct, and unfortunately I found the author's knowledge to be largely based on platitudes rather than any kind of significant research or data-points. This book is marketed as one written by a clinical expert, and I therefore expected this work to reflect that fact far more than it did. While it's always interesting to hear new perspectives, I found that much of this book seemed to be aimed at selling the author's coaching services and providing less-than-actionable solutions to the day to day struggles of an adult with ADHD.
As someone who has long dealt with the ramifications of this disorder, I did appreciate his compassion and straightforwardness in examining the ways ADHD impacts one's personal and professional life. I did feel that there was not enough emphasis on accountability, however, which is something I as a reader and a patient feel is vital to true progress and lasting change in the way we handle our deficits.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the promotion of scientifically unfounded dietary and health advice regarding ADHD. I saw no reputable citations regarding these suggestions and in some cases I suspected the author of citing other books for reasons that were more personal than professional. I chose this title for real, clinically-backed, actionable insight, and was unfortunately disappointed.
If you are looking for a quick read with some anecdotes about ADHD life, this book is probably fine to suit those needs. If, however, you are looking for more research-based and directly useful strategies for coping, you will likely be less than thrilled with this title and may wish to look for others with a stronger emphasis on these areas.
My expectations were correct, and unfortunately I found the author's knowledge to be largely based on platitudes rather than any kind of significant research or data-points. This book is marketed as one written by a clinical expert, and I therefore expected this work to reflect that fact far more than it did. While it's always interesting to hear new perspectives, I found that much of this book seemed to be aimed at selling the author's coaching services and providing less-than-actionable solutions to the day to day struggles of an adult with ADHD.
As someone who has long dealt with the ramifications of this disorder, I did appreciate his compassion and straightforwardness in examining the ways ADHD impacts one's personal and professional life. I did feel that there was not enough emphasis on accountability, however, which is something I as a reader and a patient feel is vital to true progress and lasting change in the way we handle our deficits.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the promotion of scientifically unfounded dietary and health advice regarding ADHD. I saw no reputable citations regarding these suggestions and in some cases I suspected the author of citing other books for reasons that were more personal than professional. I chose this title for real, clinically-backed, actionable insight, and was unfortunately disappointed.
If you are looking for a quick read with some anecdotes about ADHD life, this book is probably fine to suit those needs. If, however, you are looking for more research-based and directly useful strategies for coping, you will likely be less than thrilled with this title and may wish to look for others with a stronger emphasis on these areas.
November 26, 2020
Dealing with ADD all my life Your book was spot on
Your understanding and experience are very relatable it really kept me reading it all in one sitting, however I was disappointed the link at the end did not wk
Your understanding and experience are very relatable it really kept me reading it all in one sitting, however I was disappointed the link at the end did not wk
August 10, 2021
A guide speaking with ADD can actually read
Easy to follow 30 guide on practical steps you can take to help learn to design your life for living with ADD. Liked the short chapters, it is a good starting point for someone looking to help get their work days in order.
Easy to follow 30 guide on practical steps you can take to help learn to design your life for living with ADD. Liked the short chapters, it is a good starting point for someone looking to help get their work days in order.
July 12, 2020
A good read for adult ADD
I love this book. I definitely be rereading this books and make key notes in my personal journal.
Cheers again. Best. Sean
I love this book. I definitely be rereading this books and make key notes in my personal journal.
Cheers again. Best. Sean
January 12, 2023
Helpful information from someone who truly understands ADD and the many challenges.
April 21, 2023
Good book for people starting their ADHD journey. It has some basic but solid strategies to help come to terms with ADHD
February 14, 2024
It was informative, but mostly a book to refer to other books or references.
June 21, 2021
Short and to the point, perfect for my ADD brain.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews