Book Contents

This is my draft of the book contents, the topics I am planning to explore in the book. These are topics that have been particularly impactful for me, others I know with ADHD, and suggestions within the community.

Tell me what you want to know.

Contents (work-in-progress)

• Modern Understanding of Adult ADHD
  • Terminology
  • Alternative terms used by some: "neurodiverse", "multipotential", "faster than normal" etc thanks Rémy!
  • Evolving understanding
  • Latest research
  • ADHD is not just hyperactive boys
  • How does ADHD go unnoticed in children? thanks Drew!
• Diagnosis
  • Who can diagnosis?
  • How to self diagnose (also: do you need a "real" diagnosis? what self-forgiveness/etc can come with a diagnosis) thanks Nick and Tyler!
  • Is self-diagnosis okay? Differing viewpoints thanks anonymous
  • Self-doubt after diagnosis thanks Mine!
  • Late diagnosisthanks Aliyah, Beth, Devyangi, and Walid!
    • Hidden ADHD because of great accomplishments (academic success, advanced degrees, business success, etc)
    • Guilt, shame, and mourning your past (missing "prime years", etc)
    • Working through anger/frustration with those that didn't help you sooner
    • Unlearning neurotypical advice and relearning how to approach things from an ADHD perspective thanks JJ!
• Finding Focus in a World of Distraction
  • Pros and cons of hyperfocus
  • Extreme susceptibility to gamification
  • Understanding dopamine deficiency
  • Dopamine as anticipation for the reward
• Superpowers in a Kryptonite Society
  • Omnipotential - how ADHDers can do anything (if they can stay interested)
  • Tackling privilege and toxic positivity
• Time Is Relative
  • Time blindness/distortion
  • Difficulty being on time thanks Sonya!
  • "now" vs "not now"
  • hindsight / foresight difficulties
• Finding Motivation
  • Importance, rewards, and consequences do not motivate ADHDers.
  • Interest-based nervous system
  • Important vs. Urgent
  • How taking action can fuel motivation thanks anonymous
  • How to maintain motivation thanks Rémy!
  • ADHD inertia - unable to move into action
• Executive Assistant for a Busy Brain
  • Conscious brain's "executive assistant" for sensory data
  • Executive function deep dive
  • Unique sense of intuition
• Memory
  • Prospective memory ("I'll remember to do this thing later")
  • Working memory ("I'll remember this information later")
• Out of Sight, Out of Mind
  • "Object permanence"
  • Externalizing your brain
  • Forgetting important-to-you people exist (friends, family, etc) thanks Laura!
  • Forgetting important-for-you people exist (work connections, networking, etc) thanks Erika!
  • Strategy for creating/maintaining your environment thanks Rémy!
• Living with Intensity
  • Experiencing things with more intensity (highs and lows)
  • Emotional dysregulation
  • Rejection sensitive dysphoria (vs rejection sensitivity)
  • Recognition responsive euphoria
  • Imposter syndrome thanks Nick!
  • Hypersensitivity (emotional and physical) thanks Josée!
  • Sensory issues (e.g., clothing, socks, tags) thanks Tim!
  • Justice sensitivity thanks Kyleen!
  • Role of ADHD in career change, finding direction, strengths, etc thanks Beth!
• Perfectionism
  • People pleasing
  • Unrealistic expectations for self
  • Fear and shame
  • Shame for amount of effort required to achieve little thanks Becky!
  • All-or-nothing mindset + increasing tolerance for doing mediocre work (so you can start!) thanks Vicky!
  • How people pleasing, perfectionism, and extreme coping strategies (copious note-taking, etc) can disguise ADHD, particularly with women thanks Emily!
  • Being stuck in "waiting mode" (hours doing nothing because of an upcoming scheduled meeting) thanks Erika!
• Building Routines and Habits
  • How ADHDers rely on routine
  • Difficulty with transitions: small scale (e.g. work schedule, meals, chores, leaving the house, etc)
  • Difficulty with transitions: large scale (e.g. new job, breakups, etc) thanks Molly!
  • Developing new routines and habits
  • Habit stacking
  • Organization hacks
  • Love/hate relationship with routine (we need it but we rebel against it) thanks Donna!
  • How to create habits for unfun but important activities (e.g. exercise) thanks Avery!
• Driven to Creativity
  • Why ADHD often fuels creativity
  • Unique problem solving
• Tactics, Techniques, Tricks, and Tools
  • Body doubling
  • Memory devices
  • Micro commitments
  • Fueling up with interesting tasks
  • Pomodoro / timers
  • Specific step-by-step programs of action for how to implement solutions and principles previously discussed.thanks Chris!
• Personal and Work Relationships
  • How to manage and balance personal relationships (family, friends) and how/when to communicate your differences because of ADHD within those thanks Christen!
  • Married to an ADHDer (advice for spouses / significant others) thanks Matthew, Jay, and Jonathan!
  • How and when to tell people about your diagnosis (especially when diagnosed later in life). thanks Josée and Nick!
  • ADHD stigma ("is it real?", "isn't it over-diagnosed", etc... even stigma from some doctors) thanks Tyler!
  • Toxic behavior and vulnerability to gaslighting thanks Jace!
  • Relationships when both partners have ADHD thanks Jess!
  • Relationship roller coaster due to emotional dysregulation, etc thanks Kasey!
  • Work
    • Managing work relationships - how to set work expectations with managers, colleagues, etc. thanks Christen!
    • Should you discuss ADHD in a work interview? thanks Tiago!
    • Potential repercussions of sharing your diagnosis at work. thanks Rémy!
• Unsorted ideas
  • How we can sometimes mask our true selves by appearing extroverted in order to compensate for symptoms thanks Kevin!
  • What are CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) strategies and how can they help with ADHD? thanks anonymous
  • Procrastination thanks Faisal and anonymous!
  • Women and ADHDthanks Beverly, Brandi, Josée, Joceana, Mine, Sarah, Steve, and anonymous!
    • Why are women under diagnosed?
    • Unique challenges and societal expectations
    • Hormones, perimenopause, menopause, etc
  • Race/ethnicity: (diagnosis, access to treatment, etc) thanks Ted and anonymous!
  • How to approach or help someone you suspect of having ADHD thanks Nick and anonymous!
  • Leading a life based on purpose thanks anonymous
  • Ideal work environments (freelance, more structured, etc) thanks Mark!
  • New technologies and therapeutics thanks Marc!
  • ADHD Coaching + Benefits thanks Jocelyn!
  • How ADHD affects sleep thanks Avery, Jocelyn, and Kathryn!
  • Links between ADHD and Autism, living with both (overlapping and conflicting symptoms, etc) thanks anonymous
  • Differences between ADHD vs. Autism, Anxiety, BPD, Depression, PTSD, etc thanks anonymous
  • Impact of ADHD and trauma, depression, etc thanks Avery!
  • Burnout, overwhelm, social overload, etc thanks Jocelyn, Mark, and anonymous!
  • Addiction, risky behavior, binge eating, impulse shopping, etc due to lack of inhibition and dopamine thanks Denise, Bec, and Sonya!
  • Asking for support and available accommodations for work/school, possibly with info on the DDA thanks Laura and Roz!
  • Correlation between trauma/PTSD and ADHD thanks Laura and Vesna!
  • Links and complex overlap between ADHD and Anxiety, Dyslexia, OCD, other co-morbidities thanks Anita, Hannah, and Steve!
  • Reference section for solutions to specific ADHD problems thanks Claire!
  • Strategy: using progressive elaboration or decomposition (Agile/Scrum methods) for managing large projects thanks Mark!
  • Managing multiple purposes and passions thanks Jasson!
  • Links with social anxiety and reading social cues thanks Ted!
  • Impulsivity and inhibition thanks Bec and others!
  • Advocacy - self-advocacy, being an advocate, how others can support thanks Amber!
  • Finding community with other ADHDers thanks Emily!
  • Using audio (music, podcast, audiobooks) as distraction for focus thanks Jess!
  • ADHD is genetic so common for parents, siblings, etc to also have it thanks Megan!
  • How to talk to neurotypical people about your ADHD thanks Wendy!
  • Accepting that some people will never understand your ADHD thanks Molly!
  • Exercise and hygiene thanks Sonya!
  • ADHD + Sexuality (hyper, hypo, dependencies, etc) thanks Mine!
  • Visual tools for learning thanks Mine!
  • Stimming thanks Ashley!
  • Spoon theory thanks Mark!
  • Fixed vs Growth Mindsets thanks Mat!
  • Strategies for sustaining efforts in long-term projects thanks Devyangi!
  • How neurotypical advice/strategies from therapy/coaching aren't effective for ADHD brainsthanks Helena and S.!
  • Even with all the perfect strategies, medication, therapy... you still have ADHD and will still struggle thanks Molly!
  • Loneliness associated with ADHD, rejection, etc thanks Susie!
  • Situations that exacerbate make ADHD symptoms (stress, lack of sleep, trauma, basic needs, etc) thanks Jordan!

Translation requests

I don't really know what it takes to do a proper translation so this is likely something I won't investigate much until after the English release. But definitely something I am curious to explore if there is enough interest!

If there is a specific language you'd like to see translated, let me know with the feedback form.

• Arabic
• Brazilian Portuguese
• German
• Hebrew
• Marathi
• Persian
• Polish
• Russian
• Spanish
• Swahili

Stuff I won't cover deeply in this book

These are great topics, but either I don't feel like they belong in this book, they are too large for this book, or I don't have the required expertise to cover them. Perhaps for a future book!

• Medication, self-medication, alternative medication, etc thanks Ted, Kate, Walid, and others!
  • Note: I expect to talk very little about specific medications because I'm not qualified in that area, but I may write more generally about medication.
• Parenting someone with ADHD thanks Skyler and many more!
  • Note: This may be covered somewhat in passing, but is too large a topic to focus on