How Life Changes After an ADHD Diagnosis

If you’ve just been diagnosed with ADHD — or suspect that you have it — you might wonder how your life might change after diagnosis. We’ve got you covered! Read on to learn how your life changes after diagnosis and how we can help.

Receiving an attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis as an adult or for your child can lead to a “lightbulb” moment. Suddenly, the challenges that once felt confusing or insurmountable have a name, and there’s a path forward.

But with the clarity of diagnosis often comes a mix of emotions, new responsibilities, and adjustments to your lifestyle.

Lisa Webb, MBA, MPH, PsyD, and Ken Robins, MS, PhD, know firsthand that a mental health condition like ADHD impacts your life — and equally importantly — how the right treatment can transform it.

Read on to learn how your life can change after an ADHD diagnosis and how the team at Body & Mind Consulting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, can help you navigate those changes.

Your past struggles suddenly make sense

Maybe you’ve always struggled to start tasks — or finish them on time. Or maybe you’re always searching for your lost keys or missing cellphone. Or maybe your mind is always racing and generating idea after idea.

While these may seem like little quirks to some, the struggles caused by ADHD can take a toll on you. Poor time management, low task initiation, and forgetfulness can affect your home life as well as your performance at work.

And with an ADHD diagnosis, you now know what’s causing these struggles. ADHD can weaken your executive function skills — the skills responsible for time management, prioritization, or organization — and make these tasks harder for you.

Once you’ve named the source of your troubles, it’s easier to tame it.

You might have big feelings about your diagnosis

After any mental health condition diagnosis, it’s normal to feel a range of emotions. You might feel relief to know why you’ve struggled. You might be in disbelief, especially if you’re an adult and wondered how you missed the signs. All of these reactions are completely normal, so don’t brush off any feelings.

If it helps, journal your thoughts.

You can get started with treatment

The best part of an ADHD diagnosis is that you can get started on the right treatments that help you get the clarity and focus you need. Here at Body & Mind Consulting, our team offers a variety of ADHD treatments including:

Lifestyle modifications

Regular exercise, good-quality sleep, and a healthy diet can also help you manage your ADHD symptoms. Regular exercise helps boost dopamine and norepinephrine levels, which aid concentration, a balanced diet that includes protein, complex carbs, and omega-3s can stabilize energy and focus, and good sleep habits can help you combat ADHD-related sleep problems.

What habits you avoid are just as important as the ones you pick up. Avoid foods that trigger or exacerbate your ADHD symptoms. Foods with artificial dyes can make hyperactivity worse.

Brain wave mapping

ADHD isn’t just an invisible condition. It affects your brain in ways that are visible. Specifically, your prefrontal context, your limbic system, and your basal ganglia are all affected by ADHD.

Brain wave mapping is a tool that lets Dr. Webb and Dr. Robins understand a little bit more about how your brain works and where it’s most impacted by ADHD. This helps shape your treatment plan.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is another type of therapy that can help retrain your brain. It’s a type of neurofeedback. While it can be used to help with many mental health conditions, it’s also helpful for ADHD.

EMDR for ADHD involves guided eye movements to help process and reduce the emotional impact of experiences, supporting better focus and emotional regulation.

Emotional freedom technique (EFT)

The emotional freedom technique helps with ADHD by reducing stress and emotional overwhelm — both of which can interfere with focus and self-regulation. By tapping on specific acupressure points, EFT can release stored emotional energy, improve your emotional balance, and make it easier to manage ADHD symptoms.

Medication management

If needed, our team can prescribe medication to help you manage your ADHD symptoms.

You can tap into your strengths

While treatment can help you manage your more bothersome symptoms, learning that you have ADHD can also empower you to tap into the strengths of ADHD. For example, those with ADHD tend to think creatively, be resilient, have a good sense of humor, and demonstrate a willingness to take risks.

Questions? To learn more about ADHD management, call our office or book an appointment online today.