ADHD Roller Coaster: "Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?"
News and Essays about Adult ADHD, with author Gina Pera
You are currently browsing the archive for the ADHD and Relationships category.
A quick note to let you know that my book, Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?, is available as a download from Amazon.com for 
Kindle devices and Kindle applications for iPads, iPhones, PCs, and so forth. Just click on the book title above to go directly to the product page.
Please tell your friends in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom that the Kindle is available on Amazon.com in those countries. (This is the English version.)
Thank you for spreading the word.
Tags: Adult ADHD, Adult ADHD books, France, Germany, Italy, Kindle, Spain, UK
This morning, I had the pleasure of fielding some great questions from Totally.com community members in this webinar. (Note; there are a couple of commercials during the hour-long session, but they are pretty short!)
“When the average ADHDer gets hit with the news that their life partner—and frequently, the point of stability in the marriage—is ill or terminally ill, more than the relationship has been threatened. Not only are we fa
cing the loss of someone we love—and when an ADHDer loves, it goes deep—our whole stability is threatened.”
So began an e-mail from my friend Tricia, written in response to my request for advice for James, a reader of this blog. He had written to ask me how to best help care for his ill partner without letting his ADHD symptoms thwart his best intentions. I quickly responded with my best off-the-cuff advice, but then I turned to a real expert: Tricia.
James’ was a timely e-mail, because even though Tricia’s beloved husband had just passed away, she was already turning her thoughts to this important topic: How to help prepare the adult with ADHD who suddenly becomes the caregiver to an ill partner, a charge that can involve immense organizational skills, dealing with physicians’s sometimes prickly egos, hospital rules, conflicting advice from specialists and, oh, all the things that the partner used to do, such as bill-paying and other logistics? Not to mention dealing with personal grief reactions and a frightfully shortening window of time together. Read the rest of this entry »
UPDATE: THE PDF IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. YOU CAN PURCHASE THE KINDLE (AMAZON) OR NOOK (BARNES & NOBLE) VERSIONS. AMAZON PROVIDES A FREE “KINDLE READER” YOU CAN USE ON YOUR COMPUTER TO READ KINDLE BOOKS. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PURCHASE AN ACTUAL KINDLE.
A quick post to let you know—because it hasn’t been publicized—that Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? is available for immediate download as a full PDF. Why is this useful? Lots of reasons. I’m letting you know right now because the PDF might not be available soon.
Yes, you probably don’t want to read the entire PDF from your monitor. After all, it’s a big book, one my friend and Huffington Post blogger Michael Laskoff calls “almost ridiculously comprehensive.” (Check out Michael’s archive on Huffington Post for many thought-provoking posts on Adult ADHD and other topics.) Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ADHD and Relationships
I knew something was up when a greater-than-usual number of “help, please!” e-mails appeared in my in-box this morning.
Then my friend Doreen gave me the heads up on Facebook: MSN.com had featured a “When Your Lover Has ADHD” tag on its Valentine’s-themed homepage. It linked to an interview I’d done last year with Health.com: “When Someone You Love Has ADHD: Frequently Asked Questions About Helping Your Partner and Yourself.” It begins this way:
When journalist Gina Pera married a man with undiagnosed Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) she embarked on a wild ride that took her from frustration and confusion to understanding and advocacy. Today she runs support groups for people with ADHD and their partners, and her book Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? was published in 2008.
“Wild ride” indeed. But our marriage started out more on the rainy side. (That’s us at our outdoor wedding in 1998. Despite the huge two-person umbrella, my husband still managed to position the dripline right over me. Fortunately, that kind of center-of-the-universe tendency is a relic of the past — or neither one of us, not to mention our marriage, would have survived!) Here’s a sample of the questions:
Q: How did you realize that your husband had ADHD?
Q: In the title of your book, you used the outdated term “ADD.” Why that instead of ADHD? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ADHD and Relationships, ADHD Roller Coaster, Adult ADHD, Gina Pera, is it you me or adult add?
Thanks to Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI-TV for airing this well-balanced segment during ADHD Awareness Week, and thanks to Dancing with the Stars star Karina Smirnoff and the amazing Kavanaugh family for sharing their stories. (Oh, I make a small cameo appearance, drawn from a 30-minute interview with Health producer Dawn Heefner. Astute, intelligent questions all!)
PHILADELPHIA, PA.; September 22, 2009 (WPVI) — Attention deficit disorders are common among children. But few people know that they affect anywhere from 4 to 16% of American adults too – though most don’t know it. But identifying the disorder can be a big step in learning how to live a good life with AD/HD.
Karina Smirnoff moves across the dance floor in “Dancing With the Stars” with a precision that shows hours & hours of practice.
That’s not easy for someone with attention deficit disorder – ADD….
Continue reading at KPVI’s website, and PLEASE leave a note of appreciation there for this story.
Tags: ADHD Awareness Week, Adult ADHD, Dancing with the Stars, Karina Smirnoff, Philadelphia, WPVI
Maybe we so often associate ADHD challenges with schoolwork, paperwork, and housework that we don’t often think of ADHD putting a kink in, um, bedroom fun. Or, that activity that we assume most people can do “in their sleep”: sleep.
Ah, but what you don’t know can hurt you. It can hurt your love life. And it can hurt your ability to get to bed on time, go to sleep, and stay asleep, not to mention leaving you prone to gasping for air (sleep apnea) or dancing the cucharacha with your restless legs all night.
I invite you to visit my blog on ADHD and Relationships to learn a bit more on those two subjects and, best of all, read the many insightful comments from readers that follow. (While you’re there, please sign up to follow this monthly blog so you’ll be notified of new posts.) I guarantee you’ll find some kindred spirits.
1. ADHD and Sex: No Shame, No Blame
“Gina, sex is difficult for people with ADHD; it’s tough to stay focused!” says a female Facebook friend, responding to my query on this topic. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: ADHD and sex, ADHD and sleep, Adult ADHD, Adult ADHD relationships, Gina Pera, Insomnia, intimacy, Restless Legs Syndrome, sleep apnea
Lunch rush was over, but distractions remained numerous inside the La Bou cafe just off Highway 49 in Auburn. Blenders whirred out smoothies every few minutes, laughter erupted from a nearby group, a young worker noisily cleared tables.
Yet, through it all, Cass Brown Capel stayed focused – eyes locked on her interviewer, the need to interject random thoughts stifled, attention not straying to her daughter, Ariana, who was sitting placidly next to her.
You would have no inkling that Capel, a 54-year-old psychologist from Auburn, has been diagnosed with the adult version of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder since 1991.
_________________________________________________________
So begins the main story on Adult ADHD, by reporter Sam McManis, in last Sunday’s Sacramento Bee. Immediately, readers learn that ADHD probably isn’t what they thought it was — a childhood ondition that makes someone fidgety or flighty.
Read the full story here: http://www.sacbee.com/749/story/1234819.html
Thanks to the Bee, McManis, and especially Cass and John Capel, for sharing their story in order to educate the public on this vastly underdiagnosed condition.
Recent Comments