Common health problems faced by adults with ADHD It is common for people with ADHD to also have at least one mental health problem. Some of the most common examples include depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, or substance use disorder. Fortunately, there are evidence-based treatments available that can enable you to live a fulfilling life with both ADHD and other conditions. Some people with ADHD have problems controlling attention, others have problems with hyperactivity and impulsivity, and some have all of the above. (For more information about ADHD, see here.) People with ADHD are also more likely to have difficulties with work, study, relationships, and both mental and physical health – but with appropriate treatments and supports, people with ADHD can have great outcomes. If you have ADHD, it is important to not only treat that, but also to treat any other diagnoses that you have. On average, out of every five adults with ADHD, four of them have at least one other diagnosis affecting their mental health. Here are some of the most common health problems faced by people with ADHD: Mood disorders Depressive disorders •   This includes major depression. If you experience major depression, it’s different to “feeling blue” – it’s a prolonged period of time (lasting at least two weeks) where, on most days, you feel low mood or a lack of interest in things that would normally interest you, with significant negative impacts on multiple areas of your life and functioning. Bipolar disorders •   If you have bipolar disorder, this means that you experience periods of time with depression, other periods of time with normal mood, and some periods of time with better-than-normal mood (which, when it is severe, can result in such an abnormally high mood that you may do things that you would later regret). Anxiety disorders There are many types of anxiety. One common type is generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). If you have GAD, that means you experience anxiety that is difficult for you to control and that interferes with your daily functioning on most days for a prolonged period of time (at least six months). Substance use disorders If you have substance use disorder, that means that you’re continuing to take a substance despite it having negative effects on your life and functioning (you might notice a lack of control over whether you take it, physical dependence on it, or social problems from using it, or your use of the substance might be putting you or others at risk). Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) If you have OCD, this means you have a type of anxiety disorder where you are troubled by recurrent, unwanted thoughts, images, or impulses, as well as obsessions and repetitive rituals, which are hard for you to ignore even if you think that they are irrational. Neurodevelopmental conditions These include specific learning disorders, language disorders, autism spectrum disorders Neurodevelopmental conditions are conditions that affect how people’s brains develop (“neuro” refers to the nervous system and “developmental” refers to the fact that development is affected). Sleep disorders Sleep disorders can affect how easily people fall asleep or stay asleep, or they can affect the quality of sleep. Personality disorders Someone’s personality is called “disordered” if they have persistent patterns of responding or relating to others and to the world around them in ways that cause significant harm to themselves or others. Suicidal behaviour and ideation If you are thinking about harming yourself, have attempted or planned to harm yourself, or are worried that you will, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, seek assistance from emergency services and inform your psychiatrist. There are a range of effective and evidence-based treatments for the conditions listed above. Specific treatment plans can be discussed with your psychologist and psychiatrist. There are some treatments that are helpful for all or most of the conditions listed above, though, and it is worth knowing about these. Click here to read about treatments that are helpful for both ADHD and the most common mental health conditions among people with ADHD. Need support for ADHD? Founded by the expert team behind Call to Mind, Clear Minds Psychiatry is a service focused on personalised and comperehensive ADHD care. Learn more about Clear Minds

Four key strategies for ADHD (and everything else!) It is common for people with one neurodevelopmental or mental health condition to also have other ones. While there are some treatments that are specific to the individual condition you have, there are also some treatments that are helpful across a wide range of conditions. If you have more than one health condition, this page will present you with some strategies that can, over time, reduce the symptoms of multiple health conditions at once. Whether you have ADHD, depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, other health conditions, or combinations of these, there are things you can do to effectively improve your health and quality of life. Some treatments are specific to the conditions that you have. But there are also some strategies that will be helpful across a wide range of conditions at once. By investing in the strategies listed below, you can expect improvements across multiple domains of your life and across many (or perhaps all) of the conditions you have. These strategies may seem surprisingly simple, but don’t dismiss them unless you’ve tried them! Many people know about some of these strategies, but the key thing is to consistently incorporate them into your life. If you aren’t using any of these strategies yet, we don’t recommend trying them all at once – talk to your psychiatrist or therapist about which one you’d like to start first. Something is better than nothing! Strategy #1: Develop a healthy lifestyle. Below we list four key components (though they’re not the only components) of a healthy lifestyle. Many people don’t yet have healthy habits in these areas. But every improvement you can make should prove helpful. To read more about how to do this, see here. 1) Develop healthy exercise habits. 2) Develop healthy sleeping habits. 3) Develop healthy eating habits. 4) Cut down on alcohol and tobacco use. Strategy #2: Learn more about the conditions you have. Regardless of which conditions you have, we recommend learning more about them. Beyond Blue provides helpful resources on common mental health challenges: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/mental-health Sane.org provides helpful resources on complex mental health challenges:  https://www.sane.org/ Black Dog Institute provides helpful resources on similar topics to Beyond Blue: https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/resources-support/ Our Resources page provides information about multiple conditions, including ADHD (which receives much less coverage in the pages above). Strategy #3: Try cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with your therapist. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a recommended part of treatment for ADHD, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, substance use disorder, and multiple other conditions. CBT involves a range of thought-based (cognitive) and behaviour-based (behavioural) strategies for reducing the negative impacts of mental health conditions and improving your daily functioning. The specific CBT strategies that are used will vary depending on which conditions you have. Strategy #4: Keep everyone in your treating teams in the loop about any new symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments. If you have multiple health conditions, you probably have multiple doctors and allied health professionals in your life. The different conditions you have can interact with each other, and having one condition can even change your treatment options for other conditions you have (even seemingly unrelated ones). It’s important to make sure that all your doctors know about all the symptoms and conditions you have, including any new ones since you last saw them. That includes your family doctor, your psychiatrist, and any other specialists involved in your care. It’s also important to let your doctors know all the medications that you use, as well as your use of any supplements and over-the-counter products. This is because all these substances can interact with each other, and your doctors need to know about them to make sure that any combinations are being taken safely. If you start a new medication with your psychiatrist, they will help you to keep an eye out for its effects and side effects. It’s important for your psychiatrist to know all the medications that you’re on (including any that you started before seeing them, or any supplements or other products that you take over the counter). Need support for ADHD? Founded by the expert team behind Call to Mind, Clear Minds Psychiatry is a service focused on personalised and comperehensive ADHD care. Learn more about Clear Minds

How we talk about ADHD: What is the terminology we’re using and why? When we talk about ADHD, we follow the advice of the Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA). In this post, we explain what that means. You might also find these tips useful if you want to talk about ADHD with others. What is ADHD? Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a long-lasting condition that causes symptoms that interfere with multiple areas of your life. Some people with ADHD have problems controlling attention, others have problems with hyperactivity and impulsivity, and some have a combination of the above. Diagnostic criteria stipulate that ADHD lasts at least six months; in reality, it usually lasts for years, and is often life-long. You can read more about ADHD here. What about ADD? ADD stands for attention deficit disorder. Though it was used in the past, it is now considered outdated. Even if someone has a purely inattentive presentation of ADHD (with no hyperactivity), all people with ADHD are nowadays referred to as having ADHD. What is neurodiversity? Neurodiversity can refer to the range of different ways that brains can develop and function. People often refer to ADHD and autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) as neurodiverse conditions. On the other hand, people who do not have any neurodevelopmental condition are sometimes referred to as “neurotypical.” What terminology recommendations are we following from the Australian ADHD Professionals Association (AADPA)? Throughout our resources and our conversations with people, we aim to follow the AADPA’s advice on talking about ADHD. Below, we’ve grouped their advice into a few key tips. Please feel free to make the most of these tips when talking to others about ADHD. Tip #1: Educate people about ADHD and correct inaccurate, negative perceptions about it. At Call to Mind, this is how we do this: 1. Communicate information in a way that is accurate and clear, and in a way that (we hope) fosters hope and optimism. 2. Work to combat inaccurate negative expectations and stereotypes that some people have about ADHD. Correct misunderstandings about how ADHD presents. There are three different ways that ADHD can present, or show up in people’s lives – an inattentive presentation, a hyperactive/impulsive presentation, and a mixed presentation. Tip #2: Acknowledge the challenges associated with ADHD. At Call to Mind, this is how we do this: 1. Help people to see that they should not trivialise or dismiss ADHD: people with ADHD have brains that developed differently to people without ADHD, and this makes them different, but ADHD does not make someone “lazy” or “dumb.” People without ADHD should recognise that the distraction and impulsivity experienced by people with ADHD is a very different experience to what it feels like for a neurotypical person to get distracted or to feel an impulse. 2. Recognise that ADHD is a disability. It can be harmful to assume that “ADHD is always a superpower,” because this minimises the challenges that ADHD can present to people who live with it. Having said this, we also emphasise the fact that, with evidence-based treatment, along with appropriate support and accommodations, people with ADHD can thrive and live a full and rewarding life. 3. Recognise that ADHD is often a life-long disorder (some children do not continue to have symptoms into their adolescence, but many people continue to have symptoms as adults). 4. Acknowledge that ADHD is associated with impulsive behaviours, while also recognising that it is not an excuse for (and should not be used to try to explain) unethical or immoral behaviour. Tip #3: Talk about medications accurately. This is how we do this: Explain how and why medications work in straightforward language. Use correct terminology for medications (rather than slang). Promote the use of evidence-based non-medication-based treatments, either alone or in conjunction with medication. Tip #4: Talk about ADHD and people with ADHD respectfully. At Call to Mind, this is how we do this: Instead of saying someone “suffers” from ADHD or viewing it exclusively as a “treatable” “deficit,” recognise that people with ADHD are people with different brains, who have the capacity to thrive with the appropriate treatments and supports. Instead of using negative labels for behaviours associated with ADHD, use non-judgemental descriptive terms. Instead of seeing people with ADHD as people to manage, we see them as people who can thrive and lead rich, fulfilling lives, especially if they have appropriate supports in place. Need support for ADHD? Founded by the expert team behind Call to Mind, Clear Minds Psychiatry is a service focused on personalised and comperehensive ADHD care. Learn more about Clear Minds