Meds Are Not Enough
The phrase “pills don’t teach skills” is one of the most accurate and impacting statements I’ve heard during my period of dealing with ADD. Not a bad name for a Blog either!! It took a while for me to understand and truly grasp the impact of this statement. I read it, I heard it from two doctors and my ADD coach.
So, what exactly did I need to do? I needed to completely understand my challenges, how they impacted me and overcome them. There were two steps I took in order to overcome my challenges, 1. start medication and 2. learning and maintaining new life skills. Taking medication, that was the easy part. I did very well with that, the pill went in my mouth and down it went with a quick sip of water. Joking aside, that was just the beginning and the medication allowed my brain to be ready to learn and retain new skills. This is of course a simplified description of what occurred.
Once I started my medication, I began the hardest part of my learning, I became consumed by coaching, books, internet research, practicing news skills and dedicating myself to beating ADD. I opened up to as many possible ways to beat ADD as possible. Unfortunately, many people will resist looking inward. I had to come up with the courage to look at myself inside and improve how I reacted outside my body and mind. Here is what I focused on over an intense two year period:
- Self Awareness
- Coaching
- Books
- Listening
- Speaking
- Relationships
- Thinking
- Managing Stress
- Exercise/Nutrition
- Relaxing
- Working
- Children/Parenting
After focusing on all these areas of self improvement intensely for two years in combination with medication, I started to see and feel results. Many of the things that challenged me no longer did or the impact was lessened. I finally felt like all of my work and efforts were being rewarded. The amount of effort, time and dedication I channeled in to working through ADD had paid off and I understood the often heard phrase, “pills don’t teach skills”.