One Word: Blessing

The Blessings That Comes With Having ADHD

For those who have ADHD you might be wondering what exactly could be a blessing of having ADHD? There doesn’t seem to be any blessing in the list of traits describing ADHD: constantly late, disorganized, forgetful, impatience, trouble concentrating, easily distracted, zoning out and a host of other negatives symptoms that make it difficult to navigate the world of work and personal relationships.

None of the traits of ADHD resemble the Fruits of the Spirit, Corinthians 13, or any of the other teachings by St. Paul on how to be a good Christian. Knowing this, how does one find blessings in having ADHD?

I have ADHD and I have it bad! At various times in my life this disorder has turned me into a hot mess! I haven’t mastered this disorder, and it is an ongoing process to make effective changes, but I strongly believe that if I stay positive and focus on the blessings, then I will be able to succeed in life. I believe this applies to others with ADHD as well. I’ll share with you a few of the negative traits of ADHD that can be reframed when we make the choice to engage in the process of turning these negatives into positives and bring healing into our lives.

If we believe that Jesus was able to: make a blind man see, mentally free a demon possessed person, stop the flow of a hemorrhaging woman, and bring a deceased loved one back to life; then I believe that God is able to help those of us with ADHD bring healing to our lives while we manage the symptoms of this disorder.

 

SHAME

Turn It Around With These Blessings:

-Know that God loves you and you are worthy of this because He has said so. Give Him praise everyday for His love.

-Don’t be afraid or a shamed to let others know that you have Adult ADHD. It’s not some sort of non-treatable contagious disease that people need to fear.

MOODINESS

Turn It Around With These Blessings:

-Become aware of your emotions and how you are feeling. Check- in with yourself throughout the day so you can recognise when you are steering towards disorganization and other frustrations.

– Be vulnerable and brave enough to apologise to others when your ADHD traits have caused you to hurt others. Be gentle towards yourself and practice self-forgiveness; release unhealthy guilt.

STRAINED RELATIONSHIPS

Turn It Around With These Blessings:

-Spend your time with people who understand the challenges of ADHD. If there are people who are judgemental towards your disorder, unforgiving, or harsh with you; remove them from your life or decrease the amount of time you spend with them.

-Be conscious of the traits that are causing fractures within your family. Be willing to admit where you are struggling and work together with family members to deal with troublesome issues.

POOR PERFORMANCE AT WORK AND PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT

Turn It Around With These Blessings:

-Find employment that can accommodate your symptoms.  The goal is to recognise what would make the workplace more suitable for you without it compromising your ability to fulfill your duties.

-Discover your gifts. God has gifted you alongside having this deficit. ADHD is not an absence of gifts, skills, abilities and talents. The challenge is to discover these and make them work for you and your employer without the ADHD traits getting in the way.

PASSION

Turn It Around With These Blessings:

-Use your ADHD fueled passion to make somewhere in this world a better place to be. Use it to bring happiness, justice, efficiency and joy to the lives of others and yourself.

-Learn to accept that passion filled persons with ADHD are visionaries who see the world in pictures. Be gentle and understanding towards those who can’t see past two feet in front of them. They aren’t visionaries and that is alright; it’s your job and gift to be the visionary. Leave it to them to the manage the details.

 

Prayer for those with ADHD who just need to stop, pause and pray!