Living with ADHD

A practical system for those with ADHD to take back their personal power and embrace their unique talents for success in the modern world.

Living with ADHD explains how those with ADHD grow up wounded by the negative labels and attitudes surrounding them and their “diagnosis”. It shares simple and fast-acting techniques from neurolinguistic programming (NLP) to recalibrate painful memories into valuable learning experiences, re-pattern learned behaviours and negative habits, and discover personal motivation. The book reveals how the novelty-seeking behaviours of those with ADHD are valuable assets to society and should be embraced rather than suppressed.

One of the first rules of child-rearing is “condemn the behaviour, not the child.” Yet this commonsense rule doesn’t seem to apply in the case of attention deficit disorder, or ADHD, where the very name of the condition implies that those labelled with it are “disordered,” “deficient,” and incapable of paying attention. Those with ADHD grow up wounded, told by teachers, guidance counsellors, even parents that they are dysfunctional and unable to succeed in the “normal” world. But, as ADHD expert Thom Hartmann explains, those with ADHD are capable of great success if they can shift the negative self-image created by others and learn to work with their unique strengths.

In this accessible guide for adults with ADHD and the parents and teachers of ADHD children, Hartmann offers a practical system of useful tools and strategies to heal the damage done to a person who grew up labelled as “dysfunctional” and help them cope with—and succeed at—daily life. He explains how the character traits of ADHD were once valuable assets in hunter-gatherer societies and that the later dominance of agricultural and industrial societies, where “farmer” and “worker” skillsets excel, left ADHD “hunters” as behavioural outcasts. Sharing simple and often fast-acting techniques from NLP, Hartmann explains how those with ADHD can take back their personal power, recalibrate painful memories into valuable learning experiences, shed fears and negative habits, and rebuild their self-image in a positive way.

By integrating the strategies in this book into daily life, those with ADHD can transform their way of responding to the world, discover personal motivation, and teach their children to do the same. As Hartmann reveals, it is not ADHD that needs to be healed but our attitudes toward those born with the “hunter” gift.