One woman's answer to the chaos of ADHD
DETROIT -"What's wrong with me?" Terry Matlen often asked herself in her early days of motherhood.
"I wanted children so badly, but I was miserable," said Matlen, now 51, recalling the overwhelming emotions she felt raising two now -grown daughters.
Family bills and laundry piled up. Juggling her children's schedules overwhelmed her. Meal planning, even finding an item in the refrigerator, was a frustrating chore.
If these problems sound familiar, you, like Matlen, may have ADHD or ADD, twin disorders known as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and attention-deficit disorder.
Hyperactivity -- or a lack of inhibition -- is the hallmark symptom of ADHD, which is slightly more common in men.
Disorganization and inattentiveness are common symptoms of ADD, which is more common in women.
Matlen, a licensed clinical social worker who runs an Internet-based ADHD-ADD consulting business from her home (www.addconsults.com), has amassed years of practical information in a new book to help women with ADHD and ADD overcome procrastination, low self-esteem, paperwork pile-up, household malfunctions, meal planning chaos, shopping stress and more.
"Survival Tips for Women with ADHD: Beyond Piles, Palms & Post-Its" (Specialty Press Inc., $17.95) is a 336-page resource guide. It addresses problems that too often are the undoing of women whose brains are wired a little differently.
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