>>120412789>>120398018Managing ADHD without meds comes down knowing your weaknesses and working around them, and doing what you can to reduce the symptoms themselves.
Tbh it's the same as managing it with meds, as all the meds are is another tool in your toolbox, albeit an extremely useful tool that makes all the other tools easier to use.For the latter, I've found that my symptoms, while never fully going away, become much more manageable when I've slept well, had good nutrition, and exercised. The exercise was particularly impactful for me- my symptoms are greatly reduced after a heavy weightlifting sesh. For me, that's the next best thing after meds.
For the former, this is where knowing about ADHD and what it impacts comes in handy.
So, ADHD is a terrible misnomer, because the core issue is that it's a developmental impairment of our executive functions. This is huge, because executive functioning is what allows a person to:
>Analyze a task>Plan how to address the task>Organize the steps needed to carry out the task>Develop timelines for completing the task>Adjust or shift the steps, if needed, to complete the task>Complete the task in a timely wayIn other words, we don't have that 'secretary' in our brain automatically internally managing things for us like normies have. This means we have to externalize this function as much as we can.
For example, we can compensate for working memory deficits by making information external – using cards, signs, symbols, sticky notes, lists, journals, and apps.
We can likewise make time external by using clocks, timers, computers, counters, and other devices that track time intervals.
We can use external motivation, like points systems, being accountable to others at work and school, – anything that reinforces accomplishing goals.
tl;dr: You manage ADHD by reducing symptoms (taking care of your body, meds), and by figuring out what combination of coping mechanisms/tools work best for you.