ADHD/ADD Archives | Plano Christian Counseling

When ADHD Interferes With Your Relationships

When ADHD Interferes With Your Relationships

McCartney Paul, Kate Motaung2025-07-23T06:19:41+00:00July 23rd, 2025|ADHD/ADD, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Relationships are important. They are part of God’s plan. He made us social creatures. In Genesis, we find that God didn’t want Adam to be alone, so He created Eve. The Bible is full of stories of how God has provided people to do his work and to love His followers. So, when you long for relationships, it’s not unusual – it’s part of God’s plan. But if you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (also known as ADHD), you may be struggling in your relationships. It’s one thing to desire deep, meaningful, and mutually beneficial relationships, and it’s a whole other thing to make and preserve them. ADHD Relationship Obstacles If you have ADHD, you’re probably already familiar with some of the obstacles that this disorder presents when it comes to interpersonal relationships. You’re probably acutely aware of the fact that you interrupt people when they’re talking or that you have a hard time focusing on a conversation. You probably cringe when you think about the time that you were pacing the floor acting disinterested in a conversation. But your mind and your body often follow the directions of ADHD rather than social norms. A romantic relationship adds a whole other layer of confusion and misunderstanding. You might be in a fully committed, loving relationship, ready to make a life together, but if your partner doesn’t understand your ADHD, you might not be perceiving the relationship in the same way. When you forget something they just said or lose track of the task that you promised to handle, it can feel to them like you’re careless or indifferent or even worse, that you simply don’t prioritize them or their needs. If they don’t understand that your brain works just a little differently, they may interpret your actions as lazy, [...]

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Common ADHD Quirks and How to Manage Them

Common ADHD Quirks and How to Manage Them

McCartney Paul, Kate Motaung2025-06-05T07:08:08+00:00June 5th, 2025|ADHD/ADD, Family Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Having ADHD is a mixed bag of fun and frustration. so many things are just different about us compared to neurotypical folks, that it’s sometimes hard to keep track of. It is important for us to feel seen and understood because, although we might be different, there is nothing inherently wrong with us. As with everyone, regardless of their neurotype, sometimes we need to understand why we are doing certain things so that we can better adapt or tweak our actions, for the good of everyone. Let’s explore some of the most common ADHD quirks and consider how to manage them. Common ADHD Quirks and How to Manage Them Most of us have poor bladder control When we get locked into a hyperfocus mode, there is little that can stop us or distract us, even a full bladder. Unfortunately, holding urine does not strengthen the bladder but weakens it over time. It might take a lot of practice, but we simply need to lean into our natural affinity for multitasking and go to the bathroom while we are doing whatever fun task we are absorbed in. We tend to adopt accents Those with ADHD often become fascinated by ordinary things, and a foreign accent can be captivating. We tend to imitate accents without even realizing it, and sometimes this comes across as rude or fake, although for us it is harmless and unintentional. If we find ourselves in a conversation with someone who has an interesting accent, it might be helpful to warn them that we tend to mimic accents. It may not be a big deal, but it also might be best to warn others before it slips out. Alternatively, we can be self-aware and try to intentionally stop ourselves from mimicking. We suffer from FOMO There is [...]

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ADHD and Communication: How One Impacts the Other

ADHD and Communication: How One Impacts the Other

McCartney Paul, Kate Motaung2025-05-08T06:18:42+00:00May 8th, 2025|ADHD/ADD, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Almost all friendships and relationships these days are maintained and enriched by digital communication. With our busy lives, we tend to rely on text messaging and video calls to make plans, check in with each other, share news, and spend casual time together when we can’t meet in person. Digital communication fills a gap in almost all modern friendships. This especially affects those with ADHD. For those with ADHD, though, this aspect of communication can be complicated. Where most people find digital communication to be easy and sometimes even preferable, those with ADHD generally hate it. Their friends and partners will probably attest to this fact. For many, those with ADHD seem to blow hot and cold because they are friendly, focused, and connected in person but silent and seemingly cold in the times between hangouts. The ADHD Pattern From the perspective of friends, those with ADHD have a pattern of communication that looks something like this: You spend time together and enjoy yourselves with your ADHD friend, making you feel like you’re the center of their attention and the only person in the room. However, you don’t hear from them in the days and weeks that pass. Text messages don’t receive replies, and phone calls are unanswered; they seem to be ghosting you. What gives? If you have experienced rejection or abandonment trauma in your life, this kind of unpredictable communication often feels triggering. It’s hard to trust someone who makes you feel seen and heard when you’re face to face, only to disappear completely in the time between. Communication is as much about the words that are spoken as much as the words that go unspoken. Silence speaks volumes, too. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind One of the harsher realities about ADHD is that it often [...]

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How to Parent a Child with ADHD and RSD

How to Parent a Child with ADHD and RSD

Stephanie Kramer2025-03-21T08:32:45+00:00March 11th, 2025|ADHD/ADD, Christian Counseling for Children, Featured, General|

Your child comes home from school, their shoulders slumped and eyes brimming with tears. You ask what’s wrong, and they mutter something about a classmate’s joke or a teacher’s passing comment. To you, it might seem small, something that most kids would brush off, but to them – their world is crashing along with their self-esteem. They may have ADHD and RSD. Their pain is raw, mountainous, immediate, and consuming. You are left to figure out how to comfort them and prevent long-term damage. This is what parenting a child with Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) can feel like. For a parent, it can create a helpless feeling, seeing your child crumble over things that wouldn’t rattle most people and not knowing how to protect them from a world that is sometimes too harsh. Plano Christian Counseling offers support and guidance to help parents navigate the challenges of raising a child with RSD. Why do so many children have ADHD and RSD? While it is possible to have RSD without ADHD, the two are most often linked. ADHD isn’t just about lack of focus or inattentiveness. Those are what most people talk about when they think of ADHD. It also affects emotional regulation. The part of the brain that helps to manage emotions, the prefrontal cortex, doesn’t always work efficiently in people with ADHD. This can lead to emotions that feel big and hard to control. Signs of ADHD and RSD RSD can show up in various ways. Here are some signs that your child may have RSD. Extreme emotional pain They might feel devastated by what other people see as only mild criticism or rejections. Fear of rejection Those with RDS may avoid situations where rejection is possible, like applying for jobs, asking someone out on a date, or [...]

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Do You Have the Symptoms of Adult ADHD?

Do You Have the Symptoms of Adult ADHD?

Bryan Ferguson, Kate Motaung2025-03-25T16:54:16+00:00November 8th, 2024|ADHD/ADD, Featured, Individual Counseling|

You may have heard about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the past regarding children, but were you aware that adults can also live with this mental condition? Many children with ADHD eventually outgrow it, but about 60% of individuals still have adult ADHD. Symptoms of adult ADHD Do you often question why you struggle with a short attention span, listening to others, or impatience? These are some common symptoms of adult ADHD: Fidgeting and an inability to sit still Hyperactivity is a core component of ADHD, although someone can have the condition without restlessness. As a child, your teachers may have told your parents that you were always on the move or could not sit still. Plano Christian Counseling offers faith-based guidance and support to help individuals and families navigate the challenges of ADHD with understanding and practical strategies. Impulsiveness Impulsiveness and risky behaviors, such as driving recklessly, speeding, and having one-night stands, are symptoms that can lead to broken relationships and trouble with the law. Interrupting others Interrupting others and being unable to wait your turn are hallmarks of ADHD in adults. For example, you may have trouble waiting patiently in line at the grocery store or doctor’s office. In addition, you may become belligerent if you feel that others are being seen first. Racing thoughts Your thoughts may jump from one subject to the next rapidly, and people might complain that you talk too fast. This is one of the reasons you interrupt others; you want to voice your thoughts before you lose them to another topic. Starting projects and not completing them Your parents, spouse, or boss might complain about you starting projects only to abandon them at the halfway point. You may lose interest or become distracted by a new project. Inability to focus [...]

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Is ADHD Anger a Thing?

Is ADHD Anger a Thing?

Sandra Stein2025-03-29T03:10:32+00:00April 23rd, 2024|ADHD/ADD, Anger Issues, Christian Counseling for Children, Christian Counseling For Teens, Featured, Individual Counseling|

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by difficulties in self-regulation and impulse control. Although anger is not listed as one of its official symptoms in the DSM-5-TR, studies indicate that it is, in fact, inherent to the affliction, and people with ADHD are more prone to experiencing anger and irritability than neurotypical people. Emotional dysregulation is a major part of living with ADHD for both adults and children. It makes them feel emotions much more intensely than neurotypical people do and become disproportionately overwhelmed by things such as daily responsibilities, time management, sensory overload, having to switch tasks, rejection, or fatigue, all of which can make them feel stressed and frustrated, and trigger angry outbursts or meltdowns. Plano Christian Counseling offers faith-based ADHD counseling to help individuals and families develop emotional regulation strategies, manage stress, and build resilience Effect of emotional dysregulation on ADHD anger ADHD limits your executive functioning capacity by causing significant deficits in the rational thinking part of your brain located in the prefrontal cortex. This is the area that controls the mental processes that enable you to prioritize what’s important in your surroundings, filter out what might be harmful or distracting, regulate your emotions, control your impulses, and enable you to plan and direct your behavior toward achieving a specific goal. The amygdala, on the other hand, is the emotional center of your brain that controls your fight-or-flight response. When triggered, it floods your body with stress hormones such as adrenaline, bumping up the intensity of your reactions, overpowering your prefrontal cortex, taking over the running of your brain, and hijacking control of your ability to respond rationally to the situation. Emotional dysregulation clouds your judgment and causes angry feelings to escalate quickly and intensely. Instead of thinking before [...]

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