By Anna Raab, M.A. Counseling, BCN
New Year’s Resolution: FOCUS. GET ORGANIZED. FINISH PROJECTS. MASTER TO-DO LISTS. LISTEN BETTER…
“BUT I JUST CAN’T!!! EVERY YEAR I FAIL… I FEEL LIKE SUCH A FAILURE. I KNOW I’M SMART; I HAVE THE IDEAS AND THE KNOW-HOW… I JUST CAN’T FULFILL MY POTENTIAL!!”
IF THIS IS YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE, KEEP READING!!!!
There is a REASON you struggle. It’s not because you are lazy, unintelligent, or not capable. I have treated so many extremely intelligent people who have carried the burden of ATTENTION ISSUES for years. Most often, the burden of carrying the extra struggle, no matter how accomplished they are, has also led to a certain amount of depression or anxiety, which is usually what brings them to my office. After doing an electrical reading of their brain we find the foundational issue is actually a traffic jam of brain wave activity. The frontal lobe is full of excessive slow wave activity and often not enough of the fast processing waves.
The frontal lobe is responsible for our higher executive function, and when there is a traffic problem with brain wave activity not flowing as it should, untold frustrations can arise. Attention, decision making, problem solving, memory, social awareness, motivation, planning, judgement, emotions, empathy, time management, and more can all be a huge struggle. And it can have NOTHING to do with your desire to be better… it is a REAL issue.
I have seen so many people of all ages who have struggled with this invisible giant their whole lives, and then slowly but surely, they begin to feel their lives have become unmanageable. Relationships have suffered, attempts at higher education have suffered or failed all together, they have stress disorders, they have emotional control issues… life is just so much harder than it needs to be, but it’s all they’ve ever known.
And, it’s not just adults. Very often anxiety and depression are the presenting issues for children also. Because these struggles can be masked by high intelligence and good coping skills it is not unusual for them to fly under the radar undetected.
Even if these issues have been identified and medications are employed, patients are often riddled with side effects and the aid of medication may only be enough to make the limp a little less apparent. There’s nothing wrong with turning to medications for help, but often patients are left wanting and still feeling very incomplete.
Anyone can miss it. I missed it myself in one of my own children. It wasn’t until they had a traumatic accident that I began to do extensive work in their frontal lobe to help with the trauma and anxiety that ensued. In doing so, I treated their attention disorder that I had not even detected. They were always in the middle ground (but not loving) school, adored by teachers, happy at home… just a normal, delightful, energetic child. However, the semester I treated them they went from average to outstanding in school. I’m so thankful to say that as a result I had them tested last year and they are now in the gifted and talented class with all A’s, loving school. Potential unveiled!
This may describe you or your loved one. Does life seem harder than it should be? Maybe it is.
If you live in the Tulsa, OK, area and are interested in learning how neurofeedback can help a loved one with ADD or ADHD, click here.