ADD Symptom Survey

“Bad, rude, thoughtless, aggressive, forgetful” behaviors happen when the demands placed on you wipe out your ability to respond appropriately.

 

In therapy, one of the first things we will do is identify your skill deficits.

 

Executive Functioning Skills

 

**Do you have difficulty shifting from one mindset to another (or from one activity to another)?

 

**Do you have difficulty with organizing, planning, or remembering to do something?

 

**Do you struggle to manage your frustration?

 

**Is impulsive behavior a problem in your life?

 

- You will learn to pinpoint lacking skills that contribute to the above (or other negative) behaviors.

 

- You will learn to predict previously unpredictable “explosions” and/or “implosions” or other negative reactions.

 

-You will learn to separate your emotional response to a problem from the thinking you need to do to solve the problem.

 

-You will learn to think flexibly.

 

Language Processing Skills

 

**Do you lack the vocabulary for categorizing and expressing emotions?

 

-You will learn to identify internal feelings and give appropriate verbal expression to these feelings.

 

Emotional Regulation Skills

 

**Is your irritability, anxiety, sadness, or confusion making rational thought difficult?

 

**Are obsessive, compulsive, ritualized activities getting in the way of rational thought?

 

**Are these behaviors the only ways you can reduce anxiety?

 

**Do you have a preference for the predictable and the routine and freak out when events are unpredictable or uncertain?

**Do you have trouble seeing the big picture?

 

**Do you over focus on facts, details, minutia?

 

**Are you a perfectionist?

 

**Do you have trouble reading social situations?

 

**Does noise in a lunch room or restaurant, or music/talk on the radio set your teeth to grinding, give you headaches or make you feel tense?

 

**Do “roadblocks” or people telling you “no” make you feel crazy, frustrated or angry?

 

-You will learn to curb your emotional responses in order to allow yourself to think rationally and logically.

 

-You will learn to act rather than react.

 

-You will learn self-soothing techniques to use in stressful or anxiety-inducing situations.

 

-You will learn and enjoy newfound relaxation skills which can be used almost any time and in any situation.

 

-You will gain insight into your obsessive and compulsive behaviors; and you will learn to manage your behavior and thought processes when a situation triggers your seeming “need” to act in these maladaptive ways.

 

-You will discover the philosophy of “Good Enough”

 

-You will learn appropriate social behaviors, communication, and acquire the ability to read body language and other non-verbal communication.