Does Your ADD Lead to Compulsive Habits?
Posted on June 29, 2011 by Rhonda Harryman, One of Thousands of ADD ADHD Coaches on Noomii.
Can prioritizing your life with a professional coach help you stop negative behaviors? Order your priorities now and learn to live a healthier life.
Certified Life Coach, Rhonda L. Harryman, M.Ed, CLC of Grace Life Coaching, says those with habitual negative behaviors such as compulsive hoarders often acquire possessions as a coping mechanism to deal with the stresses and effects of devastating experiences.” Often times, these individuals have not learned the coping skills to regulate their stress level, so they develop destructive habits.”
For most of us hoarding is not the problem, but in order to change ANY compulsive habit the first step is changing the way they think. “The client and I begin step by step to recognize thinking patterns that don’t line up with reality” said Harryman. “Then I coach them to faithfully put their priorities in place. These are often faith, family and health.We task analyze everything that needs to be done, then I help them to relate to healthy living based on what’s real and true instead instead believing lies. For someone who hoards, it may be the lie that our stuff can fill us and make us secure.”
Harryman recommends reality intervention for those with compulsive behaviors. This begins with understanding someones heart before helping them tackle their problems. “Anyone can make physical changes but if it’s not an inside-out job, the harmful behavior will reoccur. If you are not someone they trust, even your best efforts will be futile. Understand their world, know their stresses and their fears, then move forward one step at a time. A trusted friend would be a good choice; and then, if necessary refer them to a professional.”
“Freedom from believing lies and acting on truth is like lifting a huge mental and physical burden. It is an unbelievable weight off their shoulders that may have been present for 10, 20 or, in some cases, even 50 years. That’s a long time to be held captive!”
The good news is that whether a person needs priority and organizational assistance from a professional life coach or counseling for more serious problems, there is hope for anyone who is willing to look at their life honestly and do whatever it takes to make healthy changes for a better future.
(The above comments from Certified Life Coach, Rhonda L. Harryman were included in the article, Prisoners of Possessions, Edmond Outlook, April 2010 by intervier Mindy Wood)
