Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships
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- Create Date：2021-12-17 09:51:04
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Russell A. Barkley
- ISBN：1462546854
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Summary
If you're among the millions of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder （ADHD）， you need the latest facts about the disorder and its treatment。 You need practical strategies to help develop your strengths and achieve your goals， whether on the job， in family relationships， or in personal pursuits。 From renowned ADHD researcher/clinician Russell A。 Barkley， this is the book for you。 Dr。 Barkley takes you through the process of seeking professional help， addresses frequently asked questions about medications and other treatments， and offers a wealth of advice and tips--all science-based。 Featuring the latest resources and medication facts， the revised and updated second edition includes new or expanded discussions of mindfulness， emotional self-control， time management， building a successful career， maintaining a healthy lifestyle， and more。 Finally， an authoritative one-stop resource to help you take back your life from ADHD。
Reviews
Dustin
，
There were some parts of this that were a bit rough and dry， but I got some good nuggets of strategies and things to try to help me。 They seem like good ideas， but I've not implemented yet （classic ADHD， heh）。 There were some parts of this that were a bit rough and dry， but I got some good nuggets of strategies and things to try to help me。 They seem like good ideas， but I've not implemented yet （classic ADHD， heh）。 。。。more
Glen Barber
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Laughably bad。
Suélen Fernandes
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fala muito de hiperatividade e pouco de desatenção :（
Keith O'Loane
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Good information and he is the expert but there are still aspects of adult ADHD that aren't fully addressed。 Good information and he is the expert but there are still aspects of adult ADHD that aren't fully addressed。 。。。more
Laurie
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Really helpful。 Obviously written for people with ADHD - most of the chapters are short with lots of breaks and bolding of important text。It's pretty encyclopedic in content， so it's a lot to take in。 I like the eight rules to living with ADHD。 It was really easy to skip over the pieces that were not relevant to me。 Strong recommendation for anyone recently diagnosed （or who thinks they might have ADHD） that is interested in learning more about the disability。 Really helpful。 Obviously written for people with ADHD - most of the chapters are short with lots of breaks and bolding of important text。It's pretty encyclopedic in content， so it's a lot to take in。 I like the eight rules to living with ADHD。 It was really easy to skip over the pieces that were not relevant to me。 Strong recommendation for anyone recently diagnosed （or who thinks they might have ADHD） that is interested in learning more about the disability。 。。。more
Rachel
，
Would definitely not recommend， whether for people with ADHD or for people seeking to understand people with ADHD。 The author is certainly an eminent researcher， but the book sometimes uses pretty stigmatizing language; the examples given are often of really intense presentations of ADHD （so a great way to reinforce your stereotypes if you're trying to educate yourself about ADHD， and not very helpful for making sure people who have less obvious ADHD get successfully diagnosed and treated）; and Would definitely not recommend， whether for people with ADHD or for people seeking to understand people with ADHD。 The author is certainly an eminent researcher， but the book sometimes uses pretty stigmatizing language; the examples given are often of really intense presentations of ADHD （so a great way to reinforce your stereotypes if you're trying to educate yourself about ADHD， and not very helpful for making sure people who have less obvious ADHD get successfully diagnosed and treated）; and the strategies in the book are nothing special， particularly if impulsivity isn't the main way your ADHD manifests。 The book also doesn't do a great job of covering the internal experience of ADHD， and consequently doesn't do a great job of looking at the ways in which ADHD may manifest differently in people who aren't white men （from what I've read， women of all races， and men of colour， are more likely to have a presentation of ADHD that's more about internal distress and chaos than external distress and chaos）。Barkley talks a lot about "the life you deserve" and I'm here to tell you that the life you deserve involves a life in which you don't read this book ;）（For those looking for something better: I don't have another book recommendation， but try How To ADHD on YouTube for something a bit more cheerful。） 。。。more
Lady V。
，
While an improvement on what I've come to expect from this man and his work， the condescending tone with which he perpetually addresses the reader is rather obnoxious （to put it mildly）。 With that said this is a relatively well written account of what ADHD is， primarily from an external point of view。 There are two notable things missing， one of which I find mind-boggling that it can be absent but - executive dysfunction as an inability to act， not just as organizational or attention difficultie While an improvement on what I've come to expect from this man and his work， the condescending tone with which he perpetually addresses the reader is rather obnoxious （to put it mildly）。 With that said this is a relatively well written account of what ADHD is， primarily from an external point of view。 There are two notable things missing， one of which I find mind-boggling that it can be absent but - executive dysfunction as an inability to act， not just as organizational or attention difficulties， and the struggles that growing up in a culture that often does not acknowledge that ADHD even is a thing， and that not all things can be overcome by "just trying harder"。 The latter part is especially important， because the problems of people with ADHD with insecurity， anxiety， self-doubt， shame， and self-loathing do not come out of thin air。 There is a brief nod to it， but it is always from the， "be aware of this so it doesnt hamper your future"， and not the， "hey， you might have been mistreated or maligned， and could benefit from inspecting your feelings on the matter"。 In a very real way， "just try harder" attitudes tend to do a lot more harm than "help" （a suggestion about as helpful as just feel better to depression， probably）， they often prevent you from seeking real options and methods that can actually improve your life rather than kill your self-confidence， and any author writing on the subject should spend time reflecting on that and helping the reader deal with any internalized feelings。 。。。more
Brandy Parkinson
，
I'm sure book is wonderful， but。。。 it was VERY slow。 I listen to audio books and after 20 minutes of someone reading percentages of NT vs ND people I began to get overwhelmed and couldn't bring myself to come back to it。 I'm sure book is wonderful， but。。。 it was VERY slow。 I listen to audio books and after 20 minutes of someone reading percentages of NT vs ND people I began to get overwhelmed and couldn't bring myself to come back to it。 。。。more
Jade Swarbrick
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This is an absolutely incredible and research based guide to adhd。 Split out in easy sections， with lots of check lists， this is super interactive and informative。 Every adult with adhd should read this， I recommend it to anyone who will listen！！
Jennifer C
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Great information for adults with ADHD from one of the leading experts on the subject。
Sasha Wolf
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For me， the advice in this book fell squarely in the "if I could do that， I wouldn't need this book" category。 For me， the advice in this book fell squarely in the "if I could do that， I wouldn't need this book" category。 。。。more
Kendra
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I'm sure this book is useful for some folks， but I found the tone super-condescending， and as many other reviews say， the back half of the book is a bunch of random advice of varying quality。 Also the book is super fatphobic。 I'm sure this book is useful for some folks， but I found the tone super-condescending， and as many other reviews say， the back half of the book is a bunch of random advice of varying quality。 Also the book is super fatphobic。 。。。more
Trea
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Written with an extreme deficit lens。 Very negative。 I recommended books by Edward Hallowell or John Ratey instead。
Jacob Fancey
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If you’re unsure you have ADHD， or if you know already that you do then this is the perfect place to start for help in controlling your symptoms。
Jérémy Veilleux
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Un changement drastique de la vision complexe et des croyances liées au tdah。 En plus， des solutions pour remédier aux problèmes。
Lestat Nash
，
Helped me to better understand how ADHD was affecting me and what I could do to better manage and take control。 This book was recommended to me after I finally decided fo seek professional help and to see if ADHD was what I was suffering from。 My doctor suggested this book and it has been a great tool along with other resources and medication。 When in doubt just go out and ask a doctor for a professional opinion。
Helyn
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[DNF] Meh。 I slogged through Barkley's book on Executive Functioning which was dense but interesting。 This is really for total beginners and feels really othering。 I had trouble getting into it and it was formatted like a children's workbook。 It does little to adjust expectations， instead just kinda telling you what you need to do to push yourself to succeed。 I liked the Adult ADHD tool kit a bit better。 （https://www。goodreads。com/book/show/2。。。） [DNF] Meh。 I slogged through Barkley's book on Executive Functioning which was dense but interesting。 This is really for total beginners and feels really othering。 I had trouble getting into it and it was formatted like a children's workbook。 It does little to adjust expectations， instead just kinda telling you what you need to do to push yourself to succeed。 I liked the Adult ADHD tool kit a bit better。 （https://www。goodreads。com/book/show/2。。。） 。。。more
Meg Murphy
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This book was clearly written for men with hyperactive presentation of ADHD。 It had a few helpful tips here and there， but ultimately it didn’t adequately address inattentive presentation， which is more common in women。 I found some parts to be condescending as it felt like the author sees people with ADHD as being perpetual fuck-ups who can’t behave themselves。 Not a fan。
Matt
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This book is an odd one， being written by a notable ADHD researcher who nonetheless manages to miss the mark in many important ways。 I found a great deal of information in the first half of the book that was useful and worth highlighting for future reference。 This part of the book would be useful for newcomers to the diagnosis of adult ADHD to read。The second half of the book， however， is nothing more than a diatribe filled with anecdotal personal advice from the author on a wide variety of situ This book is an odd one， being written by a notable ADHD researcher who nonetheless manages to miss the mark in many important ways。 I found a great deal of information in the first half of the book that was useful and worth highlighting for future reference。 This part of the book would be useful for newcomers to the diagnosis of adult ADHD to read。The second half of the book， however， is nothing more than a diatribe filled with anecdotal personal advice from the author on a wide variety of situations that readers may or may not be going through in their own lives。 No attempt is made to generalize anything into a workable plan—instead， the author offers up a variation on the same tired advice to think about things before doing them。 After explaining this， the remaining chapters of the book focus on different potential areas of difficulty， but are filled with strangely specific and often out-of-touch suggestions that are woefully inadequate in the context of a person’s actual life。 Folksy wisdom is not the way to address this disorder， and some of the writing in this section is actually very insulting， as it makes a number of negative assumptions about people with adult ADHD that could only serve to further lower the reader’s self-esteem。 By the end of the book， the so-called advice devolves into ludicrous suggestions that are completely out of touch with the realities of modern life。Although I’ve rated this book two stars for the informative nature of the first half， I recommend that people wanting help for adult ADHD stay far away from this guide。 There are many other books on this subject by writers who are realistic about the struggles of ADHD， yet also embrace a strengths-based perspective that Dr。 Barkley completely ignores in this volume。 。。。more
A。M。
，
Being diagnosed late in life with ADHD meant that I kind of notice when people talk about it， and I look for websites or bloggers who talk about it specifically for adults。 One [[https://ihaveadhd。com/] recommended this book， and I already had his children book （and found it not so helpful for ME）， so I was a little bit loath to buy it， but then it showed up as the Audible special one day - and it seemed like the universe telling me to read it。 [The author would probably argue that I had impulsi Being diagnosed late in life with ADHD meant that I kind of notice when people talk about it， and I look for websites or bloggers who talk about it specifically for adults。 One [[https://ihaveadhd。com/] recommended this book， and I already had his children book （and found it not so helpful for ME）， so I was a little bit loath to buy it， but then it showed up as the Audible special one day - and it seemed like the universe telling me to read it。 [The author would probably argue that I had impulsivity problems， eh？]In audio format it can be 。。。 well， let's just say my brain wandered off when he is reading out medication lists。 Some things just do NOT translate well to different formats。 You know？BUT it has surprised me how often I am thinking 'well， that's just normal; everyone does that' to be told that sure 80% of adult ADHD people do that thing， but only 5% of non-ADHD people do。 Wow， really？ Oh no。。。It is set up for an adult （who already has a job） to get a diagnosis and the right medication in order to improve their life。 Probably a male; all the examples seem to skew male。 But there is a lot of info here that should prove helpful to sufferers。 He has some strategies and some good ideas， but a lot of it is medication based， so if you don't like that as a solution， this book may not work for you。 3 stars 。。。more
Erin
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I found this book very helpful！ I was diagnosed with ADHD combined type at age 35 after a long， painful process。 I think if I had read the first part of this book about the evaluation process before talking to my doctor， it would have been so much easier for me to communicate how I was feeling。 There’s also a list of adhd symptoms and the percentage of neurotypical people who experience these symptoms （dispelling the “everyone’s a little adhd” myth）。The other chapters explaining executive functi I found this book very helpful！ I was diagnosed with ADHD combined type at age 35 after a long， painful process。 I think if I had read the first part of this book about the evaluation process before talking to my doctor， it would have been so much easier for me to communicate how I was feeling。 There’s also a list of adhd symptoms and the percentage of neurotypical people who experience these symptoms （dispelling the “everyone’s a little adhd” myth）。The other chapters explaining executive functions， the different kinds of medications currently available for treatment， and advice for how to change your life （like money management， relationships， and school/work） were very informative。 I liked the short chapters with summaries and breakout boxes explaining key points。 It’s a great book for skimmers。 I was able to finish this book in just over 2 months while caring for a toddler during a pandemic。 I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks they might have ADHD and is trying to organize their thoughts before talking to their doctor， and to anyone diagnosed as an adult who is trying to understand their own brain。 。。。more
Nathan Wilder
，
This was a more action than concept oriented book on adult ADHD。 It provided good coping techniques as far as externalization and other factors。 I'll admit I read some chapters more than others because my ADHD hasn't really effected me emotionally as much as it has for other people， nor is it in comorbidity with other mental disorders （ADHD is the only disorder I have。） I've already done many suggestions he offers and the ones that I don't use are a little weird for me- physically talking to you This was a more action than concept oriented book on adult ADHD。 It provided good coping techniques as far as externalization and other factors。 I'll admit I read some chapters more than others because my ADHD hasn't really effected me emotionally as much as it has for other people， nor is it in comorbidity with other mental disorders （ADHD is the only disorder I have。） I've already done many suggestions he offers and the ones that I don't use are a little weird for me- physically talking to yourself or remembering to always do a certain tick to remind yourself of some rule or standard。 Generally， I've already learned to slow down my behavior and not react immediately to things that happen around me。 This might not be obvious to many people- I've seen plenty with my affliction who choose to alienate people， endanger themselves and waste their resources rather than learning to modify their behavior。 Slowing down before any action is a great suggestion。 Pretty much the rest of the book refers to the ADA or other co-workers who might be willing to help you- not great and pretty middle of the road help here。 The book I read earlier this year was much more enlightening on the mechanism of action and overall nature of ADHD。 。。。more
Chaim Krause
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Best book ever for ADULTS I’ve been struggling for decades because I was “taught’ adult ADHD is ONLY a concentration problem。 Now I realize it’s better described as Impulse Control Disorder。 The *attention* aspects accounted for 20% of the problems I face daily。 After reading this book I have a completely different perspective and now know 90% of my problems are caused by ADHD。This book will almost certainly save me from losing my job and my life partner。== Adding an update after reading several Best book ever for ADULTS I’ve been struggling for decades because I was “taught’ adult ADHD is ONLY a concentration problem。 Now I realize it’s better described as Impulse Control Disorder。 The *attention* aspects accounted for 20% of the problems I face daily。 After reading this book I have a completely different perspective and now know 90% of my problems are caused by ADHD。This book will almost certainly save me from losing my job and my life partner。== Adding an update after reading several reviews critical of this book。 ==In general， the complaints of this book are that this book doesn't do a good job of "scientifically" explaining the *causes* of （adult） ADHD。 Other such complaints are that it doesn't do I good job of *diagnosing* if you have adult ADHD。 Other complaints from some readers *with* ADHD are that not everything in the book applies to them。Problem with these reviews is that they have completely missed the *purpose* of this book。This book never claims to be providing "scientifically proven evidence" as to the *causes* of adult ADHD。 （It leaves that to OTHER books and studies。）This book does not purport to be able to give you what you need to *self-diagnose* IF you have ADHD。 （You need a medical doctor （plus） to do that）。This book is not trying to claim that 100% of people that *actually have （adult） ADHD* display ALL these symptoms。What this book does， and all it claims to do is。。。Describe all the symptoms displayed by the various people *who DO* have ADHD， and provide several ways to help *mitigate* these symptoms。For example the book says X% of a group *solely* consisting of people that have （some form of） ADHD display symptom Y。 And， if you *happen to have* symptom X， here are some things that will *mitigate it*。You do NOT have to believe me。 Just go read the introduction to the book itself。 There is no mention in the introduction suggesting that those things people are complaining about are the purpose of the book。 。。。more
Amanda
，
Wasn't as helpful/informative as I thought it'd be。 Wasn't as helpful/informative as I thought it'd be。 。。。more
Otempora
，
I was relieved that the top review for this book said that it didn't apply to their own experience of ADHD。 There were times when I was flipping through this that I started to doubt my own recent diagnosis because it sounded so unlike anything I could even imagine doing。 Angry outbursts？ Insulting remarks？ Dangerous driving？ Dropping everything to move to a new city？ The book is definitely focused on hyperactive/impulsive symptoms， and， yes， seems to be focused more on men's ADHD （or the symptom I was relieved that the top review for this book said that it didn't apply to their own experience of ADHD。 There were times when I was flipping through this that I started to doubt my own recent diagnosis because it sounded so unlike anything I could even imagine doing。 Angry outbursts？ Insulting remarks？ Dangerous driving？ Dropping everything to move to a new city？ The book is definitely focused on hyperactive/impulsive symptoms， and， yes， seems to be focused more on men's ADHD （or the symptoms more commonly found in men） than women's。 I don't have a problem with impulse shopping; I do have a problem with forgetting to return items or pay bills。 Relationships don't end because I blurt out thoughtless comments or break promises; they never begin because I'm too disorganized to reply to messages or arrange get-togethers。 I'm also pretty high-functioning， so a lot of the commentary focused on dramatic consequences in work or school - dropping out， getting fired - didn't apply。That said， there's still a lot of good information in here。 The descriptions of various medications and what to expect when starting a regimen was really useful。 I found the "rules" potentially helpful as well - I can see how it could interrupt some of the procrastination that plagues me in my personal life。 And the charts that compared ADHD-ers' impairments with the general population actually， genuinely almost made me start crying in my car。 Seeing symptoms that I thought were so universal， that it was my own fault for not being able to cope with， listed next to an itty-bitty number - 8% of the general population does this， 2% does that， 1% （one percent！！） has this experience 。。。 It just drove home in a stark way that my normal is not normal and has never been normal。 Even if my grades are good。 Even if my performance reviews are fine。 That's not the bare minimum， that's the result of an unbelievable， agonizing effort that most of my fellow students and employees do not have to put in。 And all the stuff I don't manage to do？ That's not my fault。 And it can get better。 。。。more
Matt Stiles
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Didn't give me much more than other books or even the wikipedia article on ADHD did Didn't give me much more than other books or even the wikipedia article on ADHD did 。。。more
HADEN HANSEN
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Probably the best book on ADHD for adults。 I hate how many go the hurr durr drugs are bad way。 This one doesn't and recognises how useful they are but also explains the side effects。 Probably the best book on ADHD for adults。 I hate how many go the hurr durr drugs are bad way。 This one doesn't and recognises how useful they are but also explains the side effects。 。。。more
Dawid Mazewski
，
Most of the book is not helpful for me （I think I have add not adhd）。 Maybe for typical adhd will be a better choice。I will give 4 because book is well structured and simple （easier to read for adhd :））
John Gates
，
Not bad， but not great。 It has GOOD EXAMPLES， which is what any good psychology book needs。The beginning of this book will test even the mildest case of ADHD。 It's like an infomercial pulling you along， feeling like its winding you up to short you in the end and asking for donations of some sort。 I've noticed a lot in my own writing， if not just emails， where I will often write what I should say last， first， and vice versa， but then I will edit everything and switch it around so it make sense。 T Not bad， but not great。 It has GOOD EXAMPLES， which is what any good psychology book needs。The beginning of this book will test even the mildest case of ADHD。 It's like an infomercial pulling you along， feeling like its winding you up to short you in the end and asking for donations of some sort。 I've noticed a lot in my own writing， if not just emails， where I will often write what I should say last， first， and vice versa， but then I will edit everything and switch it around so it make sense。 That's kind of the feeling I had for the first couple of chapters。。。 like the book is poorly organized。Luckily this does take a better turn and the info in the book is generally helpful and interesting。 Unfortunately Dr。 Barkley expresses the fact that he did research， but never truly elaborates。 Otherwise， I feel like this is a nice introduction to Adult ADHD for someone simply interested in the subject， but I wouldn't mind delving deeper into the subject with greater emphasis on old and new research and also the proximities of other similar conditions。 。。。more
Sanjay Subramaniam
，