Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder

Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder

By: Edward Hallowell, M.D. and John Ratey, M.D.

Review by Dr. Hardison: Hallowell provides a wealth of information on all aspects of ADHD. He covers diagnostic procedures, medications, therapeutic treatments, links between ADHD and other conditions, tips on how to deal with and manage ADHD, etc. If you are looking to read only one book on attention deficit disorder then it should be Delivered from Distraction. The format of the book is genius. Hallowell has organized the information in such a way that you can easily find the specific information you are looking for without needing to read the entire book. One chapter is comprised entirely of answers to questions from readers of his earlier books on ADHD. These questions cover most of the frequently asked questions from clients, parents and clinicians. He presents the material in such a way that you immediately understand ADHD from a new perspective. He not only focuses on the negative consequences of having this condition, but he also reveals the strengths that accompany ADHD such as creativity, high energy, intuitiveness, tenacity, etc. Hallowell himself has ADHD and dyslexia and he is now a medical doctor who treats mostly ADHD individuals to help them manage their condition. He makes this condition more relatable by describing his personal experience with the symptoms and his struggles. Make sure to pick up the 2005 edition as it has the most updated information. He wrote a previous book in 1994 called Driven to Distraction and much of what we know about ADHD has occurred in the past 10 years!

The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Communication to Your Mate by: Gary Chapman

Review by Dr. Hardison: Due to his experience as a marriage counselor for over 30 years, Dr. Gary Chapman has identified five distinct love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. This book explores each one to help us all understand how we are communicating or perhaps miscommunicating with our loved ones. Chapman illustrates each love language with real-life examples from his counseling experience. Each of us responds to a different love language and it is important to understand which language your spouse is speaking. For instance some husbands or wives may need regular praise while others value gifts, and another will crave focused attention. What is required to fill your “love tank?” Read this book to find out. Learn to speak and understand your partner's love language, and you will be able to love and truly feel loved in return.

What Happy People Know: How The New Science of Happiness Can Change Your Life for the Better by: Dan Baker

Review by Dr. Hardison: This motivating and helpful book pinpoints 3 areas of life that need to be balanced for a happy full life. These areas include sense of purpose, health, and relationships. Baker’s book teaches people how to gain happiness instead of remaining trapped in a vicious cycle of stress from work and family. Baker offers 6 happiness tools that we can take advantage of to insure happiness: appreciation, choice, personal power, leading with strengths, language and stories, and multidimensional living. A must read if you are looking for more fulfillment and greater happiness in your life!

Putting Anger In Its Place: A Women’s Guide To Getting Emotions Under Control by: Annie Chapman

Review by Dr. Hardison: This book is a guide for women who are battling anger in their daily lives. Chapman pulls from her own personal experience with anger resulting from a sexual assault that occurred during her teenage years. She focuses on anger related specifically to women’s issues dealing with family/relationships, marriage, grief, responsibilities, abuse and stress from holding multiple life roles (mother, spouse, friend, sister, caretaker, etc). Chapman emphasizes the link between spirituality and anger. Any woman searching for a way to release the hold anger has in their lives should find solace in this reading. Choose to rule over your anger instead of letting it control you!

Taming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way. By: Rick Carson

Review by Dr. Hardison: This beneficial book is an essential tool for my practice. I have referred to the techniques described by Carson numerous times in sessions with overly self critical clients. I use the concepts from this book in combination with Greenberg’s Self Critical Chairing exercises. Carson exposes our internal critic/gremlin (narrator in our head) and their tricks. He also offers simple techniques to tame them in order to break free from the hold that they have on us. Carson teaches us that fighting our gremlins is pointless because they are much too shrewd. Instead he teaches us techniques to stay one step ahead of them and how to become aware of their antics so that we can tame them. My clients find this book an easy and engaging read, and its simple language speaks to those of any age and education level. This concept of a self critic is something that applies to all of us. If you have ever thought that you are overly critical of yourself and your work or wondered if others struggle with the same negative self talk then this book will lend much insight into your own internal critic.