Non-Medication Strategies for Managing ADHD and Anxiety

Non-Medication Strategies for Managing ADHD and Anxiety

written by Dr. Liz Nissim, posted on Psychology Today

Many children, teens, and young adults may be managing symptoms of both ADHD and anxiety at the same time. While medicationis often an option, other strategies can be used to manage ADHD and anxiety as well. They can be used in place of medication or in addition to it to help manage symptoms.

Quieting the Noise

With ADHD and anxiety, the common complaint is the “noise” in one’s mind. That is, the impact of the stimulation and overstimulation of the outside world alongside the anxious thoughts that are constantly running. People struggle to maintain focus on a task or even complete a thought without other interfering and distracting thoughts.

I often recommend setting aside 5-10 minutes at the beginning and end of each day for sitting in silence. No phones, computers, tablets, nothing. Perhaps a journal and a pen, a cup of coffee, or nothing at all. Sit in silence and either acknowledge the noise in your head or let it go.

Focusing on the present moment, the present thoughts, the present focus for the day allows you to enter the day with a goal, or goals, and create a direction for the day. This practice also improves mental focus and reduces the amount of mental and physical energy wasted each day and leading to brain fog and fatigue. Sitting in silence also provides relief from the fight-or-flight response often lurking in the background beyond conscious awareness.

Begin with short 5–10 minute sessions and gradually increase their duration as you gain comfort. Use the time to create lists of goals for the day, the week, or the month. You can also use guided meditations found on many apps.

Get on the Move

Exercising, whether through jogging, yoga, walking, strength training, or any combination thereof, can be an incredibly important part of managing struggles with focus and anxiety—at any age. Even moderate movement helps bodies release endorphins. Movement additionally counters stress by minimizing release of cortisol, lowering anxiety, improving mood, and boosting ability to focus.

Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days. It doesn’t have to be intense—just enough to accelerate your heart rate. For children and teens, provide opportunities for playing outside—bouncing on a trampoline, riding a bike, swimming, or participating in organized activities.

Summer Survival Guide for Parents of Extreme Children

Summer Survival Guide for Parents of Extreme Children

written by Brynn Burger, posted on Attitude Magazine

I write a lot about raising a child with extreme behavior disorders. For other special needs parents like myself, the idea of spending two hot months trapped at home with our children and their behaviors incites household-wide panic.

The heat, the lack of schedule, the food, the break from school — it is the stuff of nightmares, my friends. Our supremely awesome kiddos — you know, those with attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD), ASD, GAD, ODD, SPD, and other diagnoses that affect mood, behavior, and sensory needs — thrive on schedules, predictability, and monitored diet and screen time.

By day three, many of us have succumbed to the normality of giving ourselves 15 minutes of peace and quiet, courtesy of kids’ YouTube and the iPad. I mean, for the love of meltdowns, there is no amount of coffee and boxed wine that could get me through this time of year without a few major meltdowns from my child with ADHD (and myself).

Special needs parents know that there is no foolproof, magic solution for chilling out our kiddo, but here are five strategies that have been tested and approved in our own home  to preserve what little is left of your sanity bustle (see: completely insane freak-out zone) of the summer season.

Set a Schedule, Even if It’s Vague

We know our kids need the predictability that comes with a schedule. So even if all you do is tell them in the morning three things they will be doing (some kids need times, others need references like, “after lunch we will…”), this will be helpful to prep them for returning to the more strict schedules provided by the public school system and, hopefully, weed out some of their anxiety that comes with their return in August. For our son, schedule is key. So, I used to be super prepared and had a Melissa and Doug Calendar (#CommissionsEarned) that had special pockets for our activities and clocks with the time.

Things To Do in NJ This Summer: Your NJMOM 2025 Summer Bucket List

Things To Do in NJ This Summer: Your NJMOM 2025 Summer Bucket List

excerpts taken from blog article by Melanie Bodner, posted on NJ Mom

Whether your family loves to head to the shore, go to the lake, hit the amusement parks, or stay close to home, we’re here to tell you that summer in NJ in 2025 will be epic. Spend a day at a waterpark overlooking the sand, hit one of the festivals with live music, cruise along the coast searching for whales, or zipline above the trees for a unique adventure. Ready to fill your bucket list?

 

5 Tips to Help Teens Overcome Graduation Anxiety

5 Tips to Help Teens Overcome Graduation Anxiety

written by Valerie Kirk, posted on Connections Academy

Since their first day of kindergarten, your student has been working towards one overarching goal: graduating from high school and earning their diploma. And while many students are full of excitement and anticipation for graduation day and what comes next in their lives, there are others who experience fear, uncertainty, and graduation anxiety.

What is Graduation Anxiety?

Graduation anxiety is when teens feel scared and nervous about graduation to the point that it interferes with their daily lives. Graduation anxiety goes beyond feeling a little anxious about all the changes that are happening in their lives. Students who experience graduation anxiety and post-graduation anxiety are full of dread and uncertainty, constantly scared about the future.

There are many factors that lead to graduation anxiety.

Fear of Change

High school graduation is a time of significant change, and change is hard. Teenagers are faced with changes to their school routine, friends, activities, and even where they live after graduation, which can be more change than some know how to handle emotionally.

Uncertainty About Their Future Career

Many teens just don’t know what they want to do after high school. Adding to the stress is the social pressure teens feel today to know exactly what career they want to pursue once they graduate. Many students feel pressure to declare a field of study before they even step foot on a college campus.

Self-Doubt

High school offers a safety net and support structure for students. They may feel that their support structure will disappear after graduation. They may also worry that they don’t have the skills yet to succeed in the adult world.

Familial Expectations

Families may have big dreams for their kids, but those dreams may be different than what their child wants. Students may feel that they just can’t live up to the expectations others have for them.

Concerns About Finances

Whether going off to college or joining the workforce, entering adulthood includes more financial responsibilities, which can be stressful, especially for those who are uncertain about what they want to do after high school or who have limited experiences with managing their own finances.

5 Tips to Help Teens Overcome Graduation Anxiety

5 Tips to Help Teens Overcome Graduation Anxiety

written by Valerie Kirk, posted on Connections Academy

Since their first day of kindergarten, your student has been working towards one overarching goal: graduating from high school and earning their diploma. And while many students are full of excitement and anticipation for graduation day and what comes next in their lives, there are others who experience fear, uncertainty, and graduation anxiety.

What is Graduation Anxiety?

Graduation anxiety is when teens feel scared and nervous about graduation to the point that it interferes with their daily lives. Graduation anxiety goes beyond feeling a little anxious about all the changes that are happening in their lives. Students who experience graduation anxiety and post-graduation anxiety are full of dread and uncertainty, constantly scared about the future.

There are many factors that lead to graduation anxiety.

Fear of Change

High school graduation is a time of significant change, and change is hard. Teenagers are faced with changes to their school routine, friends, activities, and even where they live after graduation, which can be more change than some know how to handle emotionally.

Uncertainty About Their Future Career

Many teens just don’t know what they want to do after high school. Adding to the stress is the social pressure teens feel today to know exactly what career they want to pursue once they graduate. Many students feel pressure to declare a field of study before they even step foot on a college campus.

Self-Doubt

High school offers a safety net and support structure for students. They may feel that their support structure will disappear after graduation. They may also worry that they don’t have the skills yet to succeed in the adult world.

Familial Expectations

Families may have big dreams for their kids, but those dreams may be different than what their child wants. Students may feel that they just can’t live up to the expectations others have for them.

Concerns About Finances

Whether going off to college or joining the workforce, entering adulthood includes more financial responsibilities, which can be stressful, especially for those who are uncertain about what they want to do after high school or who have limited experiences with managing their own finances.

"The various psycho-educational testing Dr. Liz conducted on our son gave us critical clues about where his learning strengths and weaknesses lie so that his needs could be better addressed at home and school. Moreover, because of their warm, kindhearted personalities, both Dr. Liz and her associate, Stephanie, formed an immediate bond with my son. He eagerly looks forward to his weekly therapy sessions. We are so lucky Dr. Liz came into our family's lives when she did! For stressed-out families trying to help their children as best they can, she is a calming voice of reason!"
- Julie C.
"Dr. Matheis has a remarkable ability to understand the unique needs of her patients and address them constructively. She builds strong, meaningful relationships with patients and their families, encouraging trust and collaboration. When working with my son who struggles with autism-related anxiety, she created an environment in which he was able to calm down and open up to her in ways I had not seen before. She was able to reach him and helped him work through his crisis/problem. Most importantly, she empowered him to move forward."
- N.L.
"Dr. Matheis is amazing. She has tremendous resources and loads of energy. She is not willing to accept anything less than the most effective results for her clients. She made me feel as if my son was her top priority throughout the entire process. I would, without reservation, give her my highest recommendations.  Thank you, Dr. Matheis!"
- Anonymous
"Dr. Matheis has an amazing ability to read kids and connect with them. She has been an invaluable resource for our family over the past several years and has helped us with everything from educational consulting, to uncovering diagnoses as well as family therapy. Working with Dr. Matheis never feels clinical and most importantly, our children love and trust her. We can not thank you enough Dr. Liz!"
- Anonymous
"My teenage son had been seeing Dr. Matheis through his senior year of high school, as he was only diagnosed with ADHD at 16 years old.  Dr. Matheis came highly recommended from our pediatrician and she has done wonders for our son as well as our family, navigating new ways for him to deal with his diagnosis without the use of medication.  She taught him ways to organize himself and even when something did not work for him, she patiently continued teaching him new ways to keep himself on track.  She has also helped us as parents to understand how his mind works so that we did not continue to blame his lack of focus on him, rather on his unique way of thinking.  Thank you Dr. Matheis!!!!"
- LG
"Dr. Liz is the best! Our family was directed to her by our Pediatrician to assist with figuring out severe mood changes, severe anxiety, strange new fears and food aversion that had come onto one of our children literally overnight. After just a couple of visits, she suggested that the issues may actually be rooted in a physical issue and suggested we immediately take our child to be swabbed for strep, because Dr. Liz suspected PANDAS (a pediatric autoimmune disorder brought on by strep). The same Pediatrician that suggested Dr. Liz would not do the swab (they do not believe in PANDAS and we no longer go there) but I took my child to my doctor who did the swab and it was positive for strep. When our child went on antibiotics, within 24 hours all symptoms went away and our child was back :-) Dr. Liz then recommended a PANDAS specialist who helped us and our child is in complete remission and is happy and healthy. We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Liz for her knowledge of all things, even the most remote and unusual and for helping us so much! Thank you!"
- Anonymous
"The various psycho-educational testing Dr. Liz conducted on our son gave us critical clues about where his learning strengths and weaknesses lie so that his needs could be better addressed at home and school. Moreover, because of their warm, kindhearted personalities, both Dr. Liz and her associate, Stephanie, formed an immediate bond with my son. He eagerly looks forward to his weekly therapy sessions. We are so lucky Dr. Liz came into our family's lives when she did! For stressed-out families trying to help their children as best they can, she is a calming voice of reason!"
- Anonymous
"Thank you, Dr. Liz. Although we have told you countless times, it will never feel enough. You have listened when J could barely speak and continued to listen when he was sad, angry and confused. You've challenged him and directed us in our roles as parents. You've helped J face his fears while the list evolved and changed, and yet you've stayed committed to 'the course.' We pray that your children realize that time away from them is spent helping children learn and that vulnerability is a sign of strength and bravery."
- June I
"My son was admitted to an Ivy League school when only 2 years ago, you assessed him and saw his struggles, his Dyslexia. We are grateful that he no longer has to carry that deep feeling of inadequacy or shame that must have kept him so self conscious and from reaching his potential. He has the PERFECT program for him. He has A's in high math and economics. He became a Merit Scholar, a Boys State legislature, the HEAD captain of the football team and help a job ALL while studying and managing his classes and disability. I am PROUD of you, a young doctor, who knows and sees the vulnerability of children and helps them recognize "it's NO big deal" God bless."
- Anonymous

Learn More About Dr. Liz!

Subscribe to our Mailing List
Psychological and Educational Consulting Logo

513 W Mt Pleasant Ave, Ste 212,
​Livingston, NJ 07039