Mindfulness Exercises to Manage Wellbutrin-Related Anxiety

How financial advisors with ADHD manage symptoms — and thrive

Yahoo

a day ago

Yahoo

How financial advisors with ADHD manage symptoms — and thrive

When Aubrey Williams, a financial advisor at Open Path Financial in Goleta, California, watched his kids fill out an ADHD diagnostic questionnaire, he realized nearly all of the symptoms applied to him. It was a moment of revelation — one that would ultimately change the course of his business. For financial advisors, recognizing ADHD symptoms and learning how to manage them can have a profound impact on daily work and long-term success. ADHD is far from uncommon in adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 15.5 million American adults were living with ADHD in 2023. While there is no data on the number of financial advisors who have ADHD, the Financial Planning Association launched the Neurodivergent Planner Knowledge Circle in October 2021 to offer support and community. "ADHD is something that if you don't confront it, it can really wreck your life," said Otto Rivera, an investment manager at Bedford, Massachusetts-based White Lighthouse Investment Management and host of the FPA knowledge circle. "It can always make you feel like you're behind everyone, even though you're talented." READ MORE: For clients with disabilities, proper communication is key There are three types of ADHD, according to the CDC: predominantly inattentive (difficulties focusing), hyperactive-impulsive (excessive physical movement and impulsive behavior), and combination (symptoms of both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive ADHD). "When you get diagnosed, you have this awareness now," Rivera said. "It does empower you to start making decisions, work with it and be happier." ADHD challenges for financial advisors The symptoms of ADHD vary from person to person. Rivera, who was diagnosed in 2021, said he often experiences inattentiveness and difficulty initiating certain tasks that he finds challenging. It can also be hard for him to pick up on details, especially when clients are verbally communicating a great deal of information. "Distraction is always there, now more than ever with our phones and all our notifications and email coming in and getting direct messages from colleagues," he said. "All those things do contribute and can actually worsen the challenges." Williams said that for those with inattentive-type ADHD, the struggles are often internal. Individuals might experience fatigue, anxiety or difficulties in establishing relationships. "Sometimes there's so much going on inside that it's hard to relate to another person," he said. READ MORE: 'The threat is existential,' but these leaders are staying the course on DEI Williams added that it can also be challenging for him to adapt to an environment that lacks structure or routine, leading to procrastination and anxiety over meeting deadlines at the last minute. Even starting simple tasks can be hard, whether due to low motivation, lack of planning or other factors. "It can be a little overwhelming," Williams said. "For neurotypical people, they sort of build their own internal scaffolding to emulate that, but [for individuals with ADHD], it could be very intense and draining." How to manage ADHD symptoms For financial advisors with ADHD, it's also about managing their energy, Rivera said. What works for him, Rivera said, is working on more complicated tasks in the morning after taking his medication, and then leaving easier tasks for the afternoon when his energy is lower. Williams recommended that for more sophisticated long-term tasks, financial advisors with ADHD plan ahead and break it down into smaller parts that can be gradually completed. He recalled situations in which a big project would be on the horizon, not due anytime soon. "I spent [those times] sort of in agony, not able to start, but wanting to," he said. "I had to adapt my way to neurotypical people." For those who are trying to motivate themselves, Williams suggested they try "body doubling," in which they work alongside someone on Zoom or in a coffee shop to stay in a productive environment. Another strategy he uses to keep himself on track with work is to hold a daily debrief of his planned tasks with someone in the morning. Similarly, Rivera recommended using calendar apps to set task reminders and reviewing next day's plan the night before. READ MORE: An ABLE primer: How advisors can use 529A plans for clients with disabilities When talking to clients who are sharing a lot of information, Rivera said he stays focused by taking notes and keeping eye contact. He added that AI notetakers are helpful to ensure detailed documentation. And having an item on hand to fidget with, such as a clickable pen, can also help improve focus. "That will just create physical placebo for me to create some tension on my body and then keep me in the loop," Rivera said. To avoid feeling overwhelmed with information over the course of a conversation, Williams suggested financial advisors ask the most important questions early in order to absorb the essential details. For Williams, having a comfortable and organized space is extremely important to helping him stay focused for work. His preference is for a clear desk, with his phone kept out of reach to avoid distractions. He also likes to listen to a consistent playlist to establish a steady work rhythm. Physical exertion can also help with the management of symptoms. Rivera recommended incorporating a simple daily cardio workout, which he has found to be life-changing. "It gets you in a really good mood," he said. "It helps you get a lot of clarity, and it helps with your focus." Don't be afraid to let clients know you have ADHD Rivera said he's comfortable sharing his neurodivergence when his clients ask about it. He has yet to encounter a client who thought differently about him after learning of his condition. "Our general population is much more aware of ADHD and other neurodivergent challenges that folks have out there," he said. "It's a more empathetic world out there than it used to be some years ago." Williams added that although all of his clients are accepting, when he initially considered sharing his diagnosis, it seemed like a risk to be "putting myself out there." However, he noticed that other neurodivergent financial advisors were comfortable being vulnerable with clients. That gave him the confidence to be open with his clients. Then he took it a step further. Now, he's turned his expertise in neurodivergence to his advantage. READ MORE: How advisors can use ABLE accounts for disabled clients Williams is now branding himself as a financial advisor with ADHD. He frequently shares personal stories about himself with clients, including the story of how he paid off his debt after learning how to manage his ADHD symptoms. "It sort of sets the tone that I am a person of compassion and understanding," Williams said. "I'm not someone who does everything [perfectly] and knows the right answer to everything, [but] I do my best to educate myself and learn." Solve the daily Crossword

Chronically ill? In Kennedy's view, it might be your own fault

CNN

2 days ago

CNN

Chronically ill? In Kennedy's view, it might be your own fault

On a recent weekday evening, Ashly Richards helped her 13-year-old son, Case, with homework. He did math problems and some reading, underscoring how much he's accomplished at his school for children with autism. Richards has heard Trump administration officials suggest that food dyes and pediatric vaccines cause autism and ADHD. That stance, she said, unfairly blames parents. 'There's no evidence to support it,' said Richards, 44, a marketing director in Richmond, Virginia. 'As a parent, it's infuriating.' In their zeal to 'Make America Healthy Again,' Trump administration officials are making statements that some advocacy and medical groups say depict patients and the doctors who treat them as partly responsible for whatever ails them. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and agency leaders have attributed a panoply of chronic diseases and other medical issues — such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, diabetes, and obesity — to consumers and their lifestyle choices, according to a review of 15 hours of recorded interviews, social media statements, and federal reports. He said at a news conference on April 16 that autism is preventable and that rates are rising because of toxic substances in the environment, despite a lack of evidence there is any link. 'These are kids who will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date,' he said. 'Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.' The vast majority of people on the spectrum do not have those severe challenges. The statements are more than rhetoric. These attitudes, ranging from judgments about individual behaviors to criticism of the chronically poor, are shaping policies that affect millions of people. The sentiments have been a factor behind decisions to cut Medicaid, keep federal insurance programs from covering anti-obesity drugs, and impose new barriers to covid vaccines for healthy people, say public health leaders and doctors. GOP lawmakers and federal health officials, they say, hold a reproachful stance toward chronic illnesses and the estimated 129 million people in the U.S. affected by them. 'This is at the heart of so much of our national problem with health,' said Robert Califf, who led the Food and Drug Administration during the Obama and Biden administrations. 'It's these two extreme views. It's every health decision is up to the 'rugged individual,' versus the other extreme view that it's all controlled by environment and social determinants of health. The truth is, it's on a continuum.' Self-reliance is a common theme among adherents of MAHA, an informal movement for which Kennedy has fashioned himself the figurehead that promotes medical freedom, skepticism of vaccines, and a focus on nontraditional medicine to treat disease. Taking medication to manage diabetes? FDA Commissioner Marty Makary suggested on Fox News in late May that it would be effective to 'treat more diabetes with cooking classes' instead of 'just throwing insulin at people.' People with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin because their pancreases don't produce it, according to the National Institutes of Health, which also notes that many with Type 2 diabetes 'need to take diabetes medicines as well.' Taking birth control pills? Casey Means, President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. surgeon general, has said that's a 'disrespect of life' for short-term gain and efficiency. 'We are prescribing them like candy,' she said last year on 'The Tucker Carlson Show,' adding that birth control medications 'are literally shutting down the hormones in the female body that create this cyclical, life-giving nature of women.' Have a child on ADHD meds? Calley Means, who is an adviser to Kennedy and is Casey Means' brother, said on the same show that Adderall is prescribed as the standard of care when children get a little fidgety because they're in sedentary environments with limited sunlight and eat too much ultraprocessed food. As a society, he said, 'we're really committing mass child abuse in many ways, and we're normalizing that and we're not speaking out about that. And then we're giving people stimulants developed by Nazi Germany.' Calley Means was probably referring to Pervitin, a methamphetamine-based drug administered to Adolf Hitler's forces in World War II. Adderall is a prescription drug containing amphetamine, a stimulant that's not the same as methamphetamine. The Department of Health and Human Services didn't respond to messages seeking comment from Means. Some conservatives and MAHA adherents argue that people need to take more responsibility for their health. But comments that shift blame to patients and physicians risk perpetuating stigmas, fostering the spread of misinformation, and eroding trust in modern medicine, say medical groups, doctors, and patient advocacy groups. The statements assume consumers and patients have control over improving their health and preventing chronic disease when the reality is more complex, according to some public health leaders. Lower-income people, they say, often lack access to grocery stores and healthy food, may juggle too many jobs to have time to cook from scratch, and may live in dangerous areas where it's harder to get outside and exercise. Jerome Adams, surgeon general during the previous Trump administration, told KFF Health News that he worries efforts to promote health will be undone by 'the return of vaccine-preventable diseases, increasing mistrust in the health care system, and the tearing down of social supports which are critical for making healthy choices.' The attitudes held by top Trump health officials have affected policy decisions, some doctors and public health leaders say. Kennedy and other Trump administration health leaders have been especially outspoken, targeting issues they consider especially egregious in recent federal actions, research, or policy. For example, the Biden administration proposed a rule in November that would let Medicare cover weight loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound. But Kennedy and other political appointees at HHS and its agencies have criticized the drugs and the people who take them. 'I think it's very dark,' Calley Means told Carlson, referring to the weight loss drugs. 'I think it's a stranglehold on the U.S. population, almost like solidifying this idea that there is a magic pill.' He added: 'Where is the urgency on saying 'Hey parents, maybe we shouldn't feed our kids toxic food?'' Kennedy, too, has criticized the medications and people who use them, saying in October on Fox News that drugmakers 'are counting on selling it to Americans because we're so stupid and so addicted to drugs.' In April, the Trump administration announced it would not finalize the Biden-era coverage rule. 'It's impacting the kind of care and treatments patients will have,' said Andrea Love, a biomedical scientist and founder of ImmunoLogic, a science communication organization. 'It sends the message that it's your fault. It's very much victim-blaming. It creates the idea that scientific progress is the devil, demonizes things that aren't individually harming health, while avoiding addressing systemic issues that play a much larger role in health.' Kennedy and HHS didn't return messages seeking comment. Data shows that the medications are effective. People who took the highest dose of Zepbound in clinical trials lost an average of 48 pounds, and 1 in 3 on that dose lost more than 58 pounds, or 25% of their body weight. Kennedy and other agency leaders also oppose many covid-era health restrictions and rules. Some physicians and public health leaders note these officials downplayed covid risks while criticizing vaccines developed during the previous Trump administration. Kennedy has said that people who died from covid actually fell victim to chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, or asthma. 'That's really what killed them,' Kennedy said on 'Dr. Phil Primetime' in April. 'These were people who were so sick they were basically hanging from a cliff, and covid came along and stamped on their fingers and dropped them off. But they were already living lives that were burdened by sickness.' Covid was the underlying cause of death for more than 940,000 people in the U.S. from Aug. 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, according to a 2023 report in JAMA Network, an open-access journal on biomedical sciences published by the American Medical Association. Covid ranked first among deaths caused by infectious or respiratory diseases for youths under age 19, based on the report. Infants under a year old may be at higher risk of experiencing severe illness from covid compared with older children, studies show, and risks are also higher for infants under 6 months and those with underlying medical conditions. 'Vaccination during pregnancy can help protect infants after birth,' according to the CDC. But Kennedy announced in May that the federal government would no longer recommend covid vaccines for pregnant people and children who are healthy. Medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics opposed this decision and filed a lawsuit. Kennedy also helped promote beliefs that many childless adults on Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people, don't work and thereby drain resources from the program. At a May hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Kennedy said the program was in jeopardy because of 'all the able-bodied people who are not working [or] looking for jobs.' It's a view embraced by Republican lawmakers who portrayed adults enrolled in Medicaid as lazy or shirking work as they advanced a budget bill estimated to cut federal spending on the program by about $1 trillion over a decade, in part by imposing work requirements on many adult beneficiaries. 'Thirty-five-year-olds sitting at home playing video games, they're going to now have to go get a job,' said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana. The legislation, which Trump signed into law this month, will cause about 10 million more people to be without health insurance by 2034, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Some health leaders who criticized the legislation say the statements inaccurately maligned Medicaid enrollees, who by law cannot hold high-paying jobs and remain in the program. Nonetheless, nearly two-thirds of adults ages 19 to 64 covered by Medicaid in 2023 were working. For about 3 in 10, caregiving responsibilities, an illness or disability, or school attendance prevented them from working, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. 'It's using anti-welfare tropes for something that is basic health care, not a cash benefit,' said Anthony Wright, executive director at Families USA, which supports the Affordable Care Act and expanded health coverage. He summarized the Republican message: 'We're going to make it harder to get the help you need by imposing a bunch of paperwork, and if you don't get it, it's your fault.'

CNN

2 days ago

CNN

Chronically ill? In Kennedy's view, it might be your own fault

On a recent weekday evening, Ashly Richards helped her 13-year-old son, Case, with homework. He did math problems and some reading, underscoring how much he's accomplished at his school for children with autism. Richards has heard Trump administration officials suggest that food dyes and pediatric vaccines cause autism and ADHD. That stance, she said, unfairly blames parents. 'There's no evidence to support it,' said Richards, 44, a marketing director in Richmond, Virginia. 'As a parent, it's infuriating.' In their zeal to 'Make America Healthy Again,' Trump administration officials are making statements that some advocacy and medical groups say depict patients and the doctors who treat them as partly responsible for whatever ails them. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and agency leaders have attributed a panoply of chronic diseases and other medical issues — such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, diabetes, and obesity — to consumers and their lifestyle choices, according to a review of 15 hours of recorded interviews, social media statements, and federal reports. He said at a news conference on April 16 that autism is preventable and that rates are rising because of toxic substances in the environment, despite a lack of evidence there is any link. 'These are kids who will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date,' he said. 'Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.' The vast majority of people on the spectrum do not have those severe challenges. The statements are more than rhetoric. These attitudes, ranging from judgments about individual behaviors to criticism of the chronically poor, are shaping policies that affect millions of people. The sentiments have been a factor behind decisions to cut Medicaid, keep federal insurance programs from covering anti-obesity drugs, and impose new barriers to covid vaccines for healthy people, say public health leaders and doctors. GOP lawmakers and federal health officials, they say, hold a reproachful stance toward chronic illnesses and the estimated 129 million people in the U.S. affected by them. 'This is at the heart of so much of our national problem with health,' said Robert Califf, who led the Food and Drug Administration during the Obama and Biden administrations. 'It's these two extreme views. It's every health decision is up to the 'rugged individual,' versus the other extreme view that it's all controlled by environment and social determinants of health. The truth is, it's on a continuum.' Self-reliance is a common theme among adherents of MAHA, an informal movement for which Kennedy has fashioned himself the figurehead that promotes medical freedom, skepticism of vaccines, and a focus on nontraditional medicine to treat disease. Taking medication to manage diabetes? FDA Commissioner Marty Makary suggested on Fox News in late May that it would be effective to 'treat more diabetes with cooking classes' instead of 'just throwing insulin at people.' People with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin because their pancreases don't produce it, according to the National Institutes of Health, which also notes that many with Type 2 diabetes 'need to take diabetes medicines as well.' Taking birth control pills? Casey Means, President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. surgeon general, has said that's a 'disrespect of life' for short-term gain and efficiency. 'We are prescribing them like candy,' she said last year on 'The Tucker Carlson Show,' adding that birth control medications 'are literally shutting down the hormones in the female body that create this cyclical, life-giving nature of women.' Have a child on ADHD meds? Calley Means, who is an adviser to Kennedy and is Casey Means' brother, said on the same show that Adderall is prescribed as the standard of care when children get a little fidgety because they're in sedentary environments with limited sunlight and eat too much ultraprocessed food. As a society, he said, 'we're really committing mass child abuse in many ways, and we're normalizing that and we're not speaking out about that. And then we're giving people stimulants developed by Nazi Germany.' Calley Means was probably referring to Pervitin, a methamphetamine-based drug administered to Adolf Hitler's forces in World War II. Adderall is a prescription drug containing amphetamine, a stimulant that's not the same as methamphetamine. The Department of Health and Human Services didn't respond to messages seeking comment from Means. Some conservatives and MAHA adherents argue that people need to take more responsibility for their health. But comments that shift blame to patients and physicians risk perpetuating stigmas, fostering the spread of misinformation, and eroding trust in modern medicine, say medical groups, doctors, and patient advocacy groups. The statements assume consumers and patients have control over improving their health and preventing chronic disease when the reality is more complex, according to some public health leaders. Lower-income people, they say, often lack access to grocery stores and healthy food, may juggle too many jobs to have time to cook from scratch, and may live in dangerous areas where it's harder to get outside and exercise. Jerome Adams, surgeon general during the previous Trump administration, told KFF Health News that he worries efforts to promote health will be undone by 'the return of vaccine-preventable diseases, increasing mistrust in the health care system, and the tearing down of social supports which are critical for making healthy choices.' The attitudes held by top Trump health officials have affected policy decisions, some doctors and public health leaders say. Kennedy and other Trump administration health leaders have been especially outspoken, targeting issues they consider especially egregious in recent federal actions, research, or policy. For example, the Biden administration proposed a rule in November that would let Medicare cover weight loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound. But Kennedy and other political appointees at HHS and its agencies have criticized the drugs and the people who take them. 'I think it's very dark,' Calley Means told Carlson, referring to the weight loss drugs. 'I think it's a stranglehold on the U.S. population, almost like solidifying this idea that there is a magic pill.' He added: 'Where is the urgency on saying 'Hey parents, maybe we shouldn't feed our kids toxic food?'' Kennedy, too, has criticized the medications and people who use them, saying in October on Fox News that drugmakers 'are counting on selling it to Americans because we're so stupid and so addicted to drugs.' In April, the Trump administration announced it would not finalize the Biden-era coverage rule. 'It's impacting the kind of care and treatments patients will have,' said Andrea Love, a biomedical scientist and founder of ImmunoLogic, a science communication organization. 'It sends the message that it's your fault. It's very much victim-blaming. It creates the idea that scientific progress is the devil, demonizes things that aren't individually harming health, while avoiding addressing systemic issues that play a much larger role in health.' Kennedy and HHS didn't return messages seeking comment. Data shows that the medications are effective. People who took the highest dose of Zepbound in clinical trials lost an average of 48 pounds, and 1 in 3 on that dose lost more than 58 pounds, or 25% of their body weight. Kennedy and other agency leaders also oppose many covid-era health restrictions and rules. Some physicians and public health leaders note these officials downplayed covid risks while criticizing vaccines developed during the previous Trump administration. Kennedy has said that people who died from covid actually fell victim to chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, or asthma. 'That's really what killed them,' Kennedy said on 'Dr. Phil Primetime' in April. 'These were people who were so sick they were basically hanging from a cliff, and covid came along and stamped on their fingers and dropped them off. But they were already living lives that were burdened by sickness.' Covid was the underlying cause of death for more than 940,000 people in the U.S. from Aug. 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, according to a 2023 report in JAMA Network, an open-access journal on biomedical sciences published by the American Medical Association. Covid ranked first among deaths caused by infectious or respiratory diseases for youths under age 19, based on the report. Infants under a year old may be at higher risk of experiencing severe illness from covid compared with older children, studies show, and risks are also higher for infants under 6 months and those with underlying medical conditions. 'Vaccination during pregnancy can help protect infants after birth,' according to the CDC. But Kennedy announced in May that the federal government would no longer recommend covid vaccines for pregnant people and children who are healthy. Medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics opposed this decision and filed a lawsuit. Kennedy also helped promote beliefs that many childless adults on Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people, don't work and thereby drain resources from the program. At a May hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Kennedy said the program was in jeopardy because of 'all the able-bodied people who are not working [or] looking for jobs.' It's a view embraced by Republican lawmakers who portrayed adults enrolled in Medicaid as lazy or shirking work as they advanced a budget bill estimated to cut federal spending on the program by about $1 trillion over a decade, in part by imposing work requirements on many adult beneficiaries. 'Thirty-five-year-olds sitting at home playing video games, they're going to now have to go get a job,' said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana. The legislation, which Trump signed into law this month, will cause about 10 million more people to be without health insurance by 2034, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Some health leaders who criticized the legislation say the statements inaccurately maligned Medicaid enrollees, who by law cannot hold high-paying jobs and remain in the program. Nonetheless, nearly two-thirds of adults ages 19 to 64 covered by Medicaid in 2023 were working. For about 3 in 10, caregiving responsibilities, an illness or disability, or school attendance prevented them from working, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. 'It's using anti-welfare tropes for something that is basic health care, not a cash benefit,' said Anthony Wright, executive director at Families USA, which supports the Affordable Care Act and expanded health coverage. He summarized the Republican message: 'We're going to make it harder to get the help you need by imposing a bunch of paperwork, and if you don't get it, it's your fault.'

Mindfulness Exercises to Manage Wellbutrin-Related Anxiety

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How financial advisors with ADHD manage symptoms — and thrive

Chronically ill? In Kennedy's view, it might be your own fault

Chronically ill? In Kennedy's view, it might be your own fault

Mindfulness Exercises to Manage Wellbutrin-Related Anxiety

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How financial advisors with ADHD manage symptoms — and thrive

Chronically ill? In Kennedy's view, it might be your own fault

Chronically ill? In Kennedy's view, it might be your own fault

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