Has ADD / ADHD made you an Internet Addict?

It's no secret that people with ADD / ADHD are more susceptible than the general population when it comes to addictive behavior.  Our brains' need for stimulation makes us more likely to become addicted to whatever provides extra pleasure, stimulation and focus.  Common addictions for us range from nicotine, alcohol, drugs and over-eating to risky behavior like extreme sports, gambling and excess shopping.

In recent years, studies from all over the world have noted a correlation between internet addiction and ADHD.

As an ADHD Coach, it's been very obvious to me that an enormous amount of my clients' time is spent online in ways that they feel was detrimental to their productivity and well-being.

If you don't require a computer for work, it's easier to stay away from it until work is done.  But for many people, that solution just isn't possible.  What if you must be online for work?

When you MUST work online

Being hooked on WEB-SURFING makes it most difficult for those who are required to be online for their work.  People with ADD / ADHD who must do online research for their jobs often tend to go off on web-surfing tangents and lose hours of time.  Sometimes it's not clear if they are internet addicts, or simply falling into ADD hyper-focus.

Here are a couple of real-life examples (names were changed):

• Alex – responsible for IT for his financial services company.  He must go online to find solutions to internal computer and network issues.  Since IT is his passion, he gets lost reading websites and blogs that go far afield of the original problem.  He sometimes completely forgets to get back to the employee who had the problem in the first place.

• Terri – a journalist for a weekly publication.  She must do extensive online research for the articles she writes.  She loves research and spends so long surfing one website after another that she barely leaves herself enough time to write, and has almost missed several publishing deadlines.

Both of these ADHD clients would be far more productive if they could simply turn off their computer and do their work in another way.  It used to be that people could go to a café with their laptop and devote hours outside of the office to work that didn't require going online.  But there are fewer and fewer places one can work that are internet-free. For an internet addict with a laptop, the temptation to go online is too great.

How Much Time do YOU Waste Online?

• Do you know how much time you spend online in ways that are unproductive and unintended?
• How is unproductive time spent online impacting your life in other ways?
• How does your online experience compare with other ADD / ADHD Adults?

More to come….