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Much content of this blog is from Attitude Magazine and Dr. Kevin Antshel, leading ADHD expert and psychologist/professor at Syracuse University. Kevin's bio will be posted at the end of this article. If you are not familiar with Additude Magazine on line, please check them out at: 
https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/college-students-with-adhd-outcomes-podcast-371/.​Podcast 371: .com)

As a professional stress management coach for college students, I work with a lot of students whose stress and anxiety are related to struggles accomplishing daily tasks. Many students can even identify exactly what areas of executive functioning cause them stress. By the time they come to me, they have maybe failed a class (or two), feel so behind academically that they want to drop out, or feel overwhelmed to the point of exhaustion. They want to be saved.

Creating habits, routines, and practicing the strategies needed to manage ADHD has to happen before arriving on campus; however, this becomes the beginning point for us in the coaching process. We look at where a student is with his skills to manage life, and we strengthen the ones needed on a daily basis to meet deadlines, establish routines, use environmental cues, create healthy consistent habits, and to manage stress.  Most importantly, we work to shift that "can't do it" mindset to one of "I will work harder in different ways in order to feel on top of my life.".

Let's start with some facts and then we will mention the Multi-Modal Approach that Dr. Antshel says is needed to be successful in college while managing ADHD.

First, ADHD is a defined disability under the American with Disabilities Act. It is considered a brain disorder characterized by poor planning and organization, difficulty making decisions and paying attention, and difficulty regulating attention and emotions. The circuitry and neuronal pathways (and brain chemistry) of the prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobe of the brain are not connecting as other brains. This can make daily tasks in college (because of the fast pace) challenging. Procrastination, in particular, is "toxic" for college students with ADHD. Avoidance creates situations that are difficult to remedy. For these reasons, services, interventions, and support of several kinds are all needed in order for these college students to perform academically at the college level, reduce anxiety and stress, and to interpersonally connect with others and their environment.

Secondly, one in nine college kids come to college with an ADHD diagnosis. Those who did not have practice exercising executive function skills in high school may find college to be difficult. This is when stress and anxiety mount. Anxiety and depression are both common co-occurring diagnoses with ADHD.
https://www.additudemag.com/college-students-and-adhd-improving-outcomes/.

Dr. Antshel and many other ADHD experts in the country support using a Multi-Modal Intervention Approach for college students as they transition from high school to college and while they navigate college each day. He says there are 5 resources that are all needed in order for a student with ADHD to feel successful:
 "College students know what to do, they just not DO what they know. Point of performance types of support like coaching are more effective for academic support of college students who have  ADHD." 

1. Office of Disabilities on campus - academic accommodations, and coaching services/strategies.
2. Counseling Center on campus - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; psychosocial support; skills based groups
3. Student Health Center - medication management
4. Parents - information seeking help; keep communication; high support
5. Students - accountable for medication management (stimulant diversion is illegal), study strategies (not studying to absorb content). 

With these 5 kinds of intervention and support, college students with ADHD can achieve more than satisfactory academic success, manage mental and emotional health, and perform all daily tasks required of a college student. 

Resources:
https://chadd.org/ - STAND - Supporting Teen Autonomy Daily model
https://www.additudemag.com/
American with Disabilities Act
American Pyschiatric Association
(UNCG) - ACCESS - A CBT program
https://www.learnpsychology.org/resources/adhd-in-college-students/
​https://www.additudemag.com/college-students-with-adhd-risks-outcomes/
Kevin Antshel, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. He is also the Director of Clinical Training in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. His research focuses on developmental psychopathology with specific emphasis on attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across the lifespan.

It is almost that time and you can cut the emotions in your house with a knife. The sooner campus drop-off is, the more emotional chaos your entire family feels - excitement one minute, fear the next; yelling battles and tears along with high levels of anticipation. The whole family feels the stress of this highly planned-for life transition.

While some students seem ready to exercise that long sought independence, others are experiencing a major emotional imbalance this summer with feeling unsure and scared, and sensing a lack confidence about leaving home. This space in-between high school and college is filled with uncertainty, and it is a magnet for new emotions. It is not easy balancing emotions of nostalgia, eagerness, and excitement, along with the angst, anger, sadness, and apprehension of leaving the family for college.

Although every student responds differently to transitioning from high school to college, the fact remains that all kinds of emotions will be floating in your household the summer. How will you and your family keep the peace these next few weeks?

These 6 non-practical yet solid true- to- life reminders will help you and your student navigate life these next few weeks so everyone can remain calm and carry on.
​1. Age is not a factor is how much your student needs you. Support is just that…support. Although this support looks different for each family, be mindful that eighteen-year-olds are just beginning to figure out how they fit into this world. Change is scary. Self-doubt and insecurities are heightened. Anxiety and stress can be the norm while moving to a different life placement. Eighteen-year-olds need you now more than ever. 

2. Define success with your student before he or she leaves home. Success in high school is not always a determinant of success in college. This can be brought up in a discussion about what success looks and feels like. Is success in your student’s eyes maintaining a GPA of 3.9? Is it graduating with honors? Is success about a happy balance in life for the next four years? Have your student create a visual of what success looks like. This will serve the same purpose as a life roadmap.  

3. Preparing for campus drop-off this summer can become more about comforters and bed toppers than togetherness. Make your focus on connecting and being-together instead of decorating the dorm because this is when important and meaningful conversations occur. Outfitting your student with the modern-day conveniences of college life is simply that parental instinct to have your student feel at home away from home. It eases your anxiety to know they will be comfortable on campus. Take a minute to acknowledge that this is your way of making your student feel loved. Combine your energies and make the experience of college shopping mean more than the things.  

4. Help your student create a stress management plan now, so that the midnight panic-stricken phone calls are at a minimum. Parents are not experts in stress management; however, it is crucial to talk with your student this summer about what real stress looks like and feels like. At this point in life, for most students, stress has not amplified like it has the propensity of doing in college. Everyone’s stress is different. Some students have full blown anxiety and panic attacks, some work through stress with exercise and proper wellness practices. Others take substances to numb tough feelings. Every student should know healthy, effective, and applicable stress management techniques before they arrive on campus. In addition, discuss campus resources with your students and be aware that outside virtual services are available specifically for college students.  

5. Slow down and have fun. With anxiety and depression being the number one and two mental health issues for which college students seek help, we can deduce that pressures, demands, and how well students manage stress all contribute to mental and emotional well-being. Students forget to have fun. Every minute of every day thoughts are “what do I have to do now?”. Laughter is medicine and being social releases endorphins, which in turn releases stress and muscle tension. Allow yourself to just BE – to do nothing. This is crucial for students to maintain a healthy life balance while on campus.  

6. Every day, prioritize these 4 main wellness practices: sleep, nutrition, body movement, and stress management. There is no “back burner” when it comes to your overall health. Attending to your overall well-being is as important, if not more, than academics. While neither of these is more important than the other, just being aware and consistently practicing healthy habits will positively impact and sustain your mental, physical, and emotional states. All four of these wellness components hinge upon the other and will make the difference between thriving and surviving in college.
Resources:
Anxiety, Depression Reached Record Levels among College Students Last Fall (umich.edu)
Laughter releases 'feel good hormones' to promote social bonding (medicalnewstoday.com)
Development Milestones for your 18-Year-Old Child (verywellfamily.com)
Are You Emotionally Prepared for College Drop-Off? | Collegiate Parent


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A mom said to me recently, "I'm just afraid ___ is not ready for college. She even says she might not want to go now. What if we pay all of this money for her to decide ___ university is not the right school for her? I don't know what else to do."

From a coach's perspective, there is a lot of anxiety and fear built in to these statements. If the mom is feeling this frustrated and stressed, I can only imagine how anxious the student is.
As a professional stress and anxiety coach for students, here are some thoughts of how the daughter and I might approach this situation of transitioning to college in the first two coaching sessions. 

 #1 Assess fear in its origination
"Fear is a part of human experience. It is not good or bad; a little fear can motivate us to make change, while a lot of fear can create a reaction that leaves us paralyzed, panicked, or feeling overwhelmed."
Elisha Goldstein, PhD
When we start exploring fears, it is always mind-blowing where the fear originates. It usually is from a past similar situation or life experience that is being transferred to the current situation. As we unravel the reality of fear, nine times out of ten, the haze of the current situation lifts because we identify truths, data, and the reality of the present situation as we (in parallel) acknowledge the fear from the past that is blurring the present. This awareness helps relieve the pain  in fear, hesitancy, overwhelm, stress, and panic. Once the student can separate themselves from their emotional responses to situations, they begin to see beyond the blur and become open to different approaches and perspectives. We call this, "creating space" between thoughts and emotions so that responses can be adjusted.

     #2 Acknowledge that responses to emotions can be modified with practice and intention
"The only way to deal with fear is to face it. Avoiding our fears only prevents us from moving forward—it makes us anxious."
University of Minnesota - Taking charge of your health and wellbeing
Once the student learns to take their brain off of the autopilot mode of responding to fear, they begin to explore other organically healthy ways to manage the anxiety: talk about it, express it through exercise or writing, breath through it, allow it to pass, have a plan of coping with it while it is active. It becomes a choice of how to move through fear. 

I tell this story for two reasons. First, the parent can begin to understand that when their student stresses, they stress and when they stress, their students stresses more intensely. Secondly, helping guide students beyond their "stuckness" not only normalizes life situations for them, it frees them to confidently move forward. THIS is powerful beyond words when a student realizes so much of their emotional energy and time was being harnessed in a way that constricted their ability to thrive.

THIS is the glory of working with a coach who is trained in mindset and mental health. We uncover, explore, accept, acknowledge, plan, expand, and act. We move through the fear into the clear. 


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