I was having a great day. Then, I sat down to fill out a form. It was a week overdue, but I called the company that was waiting for it, and bought myself more time.

Things were humming along grandly, then Whammo! I hit page two. Page two contained a line of legalese which meant nothing to me, yet I was supposed to check yes or no. Yes or no to a statement I understood about as well as I understood William Shatner in Incubus (shot entirely in Esperanto). It took three phone calls to find out that no one at the company wanting me to answer this question had any clue what it meant either.

This week felt like slow motion PMS. Instead of being condensed into three days, the emotional rollercoaster chugged along from Friday to Friday, punctuated by highs and lows, with various heights and depths in between.

Step right up…

Are you someone who is pretty much on an even keel most of the time? Yes? Then let me give you a taste of the truly enchanting existence of an ADHD woman, who is also a highly sensitive person (HSP), and going through a deeply emotional experience (death of a loved one. Again. Three in nine months, to be exact), but contrasting that with a natural propensity for joy and happiness.

Seatbelt strapped tight? Here we go…

Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D., author of The Now Effect

Yesterday, in ADHD: What The Now Effect Can Do for You – Part I, I began my conversation with Dr. Elisha Goldstein, author of the recently published The Now Effect. Our conversation continues as we explore how Goldstein’s new book might help those of us struggling to manage our ADHD symptoms.

Here is the conclusion of our discussion.

Zoe: Your chapter, Paying Attention to Your Intention discusses the importance of being aware of our intentions. What do you suggest for the person who, like myself (before my ADHD diagnosis), is aware of their intentions but unaware of why these intentions so often achieve the opposite result of that which we intended?

“The writings and practices in The Now Effect don’t only come from my experience, but from the experience of thousands and thousands of people who have struggled with a whole host of life’s issues from stress and pain including anxiety, depression, ADHD, addiction and trauma.

Underlying the entire book is the aspiration to develop more playfulness with yourself and allow this to be a new adventure into your life.”

~ Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D.

Here at Psych Central we’re excited to congratulate fellow writer Elisha Goldstein, PhD, on the publication of his latest book, The Now Effect: How This Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life (Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2012).

Dr. Goldstein, a clinical psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, writes a blog for Psych Central called Mindfulness & Psychotherapy.

As mindfulness meditation is seen to be an effective treatment for ADHD (when included in a multimodal approach), I decided to speak with Goldstein to find out if his latest book has something to offer those of us with ADHD.

Here’s our conversation (abridged for the purposes of this blog post).

Photo: ©Kelly Babcock, 2011

My dad would have a conniption if he saw the title to this blog post. It’s a quaint expression I picked up from living in the country, and I rather like it.

There comes a time in every woman’s life where she makes the transition from her unpolished youth to serious professional. Okay, maybe not every woman, but certainly to those of us who are working towards a viable career.

Usually, that happens around the late 20s or mid-30s. I decided to get on it today.

I’ve written before about the work of Dr. Timothy Bilkey, a leading Canadian authority on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Bilkey has assessed over 3,400 patients for ADHD at his clinics.

This month, Bilkey has released his second full length documentary, Her Fast Mind. This film, useful to educators, families and physicians, as well as women with ADHD themselves, explores ADHD across the lifespan as it specifically presents in women. Bilkey debunks the myth of ADHD being a medical condition predominantly affecting males, and shows the important differences in ADHD in women and how these have led to women’s under-diagnosis.

The film includes interviews with special guests yours truly, and filmmaker Karen O’Donnell (A Mind Like Mine). It was produced by Six of One Productions.

If you’ve been following ADHD from A to Zoë, you know that my dog Sam has been a big part of my life. You’ll also know that she helped me with my ADHD, in many ways, not least of which by giving unconditional love, each and every day for 13 years. Who wouldn’t feel better with that in their lives?

The one time I try to plan!

I’m very sorry to say that last Friday (March 9, 2012) my sweet girl made her departure. Of course it didn’t happen the way I planned. It’s death, after all, who was I kidding? Trust someone who can’t plan her way out of a paper bag to think she can “plan” for something like this.

It’s amazing how the threads of our lives come together. I just got off the phone with Myla. I’m sorry to have kept everyone waiting so long to hear about our reunion. In fact, all I really want to do right now is lie on the floor and pet Samantha. Precious seconds are wasting…

But I promised I’d tell you what happened on Friday. As I nervously awaited my friend’s arrival, I mused about what I would say, what I should say, and then reminded myself to stay in the moment.

Just as I finished writing my last blog post, letting you know that this reunion was coming, the door opened and there she was. She held her arms open wide, and we embraced, holding onto each other for a long time. “I missed you,” we both said. What a relief.

Photo by ©Zoë Kessler, June 2010

I’m so nervous! In about a half hour, a friend whom I haven’t seen or spoken with in over seven years will be here to visit. Did I say nervous? I feel like I’m going to throw up.

This isn’t just any friend; this was my closest and dearest confidante. She was like family to me. In fact, I lived with her and her family for over a year. We stood by each other through thick and thin until the day she told me she didn’t want to have anything further to do with me.

That happened just before I got my ADHD diagnosis. Sure, I’d left a train wreck of broken relationships behind me over the years. But this one was different. Losing this friend completely ripped my heart out.