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Welcome to "ADHD and Marriage"

Helping adults thrive in relationships impacted by ADHD
Dr. Ned Hallowell and Melissa Orlov blog about marriage when one or both spouses has ADHD. What is it like? What are common themes in marriages with ADHD? What strategies can be used to improve these relationships? How can struggling couples get their marriages back on track so both partners can thrive?

New Here? Is This Site Right for You? READ THIS

You may have ADHD, or you may be married to someone with ADHD and wondering whether it may be affecting your relationship.  This site can help you learn much more BUT PLEASE READ THIS before you explore for the first time!  Let me introduce you to what’s here. >>> Read more >>>

Six Signs that ADHD May Be Part of Your Marriage

Wondering if your marriage problems might be explained by the presence of ADHD?  Here are six signs that you should look for: >>> Read more >>>

Porn and Sex Addiction in Marriages with ADHD

We get enough comments and questions about porn addiction and the use of porn by those who have ADHD that I asked some of the coaches at Recovery Nation (an organization that helps people overcome their porn and sex addictions) to write an overview of the topic.  They have graciously complied with my request, for which I thank them.  Their overview includes how to know if you have a sex addiction, what to do if you suspect you have a sex addiction, and seven good links for further reading.  You can find it in our resources section, here.

>>> Read more >>>

Celebrating the Release of The ADHD Effect on Marriage

Today, Sept. 1, is the official release date for my book, The ADHD Effect on Marriage and I'm celebrating!  For those of you who are waiting to receive it, thanks for your patience!  Though Amazon has been having trouble keeping up with the orders, I notice that Barnes and Nobles has it in stock both online and in many of their local stores.  Please spread the word about the book with those you love!  Note that I will be giving some talks - right now I'm planning east coast (October), plus Chicago (November). >>> Read more >>>

ADHD and Marriage: You Know Your Relationship is Improving When...

This site spends a lot of time addressing and airing problems - I thought it was time to write a light hearted post about the successes that couples who have come here have experienced.  These are all real stories taken from my clients of the past few months.  Enjoy!

You know your relationship is improving when... >>> Read more >>>

ADHD and Marriage: Six Ideas to Strengthen Your Relationship Today

For those of you who now see that ADHD might be hurting your marriage there is a lot of information to digest.  So here are six important, easy-to-remember ideas to focus on first so you can start improving your marriage right now. >>> Read more >>>

Fall Seminar: Applying The ADHD Effect on Marriage to Your Relationship

I am delighted to announce that I will be giving a seven week seminar starting September 13th for those couples interested in going more in-depth into how to apply the ideas in The ADHD Effect on Marriage to their relationship.  The seminar is not a reiteration of the book.  Rather, it is designed to augment the book, answering questions that you may still have.  I hope it will provide a way for couples whom I cannot fit into my consulting schedule to be able to ask questions and utilize my ideas effectively.  For more information, >>> Read more >>>

Out of the Woods

After being unemployed for over a year, I recently returned to work at the company from which I was laid off -- when business got better, they called me back, doing similar work but on a different product.  While I had been unemployed, my ADHD husband's job had heated up, and I had taken over more of the household responsibilities to more evenly distribute the total effort.  When I was asked to return to work, we knew it was going to be a big adjustment -- his job was still very busy, but he was going to have to take back his household responsibilities, because I was going >>> Read more >>>

Melissa Orlov and Ned Hallowell on Today - ADHD and Marriage

Dr. Hallowell and Melissa Orlov were interviewed on Today on August 6th about how ADHD can impact marriage.

For clarification: the media "shorthands" what I do as "ADHD researcher" but I am not a medical researcher.  I am a marriage consultant and author and have done a lot of research into the topic of ADHD and marriage, including qualitative market research.

ADHD and Marriage: If You're So Unhappy, Why Stay?

Recently, a poster in the forum asked the very good question - if you are all so miserable in your marriages, why do you stay?  I'll give you my own answer - George and I stayed together because even though we were really miserable, we couldn't believe we couldn't do better.  The intractability of the issues we were dealing with didn't make sense.  We had chosen each other as partners for good reason...then things fell apart...but couldn't we make them better again? >>> Read more >>>