Wisdom

ADHD & Marriage News - March 17, 2021

Quote of the Week
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I have begun to change myself.”
-Persian poet, Rumi
Wisdom
You can only change yourself, not your partner.
That is one of the hardest lessons many learn after they get into a committed relationship. When we are young we may think ‘things will work out somehow.’ We have the space in our lives to put aside annoyances. The newness of our relationships, combined with the dopamine increases of infatuation, make everything seem rosy.
Then life happens. You add responsibilities, such as a home or children. Two jobs. There aren’t enough hours in the day, and you need more assistance. ADHD, particularly if it’s undermanaged, starts to get in the way as the ADHD partner struggles to follow through on his or her promises.
This is where non-ADHD partners start to make their gravest relationship mistakes. They think ‘I can just do this- it will be faster’ or ‘if I push hard enough (or remind often enough), my partner will surely follow through.’ Without realizing it, they start to try changing their partner. It never works.
You can successfully invite your partner to change. And hopefully, because your partner wants relationship success as much as you do, your partner will work with you to improve what is troubling your relationship.
But the wisest path is to focus on yourself. Don’t misunderstand. You CANNOT change a relationship by yourself. Your partner MUST be actively engaged. But what you can do is make sure your own contribution is the best it can be.
Figure out how to express anger constructively, rather than yelling or insulting. Figure out how to see your partner as a person you love, who has behaviors you don’t love, so you can request behavior change without insulting the person. Reflect upon your values, so you don’t stray from who you really are.
You have control over you, and no one else. What would be wise for you to change today?
Do you need help in your ADHD impacted relationship? My 8-session live phone seminar starts April 7, 2021. It has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships. "The seminar has been life-changing for us and we are grateful."
Free VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS with me to support you during the COVID-19 crisis. More information is here.
Thurs, Mar 18: 7:00 - 8:30pm EASTERN
Mon, Apr 5: 4:00 - 5:00pm EASTERN
Wed, Apr 7: 5:00 - 6:00pm EASTERN
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great, free resources: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues, successes and struggles and find new, effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
Facing ADHD

ADHD & Marriage News - March 4, 2021

Quote of the Week
“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
-James Baldwin
Facing ADHD
It’s not that easy to come to terms with an adult diagnosis of ADHD. Among other things you may look back and ask, “what if I had known about this earlier?” and that may encourage feelings of grief and pain. Or, as my husband says, “If I had known about ADHD earlier I would probably still be married to my first wife.” In our own marriage, there are many struggles we could have avoided if we had only known.
There are other reasons to avoid wanting to get an evaluation for ADHD. You might fear that getting a ‘label’ of ADHD will mean that your partner will (incorrectly) blame you for all of your marital struggles. You may feel shame about getting a diagnosis. You may think ADHD is just for squirmy boys. You may be willing to acknowledge ADHD, but insist it doesn’t matter (if so, read this blog post).
But Baldwin is right – if your life isn’t want you wish it to be right now, the path to improving it lies in understanding whether or not ADHD plays a role. And that means getting an evaluation.
If you don’t have ADHD, then that’s cleared up. You and your partner can move on. If you do have ADHD, you have the chance to learn about what has worked for so many others with ADHD. Facing ADHD is the first step to changing your life for the better.
If you want to find out what kind of evaluation is most accurate for determining if you have ADHD, download my free treatment e-book from my home page (right column).
6th Annual ADHD Women’s Palooza March 8-13, 2021 - ADHD is different for Women - learn from experts who understand their unique challenges. Register today
Free VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS with me to support you during the COVID-19 crisis.
Tues, Mar 9: 4:00 - 5:00pm EASTERN
Thurs, Mar 11: 7:00 - 8:15pm EASTERN
Tues, Mar 16: 12:00 - 1:00pm EASTERN
Thurs, Mar 18: 7:00 - 8:30pm EASTERN
Mon, Apr 5: 4:00 - 5:00pm EASTERN
Wed, Apr 7: 5:00 - 6:00pm EASTERN
My 8-session live phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships. The next live session starts April 7, 2021
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships. The next live session starts April 7, 2021.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues, successes and struggles and find new, effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
What You Want to Do

ADHD & Marriage News - February 23, 2021

Quote of the Week
“ADHD medications may play a role in not only focusing but also in helping the brain regulate emotions, freeing up space and energy to do other things.”
-Dr. Anthony Rostain
What You Want to Do
Whether or not to take medications is completely up to the person with the ADHD. However, there are many compelling reasons to consider it, including the ease with which these medications can improve focus and restraint.
But those qualities, enabled by the increased dopamine these medications make available, are useful insomuch as they enable the ability to do more of what you want. Within couples counseling sometimes ‘what you want’ includes the ability to follow through on mundane tasks in a way that helps you be more of an equal partner.
That’s powerful! Rather than expend energy following wherever your impulses lead, you get to CHOOSE where to expend your energy because now you can sustain your focus long enough to do so.
I have a client right now who puts it this way. “I used to spend all of my time putting out fires because stuff just caught me by surprise all the time. Every day was just one big fire drill. Now that I’m taking medication I can much better anticipate, and things don’t just ‘suddenly happen’ anymore. I feel much more in control, and that has lessened my anxiety and allowed me to more consciously and affectionately focus on my partner, too.”
ADHD medications may or may not be right for you. But if you wish to learn more about how to optimize ADHD treatment (with and without medications) please feel free to download my free treatment e-book from the home page of my website (right column). It was updated this year, and contains the most recent information you need to know.
My 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships. The next live session starts April 7, 2021
Free VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS with me to support you during the COVID-19 crisis. More information is here.
Tues, Mar 2 - 7:00 - 8:30pm EASTERN
Thurs, Mar 4: 1:00 - 2:00pm EASTERN
Tues, Mar 9: 4:00 - 5:00pm EASTERN
Thurs, Mar 11: 7:00 - 8:15pm EASTERN
... more dates
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships. The next live session starts April 7, 2021.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues, successes and struggles and find new, effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
“Do Differently,” Instead

ADHD & Marriage News - February 11, 2021

Quote of the Week
“You should stop saying ‘Don’t try harder, try differently.’ Instead, you should say ‘Don’t try harder, do differently.’”
-Recent couples seminar attendee
“Do Differently,” Instead
I love it when people come to me with ideas about what I write and say! Not only does it provide me an opportunity to improve what I offer others, but it also helps me see things in a new way.
Recently a seminar participant wrote me to suggest that saying one of my key suggestions could be improved. He argued that ‘trying’ is not the same thing as ‘doing’ and that for those with ADHD this distinction is particularly important. It’s easy to confuse ‘thinking’ with ‘doing’ when you have ADHD, particularly if you have symptoms that interfere with follow through.
I completely agree. Good intentions, which could be other words for ‘trying,’ just aren’t as compelling as changed habits of ‘doing.’
This is why I encourage couples to set SMART goals that can be measured objectively and are bound by time. You can measure “I’m going to do the dinner dishes 5 times this week” and determine concretely if you met your goal or not. You cannot measure “I’m going to try harder to do the dishes.”
And for non-ADHD partners, in particular, it’s the doing that is where the relief is.
With all that in mind, I’m thinking of updating my saying to more accurately reflect what I meant…which really was about creating change. What do you think?
Free VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS start back at the end of February. More information is here.
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues, successes and struggles and find new, effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
Optimism in the Face of Adversity

ADHD & Marriage News - February 4, 2021

Quote of the Week
“With gratitude, optimism becomes more sustainable.”
-Michael J. Fox, who has had Parkinson’s for 3 decades
Optimism in the Face of Adversity
When we struggle it’s easy to focus on all that is wrong. All that we don’t have. All the stressors. How unfair it is that our bodies aren’t as perfect as we had hoped. That life is harder than we dreamed.
Those living with ADHD, or living with a partner with ADHD, know what it’s like to have a long-term challenge that needs to be managed, just as Fox has with his Parkinson’s.
Fox has had many years to learn how to manage his Parkinson’s – probably more than you’ve had to learn how to manage ADHD. And Parkinson’s is degenerative, while ADHD is not. But there are many parallels, and that’s why I was so struck by Fox’s focus on gratitude.
Gratitude is like a deeply dug well of positives from which we can draw the energy to persevere. It is the understanding that it’s not about perfection, but about mindfully paying attention to the beauty found around us and within us. It’s about having an argument with a partner, then being able to sit quietly and be grateful that you have 2 wonderful kids; that beauty is as close as your local woods; that your home is warm and cozy; that you had the energy to accomplish 3 of the 5 things you had hoped that day.
Gratitude is about perspective. And with perspective, there is room to nurture optimism.
I urge you to take a little bit of time every day to be grateful for the good in your life. Write down what you are grateful for in a journal by your bed, or in your daily paper calendar. You will be amazed by the shift this practice creates in your life.
If you have ADHD and you want your partner to get some insights into your brain, this is the episode you want to share!
Free VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS with me to support you during the COVID-19 crisis. More information is here.
Thurs, Feb 11 - 1:00 - 2:30pm EASTERN
BREAK
Thurs, Feb 25 - 1:00 - 2:30pm EASTERN
Tues, Mar 2 - 7:00 - 8:30pm EASTERN
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues, successes and struggles and find new, effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
Formulating Your Reply

ADHD & Marriage News - January 28, 2021

Quote of the Week
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”
-Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Formulating Your Reply
In my couples’ seminar I teach several types of structured conversations that couples can use to slow down their communication and really hear each other. One of them is called a ‘learning conversation,’ the point of which is to ensure that what is being said is clearly heard. As part of that, I ask the listener to recap what they heard the speaker say in the words that were spoken, plus say what they heard between the lines.
Much of communication happens between the lines – the assumptions we make, and the filters we hear our partner’s ideas through. So, verbalizing the ‘between the lines’ assumptions can really help couples understand why they are miscommunicating.
But another aspect of why this conversational style is so interesting is that it forces you to stop listening in order to formulate a response. Your only job as listener in a learning conversation is to accurately hear what the speaker is trying to tell you.
It’s harder to do than you might think! Most of us listen as Covey suggests – so we can reply.
Try this experiment with your partner:
- One person, as speaker, says 4-5 sentences about an emotional idea that is important to them
- The other partner, the listener, recaps in his/her own words what they heard in words, plus what they heard between the lines
- The speaker determines – is that what I was trying to say? If so, great! If not, what did the listener miss?
- Go back and forth until the communication of the speaker is clearly understood…then change roles.
Listening in order to hear is an important skill that can be practiced and honed.
Free VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS with me to support you during the COVID-19 crisis. More information is here.
Mon, Feb 1 - 5:00 - 6:30pm EASTERN
Tues, Feb 2 - 3:30 - 4:30pm EASTERN
Thurs, Feb 11 - 1:00 - 2:30pm EASTERN
BREAK
Thurs, Feb 25 - 1:00 - 2:30pm EASTERN
Tues, Mar 2 - 7:00 - 8:30pm EASTERN
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues, successes and struggles and find new, effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
Starting 2021

ADHD & Marriage News - January 21, 2021

Quote of the Week
“May 2021 be better than 2020!”
-Melissa Orlov
Starting 2021
Perhaps it’s our exhaustion, but I don’t know very many people who have created resolutions for 2021. Or maybe it is that the world seems so out of our control these days. Which got me thinking (of course!) What DO I have control over, and how can I make just a little shift in my world for the better?
So, I thought I would share some ideas that you might be able to use, too.
365 days of “I love you” – This is, actually, our resolution for 2021. It’s both serious, and very silly. Which makes it a great resolution for this particular time. We’re having fun with it, too. This morning George piped up “I love you!” and then laughed and added “You snooze, you lose!” He beat me to it on day 5 and it was a lovely, funny, affectionate way to start the day.
A place/way to re-energize – If there is one thing we all really, really need this year, it’s resilience and a way to re-energize. How to get that? Here are some ideas:
• Create the perfect, inviting place to sleep. This is ours – we’ve added a Tallalay latex topper to our bed so we can’t wait to get into bed. (If you do this one, make sure to get a Tallalay topper, as Dunlop latex smells like the inside of a truck tire!)
• Develop a ‘takes-me-away’ exercise routine. George does this, riding his bike about 5 days a week. It resets his mood, tires him out so he sleeps better, and makes him stronger. I’ve known a lot of people who chose to run regularly.
• Deep breathing/meditation/yoga routine – some couples do this together first thing in the morning to energize their day
• Mindful gratitude routine – learning to appreciate what you do have can keep you feeling and acting in more positive ways all day long
Separate the person from the opinions/behaviors – Your partner will do some things you don’t like. You can either decide you don’t like your partner, or you don’t like your partner’s behaviors. The former leaves you (and your relationship) little room for recovery or growth. The latter allows you (and your partner) to focus on changing the behavior while appreciating the person. This is where all relationships grow, advance, and thrive. Within this distinction between person and behaviors there is room for insight, grace, appreciation and forgiveness. And, perhaps most important of all, when you don’t like the behaviors, but appreciate the person, the two of you can be on the same team – in the struggle together.
2021 is going to be another tough year. But there are some things, very close to home, where we still have some influence. Do you have the energy to make a simple pledge to get your year going?
Free VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS with me to support you during the COVID-19 crisis. More information is here.
Tues, Jan 26 - 6:00 - 7:30pm EASTERN
Wed, Jan 27 - 11:30am - 12:30pm EASTERN
Mon, Feb 1 - 5:00 - 6:30pm EASTERN
Tues, Feb 2 - 3:30 - 4:30pm EASTERN
Thurs, Feb 11 - 1:00 - 2:30pm EASTERN
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues, successes and struggles and find new, effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
Perfectionism and ADHD

ADHD & Marriage News - January 14, 2021

Quote of the Week
“(In our work,) …perfectionism emerged as the #1 distortion in the thinking of adults with ADHD. It can play a role in the ADHD person’s sense of shame. “Everything has to be right to get started” (front end perfectionism) or else “I have to do better than others to ensure that it’s acceptable” (back end perfectionism).”
- J. Russell Ramsey, Ph.D.
Perfectionism and ADHD
It’s easy to guess where perfectionism comes for those with ADHD. If you have trouble staying organized or sorting through information, it would only be logical to want to get everything right to get started. This would seem to lessen your chances for failure.
If details often escape your attention, or you’re conscious that others do work more easily than you, it would be logical to want to make sure everything is ‘just right’ before you turn it in. This would seem to lessen the chances you’ll be criticized.
The problem with this logic is that the outcome that this effort is aimed for – making sure you or your work is acceptable – becomes harder to attain because perfectionism takes so much time and effort. It’s exhausting – not leaving brain space for other important work or family activities. And missing a deadline in seeking perfection is still missing the deadline.
Further, perfect is almost impossible to attain – for ANYONE. If you feel it’s your job to be perfect in order to pass muster, you are constantly going to be frustrated and feel ashamed that you can’t be. Wouldn’t it be far better to strive for ‘good enough’ and then move on?
Okay, I know perfectionism is insidious and not easy to deal with. But I put this out as food for thought. If you have a perfectionist in your family, consider having some overt conversations about your joint priorities – ‘perfect’ might not be as important as ‘together time.’ And seek to reinforce those instances of ‘good enough’ as being wonderful (dare I say ‘perfect’???!)
In our household, the definition of ‘perfect’ is, actually, ‘good enough.’ The balance this creates in our lives because we don’t waste time getting everything ‘just right’ is what we seek. For both of us. Could you have that, too?
THERE IS TIME. YOU CAN STILL REGISTER FOR MY COUPLES SEMINAR. My live seminar started yesterday, January 13th. Yet should you chose to listen together to yesterday's recording and jump in on the second live session January 20th - you will have ample opportunity to improve your lives together.
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships. My live session started, yet still accepting registrations.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues, successes and struggles and find new, effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
Rewards to Come

ADHD & Marriage News - December 30, 2020

Quote of the Week
“The anticipation of doing something (pleasurable) starts the brain’s responses even before you actually start doing it. You can use this as a tool to ‘trick’ your brain to do things.”
-J. Russell Ramsey, Ph.D.
Rewards to Come
Isn’t it fun to anticipate doing something fun? As you think about how great it’s going to be, don’t you become more eager for it to happen? Isn’t that eagerness a motivator?
This is what Ramsey is talking about when he’s talking about tricking your brain to do things. The long slog of planning a complicated trip can be managed better if you envision what it’s going to feel like to actually be on that trip once the planning is over. The trepidation you feel at having a delicate conversation with your partner can be steadied when you envision what it will feel like to be through the conversation after your partner has listened to you and you are no longer be in such a dark place.
Doing a task you don’t love can be made easier by both gamifying it and thinking about the appreciation your partner will show you.
Of course, this latter suggests one element of using your brain to think about reward - that there is a reward coming. This is one of the reasons why each partner’s responses to the other are so important. The ADHD brain is reward-focused. It tends towards those things that feel good.
Bottom line – one way for ADHD partners to motivate is to remind themselves and visualize the reward to come. Non-ADHD partners can help the process along by creating rewards for tasks well done.
Don’t be shy with your ‘thank yous’!
REGISTRATION FOR THE JANUARY, 2021 COUPLES SEMINAR IS NOW OPEN. Let's put 2020 behind us and enter 2021 excited. Many couples who had lost hope have gained the specific skills needed to improve their lives together. The first session starts January 13, 8pm EST.
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships. The live session starts January 13, 2021.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues; learn from each other's successes and struggles; and find new, more effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2020 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
![]() |
Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |
Make My Day!

ADHD & Marriage News - January 7, 2021

Quote of the Week
“Gather round I’m here to say
You’ll never make everybody’s day…”
-Smash Mouth
Make My Day!
Are you a people pleaser? When your partner asks you to do something, do you say ‘yes’ and pretend to agree even if you would prefer to say no? Even if by saying yes you feel resentful?
If so, that’s probably not in your best interests. Yes, it feels better in the moment because you avoid a confrontation. But on the other hand, the other end of that habit of agreeing too much could be chronic resentment that your partner was too demanding. It could be you start to imagine your partner is ‘making’ you do something you didn’t want to, even though you are complicit by agreeing when you don’t want to. Or perhaps you don’t end up actually following through, since you weren’t really invested, and then are faced with your partner’s anger or resentment about your lack of action.
Perhaps not following through happens a lot in your relationship. And you lose your partner’s trust. That’s really hard to repair, and it feels awful. If your partner doesn’t trust you s/he is much more likely to monitor what you’re doing, making you feel small and disrespected.
Phew! That a lot of bad stuff that happens when you say ‘yes’ when you don’t really mean it.
I bring the consequences of agreeing when you don’t actually agree forward because they need to be seen. While it feels good to say ‘yes’ if you want to avoid conflict…it’s not good for your relationship.
What would be better? Respectfully expressing your own opinion, and having both partners develop the skill set necessary to negotiate the differences of their opinions without rancor. It would take practice, but you could do it!
Are you saying ‘yes’ too often instead of ‘let’s talk’?
STARTING THIS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 13, 2021 - REGISTRATION OPEN FOR COUPLES SEMINAR. Many couples who had lost hope have gained the specific skills needed to improve their lives together.
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD

Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Find great resources for couples impacted by ADHD including free: Online treatment overview; Downloadable chapters of my books; A community forum with other couples facing similar issues; A large number of blog posts on various topics; Referrals.
Resources
Is your relationship in trouble? Consider my highly acclaimed couples' course: ADHD Effect In-Depth Couples' Seminar - This 8-session phone seminar has helped many couples thrive in healthier, happier relationships. The live session starts JANUARY 13, 2021.
Support Tele-groups - Be part of a community exploring similar issues; learn from each other's successes and struggles; and find new, more effective ways to be your best self in your relationship: Non ADHD Partner Support Tele-group and ADHD New Habit Coaching Group.
How to Optimize Treatment for Adult ADHD - go to the home page for a free download about the best ways to manage ADHD.
Question? Contact Melissa.
© 2021 Melissa Orlov
For those in marriages impacted by ADHD
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Adult ADHD can have a huge impact on your relationship. ADHDmarriage.com can literally change your life! Questions? Contact us |