ADHD Treatment & Executive Functioning in Arvada
From Scattered Thoughts to Focused Action
Living with scattered thoughts doesn’t have to dictate your potential. At 70 West Counseling, we provide the neuro-affirming tools you need to move toward focused action, organize your mind, and master your time.
When Staying on Track Feels Impossible
It’s normal to get distracted sometimes. But if your mind feels like a browser with 50 tabs open, or you find yourself constantly playing catch-up despite your best efforts, you are not alone.
Many adults in Arvada and across the Front Range live with undiagnosed or unmanaged ADHD that makes daily life feel like an uphill battle. The good news? Your brain isn’t broken; it just works differently. With the right support, you can stop fighting against your nature and start working with it.
The Hidden Impact: ADHD Masking
One of the most exhausting parts of ADHD is masking—the effort required to hide your struggles to fit in. You may:
- Overcompensate: Working late hours or weekends to make up for “unproductive” time caused by executive dysfunction during the day.
- Suppress: Forcing yourself to stay still or suppressing your natural need to move or fidget, which leaves you mentally and physically drained.
- Say “yes” to everything: People-pleasing to avoid disappointing others or to hide the fact that you are struggling with a mounting workload, often leading to total burnout.
These behaviors might help you “pass” in the workplace or at home—but over time, they erode your self-esteem and energy. Therapy helps you drop the mask and build sustainable, neuro-affirming systems in its place.
Do I Have ADHD? Common Symptoms
Executive & Cognitive Challenges
- Time Blindness: Consistently running late or losing track of hours, even when you have a clear schedule.
- Analysis Paralysis: Feeling overwhelmed by options and getting stuck on where or how to start a task.
- Working Memory Issues: Walking into a room and forgetting why, or losing your train of thought mid-sentence.
- Focus Fluctuations: Hyperfocusing on intense interests for hours, while finding it nearly impossible to focus on necessary routine tasks.
Emotional Symptoms
- Rejection Sensitivity (RSD): Intense emotional pain from perceived criticism or the feeling of having “failed” someone’s expectations.
- Overwhelm: Shutting down or feeling “paralyzed” in response to excessive sensory input or too many competing demands.
- Irritability: Quick flashes of frustration or impatience, often when focus is interrupted or transitions are forced.
- Chronic Guilt: The persistent, heavy feeling that you are constantly letting others down or not living up to your potential.
Behavioral Symptoms
- Impulsivity: Frequently interrupting others mid-sentence or making hasty decisions and purchases before considering the consequences.
- Doom Piling: Creating “organizational” stacks of papers, mail, or clutter that you intend to deal with later, which eventually become invisible “doom piles.”
- Incompletion: Starting many new hobby projects or business ideas with high energy, only to lose interest and leave them unfinished once the initial novelty wears off.
- Restlessness: An internal sense of unease, difficulty sitting still through long meetings, or a constant need for external stimulation to stay engaged.
How Therapy Helps: Work With Your Brain
At 70 West Counseling, we don’t try to force your brain to be something it isn’t. Instead, we help you understand your unique wiring and build a life that supports it.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): We use CBT to help you identify and challenge the negative self-talk (like “I’m just lazy” or “I’m a failure”) that often accompanies years of undiagnosed ADHD. We work to break the cycle of shame and replace it with self-compassion.
- Executive Function Strategies: We provide practical, realistic systems for time management and organization. Instead of traditional “planners” that don’t work for ADHD, we find tools that actually stick.
- Relational Support: ADHD affects more than just the individual. We help improve communication with partners, employers, or family members who may not understand how your brain works, reducing conflict and building mutual support.