Non-medication treatments for ADHD – part two 2017
Mindfullness – means pause in what you are doing and take a nonjudgmental inventory of your thoughts, emotions, physical feelings and situation. The key is nonjudgmental, just be aware, that’s all you do. Takes maybe 30 seconds? Can you do this three times a day? You may need anchors.
Meditation– There are many forms, and it doesn’t come easy if you have ADHD. But the easy way is doable. This is the simplest form I’ve been able to find.
Sit, relax (oh, yeah.), focus your attention on your breath. In and out. How does it feel? Your mind will of course wander all over the place, but gently bring it back your breath. Pay attention to it again. Over and over. Non judgmentally practice this, don’t assess or score or grade yourself. Just do what you can.
Can you do this for 5 minutes? I have tried this for years, and can finally do it for 15 minutes. That doesn’t mean I can focus on my breath for 15 minutes, it means I can do what I described above for 15 minutes. I discovered a strategy which made a big difference for me. I set a timer for my 15 minutes, and then I’m not thinking so much about the time. It has a limit on it. Helps a lot.
Three breaths – Stop what you are doing and take three breaths. I use an anchor – hearing a bell. That’s all, just stop and take three breaths. You can do this pretty often, especially if you find a good anchor
Results –
I don’t do the mindfullness regularly, but hope to do more. I find the other two practices to be remarkably helpful. Meditation makes the whole day go better. The three breaths clears the mind for a moment and reduces that constant sense of urgency. (Do you know what I’m talking about?)
The Basics for ADHD –
I must again mention these: Get enough sleep. Exercise. Get out of doors. And don’t forget strategies.
Finally –
Of course, eating healthily can’t hurt, tho I’m not sure it actually helps the ADHD. I do advocate everyone, ADHD or not, take a multivitamin with minerals and 2 grams of omega 3 fatty acid (fish oil) a day. I think the fatty acid does help a little with the ADHD. And I do prayer before my meditation, and find that very helpful, too.
doug
The Hedging Disclaimer of the Day-
The above are my opinions, but most of them are supported by scientific research – probably not the multi vitamin. I don’t usually give references, but you can google anything you want.
Links:
-
- Exercise helps with ADHD
-
- Fidgeting helps with ADHD
-
- If we’re interested —
-
- Be informed about ADHD.
-
- Sometimes its too much
@addstrategies #adhd #add @dougmkpdp
ADDadultstrategies 