Treating Adult ADHD with Meditation

One of the great ways of managing adult ADHD is to meditate. At first Meditation seems a contradictory activity for someone who has ADHD. Meditation involves being  physically and mentally still, two activities that are exceptional difficult if you have ADHD! However, there is a growing body of research providing evidence on the many  benefits of meditation for both adults and children with ADHD and with a little practice meditation is possible even for the busiest mind and the most energetic body

Managing adult ADHD using meditation has many benefits including

• Increases concentration
• Decreases impulsivity
• Increases cognitive functioning
• Decreases mood swings
• Decreases stress and anxiety
• Increase healthy sleep and self confidence

On an anecdotal  level as well as the benefits listed above,  advantages  my clients have reported include feeling much calmer even in highly stressful situations, having less anger out bursts (and as a result, improved relationships) and feeling more aware of the passage of time which results in being on time or even early for appointments.

Although meditation is a great way for treating adult ADHD (particularly when used with other alternative ADHD treatments)  a little while ago I invited mediation expert Bonnie Hutchinson to be a guest on my radio show. Here are Bonnie’s top 5 meditation tips when you have ADHD.

1) There is no right or wrong way to meditate. Personalize the meditation experience so that it works for you.

2) You haven’t ‘failed’ if your chattery mind keeps on chattering when you meditate

3) If you are resistant to meditating because you think it takes a long time, you can do a ‘power meditation’ for 5 minutes and get great benefits.

4) You can practice meditation no matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs

5) It’s OK to call “meditating” another name if the word alone sounds daunting to you,  for example: my ‘brain calming exercise’.

So why not start to include meditation into your daily life and start to experience some of these benefits yourself?