The Latest Research to Improve ADHD Symptoms

This weekend I took myself on a solo retreat to the Atchafalaya Basin with not much more than my tent and a pile of books. My top highlights of camping in the swamp were spectacular stargazing, including a stunning streak of the milky way, canoeing alongside alligators that had just woken from hibernation, and reading all of ADHD 2.0 by Drs. Ned Hallowell and John Ratey, the updated version of Driven to Distraction, first published in 1994. 

We have learned so much about ADHD brains in the last decades! While there is much scientific evidence, the book is fast paced, lacking any jargon, but full of anecdotes and hope. It is definitely my new recommendation for anyone personally encountering ADHD for the first time.

While a new diagnosis can incite feelings of fear, grief and even anger, here we are presented with a positive perspective and a plethora of suggestions on how to live your best life. Some strategies for thriving as a Turbo Thinker include:

Strengths:
Learn to unwrap your gifts and identify your unique superpowers.

The right kind of difficult:
Take the time and effort to find just the right combination of novelty, interest and challenge for your brain.

Connection:
Feeling connected greatly reduces negative ADHD symptoms. The healing power of connection “Vitamin C” includes psycho-social integration, feeling understood and love in all of its forms.

Daily structure:
Create and implement schedules, routines, to do lists and reminder systems.

Environment:
Home, work and academic environments should all include low fear/ high trust, no shaming, and permission for everyone to be genuine and honest.

Sleep:
Practice sleep hygiene for your brain to function at 100%. Try to get as much as it takes for you to wake up without an alarm clock. 

Exercise:
Physical movement prepares the brain to expand, learn and change better than any other human activity. It improves mood and motivation, reduces anxiety, regulates emotions and maintains focus. It acts as the “Miracle Grow” for neurotransmitters, and sparks the frontal cortex to ignite executive function skills.

Mindfulness:
Practices such as yoga and meditation improve the hippocampus, thereby improving learning, memory and emotional regulation. Focusing on your breath strengthens your ability to sustain attention.

Brain balance:
Engage in balancing exercises to improve your cerebellum, thus improving the ability to learn new skills, regulate emotion and sustain focus.

Nutrition:
Include whole foods and lots of water.

CBD:
Yep. Use it for calming, mainly to relieve the anxiety that can accompany ADHD.

Positivity:
Surround yourself with the right people, accept and search for the right kind of help.

Task Positive Network/ Default Mode Network (the yin/ yang of your brain):
Spend more time in the TPN focusing on a single task and practice moving the toggle switch. When you catch yourself ruminating, distract yourself with something external. Activating the TPN will shut down the DMN.

Medication:
Any medication works better if you want to take it. Think in terms of risk v. benefit. Some key questions are: Have I learned as much as I can from reputable sources? Am I doing everything I can in terms of non medical treatment?

How much is my ADHD negatively impacting my life or the life of a loved one?

Next time you want to relax in your hammock strung between Cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss, grab ADHD 2.0. You won’t regret it!

If you need extra support during these times book a free consult or check out group coaching!