Tuesday, May 3, 2016

You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy: Chapters 13-16: Mediation, Medication, Mental Hygiene, and Moving Forward

Just try meditation.  Don't expect to be good at it.  Do it, and it will be good for you.  You don't have to make your mind quiet.  Just observe what is going through your mind.  Do whatever works for you -- lie down, walk, stand on your head, close your eyes, look at a flame, listen to music.

People with ADHD tend to fill up their lives with too many things.  We tend to like to run on adrenaline.  This is not a healthy pattern.  We need to slow down, cut out some activities.  When someone asks you to do something, wait.  Tell them you will get back to them.

When people get treatment for ADHD, not just medication, but also coaching, meditation, etc., other health problems may be reduced, including asthma, allergies, fibromyalgia, athritis, hypertension, and irritable bowel syndrome.

Janet has just started Adderall and has ahd a good response to the medicine...She gets excited about all the things she can now do that she was never able to do before.  She starts out with the greatest of intentions.... 1) Get rid of piles and find an organizational system that works, 2) Set up a daily routine with a reasonable bedtime, 3) Get into an exercise routine, 4) Balance my checkbook.  Her list then segues into somewhat more grandiose goals, like 67) Write the great American novel....68) Remodel the entire house by myself, 69) Learn Chinese 70) Master the violin
Rebound: When your medication wears off, your symptoms are worse then before you were on medication.

Some people can sleep when they just took medication, and when it has left their system, but not when it is partly out of their system.

Activities such as juggling, balancing on one foot, or standing on a wobbling board stimulate the cerbellum and help peole with ADHD. 

Mental hygiene
When we're upset, find a way to be alone and take time to just be upset.

If you tend to be critical of yourself, imagine "the judge" who gives you these thoughts as a separate person from you.
Don't let anyone try to convince you that there is a certain kind of "constructive" criticism that is helpful.  We never learned anything from criticism exet to avoid it at all costs.  Rather than a steady dose of criticism, we need an enthusiastic cheerleader in our corner....The better we feel, the more likely we are to make changes that serve us and those around us.
Even when you feel stuck, you are moving forward.  It's okay to take very small steps.
The first step is to acknowledge that what you are facing is indeed a mountain.  It does not good whatsoever to tell yourself that it shouldn't be a mountain because other people do it so easily....Honor and respect the journey you are taking to conquer this mountain, because it is not trivial.   It's is a "hero's journey."
On the journey up the mountain, bring snacks, take rests, congratulate yourself after each leg of the journey,

We have a fear of taking action.  Remind yourself that you can stop at any time.

You'll thing you're moving forward, but then there will be setbacks and it will seem hopeless.  But you can keep moving forward.

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