Honestly, the best thing I have ever done for my ADHD Brain
If you were to ask me what was one of the most beneficial things that I have ‘tried that’s worked’, without a moment’s hesitation, I would say learning to meditate.
NB. (I know that some of you with ADHD may already be wanting to bail out of this blog because the idea of sitting in silence, motionless and with focus is seemingly the very opposite of how your brain generally likes to go about its business! I hear you, but that may be just the reason why giving meditation a sustained go may be a useful thing to try.)
Why I first went to a meditation class...
is lost in the mists of time, but I do know that I was in my twenties and unaware that I had ADHD. Each week, for four terms, I would roll up to the local adult education centre to join a small group of beginners and a meditation teacher, who at times seemed distinctly uncentred and unpredictable (which worked for me).
We would settle into a circle on hard plastic chairs in a drab classroom under stark strip lighting as far removed from any Buddhist temple you could imagine. Initially it felt distinctly odd and strange and the non-conformist in me would fight the instruction to ‘close your eyes’, often giving in to the urge to open them to see what everyone else was doing.
But, week by week
the ability to sit in silence, observing my mind, grew and deepened and the effects began to filter into all other parts of my life. Meditation enabled me to put some space between thought and action. It helped me considerably to deal with some of the ADHD challenges I didn’t even know I was dealing with and it greatly added to the quality of my life.
#ADHDmeditation
Do you find meditation & mindfulness helpful for your ADHD?
- 0%Yes
- 0%No
- 0%Haven't tried
Things have changed since
I learnt to meditate and now a whole plethora of on-line meditation tools and classes are easily accessible, but I think there was something useful and sustaining about needing to be a place at a particular time with other people to learn something which at its heart requires patience and perseverance.
But once you have put the work in, I don’t think that the memory of how to meditate ever leaves you. It becomes a tool you can draw on throughout your life.
Listen to I Tried this it Worked podcast # 5 Mindfulness and Meditation
Bye for now Emma
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