ADHD and the EightFold Path: The Bodily Truths part three

The final Bodily truth is Right Nutrition. You need to start thinking about the things you put into your body. I'm not saying you need a special diet. What I do want to stress is that bad eating habits and poor food choices doesn't help you in the least. People with ADHD do have some special challenges in this area: we tend to be running late, so meals might be skipped, or fast food becomes a staple of the diet. We have a hard time planning, so grocery shopping and meal preparation can be spotty at best. This makes Right Nutrition even more imperative. By treating your body well, you are treating your brain well, and giving it the raw materials it needs to function effectively.

Here are the points I consider key to eating well:

1. Eat breakfast every morning. There are a number of studies that show kids who eat breakfast do better in school than those who don't. If you have ADHD this alone should motivate you to make sure you eat first thing in the morning.

2. Avoid Fast Food. It's not good for you, there's questionable content, and there are far better choices out there.

3. Avoid junk Food. Ditto on the above reasons. Human Beings do not need chips to survive.

4. Skip the Soda. Drink water instead. It's much better for you. If you miss the carbonation, drink seltzer water. If you need the caffeine, black coffee or tea will do just as well, and they have anti-oxidants to boot!

5. Eat fresh food as much as possible. Make sure you are eating fruits and vegetables every day. Eat Protein and Carbohydrates in balance with one another, and keep fat to a minimum. There's no mysteries here!

6. Don't drink alcohol if you're under age. Your brain is still developing, and booze is not something you need. If you're an adult, avoid alcohol in excess. If you find your days challenging as it is, throw a hangover into the mix with ADHD and see how productive you feel.

While this isn't nutritional advice per se, I'll just add it to the mix: smoking or using tobacco products, taking illegal drugs or misusing prescription medication is harmful to your body and your mind. People with ADHD have a much higher prevalence of substance abuse than the general population. The need for stimulation causes many people with ADHD to engage in risky behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse. You should seek help if you or someone you care about is abusing drugs and alcohol. Like ADHD, this is a treatable disorder.

The Bodily truths are the foundation for the successful treatment of ADHD. By getting your "house in order" so to speak, you will be ready and able to manage your ADHD far more effectively. Our next Posts will examine the Mental Truths: Right Acceptance/Forgiveness, Right Therapy, and Right Medication.

More information on Spark

I keep referring to Spark by John Ratey in these posts. It's a great book, well worth reading for everyone, not just people with ADHD.

Here is a link to a place where you can buy the book on Amazon.com. I'm not getting a dime for this either: http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113506/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288215164&sr=8-1

Check it out!

ADHD and The EightFold Path: The Bodily Truths part two

The next Bodily truth to be discussed is one I am passionate about: Right Exercise.

I can't stress enough the benefits of regular strenuous exercise. You feel better; not just because you exercised, but you actually feel good. I now exercise a minimum of six days a week for anywhere from one to two hours. That may seem like a lot, but the reality is that exercise is many things:

1. Mowing your lawn, if you have a push mower.

2. Cleaning your house

3. Going for a walk with your dog

4. shopping in the mall (assuming you avoid Mrs. Fields).

I am a runner. I will run anywhere from 3 miles to as many as 10, depending on my training schedule. To keep myself from getting injured, I've started a weight training program that I'm doing three days a week. I do these things because I enjoy them. The key to regular exercise is finding something you enjoy doing and then going out and doing it.

Before I get my exercise in for the day, I don't feel like my brain is fully on. The effects of an hour of solid exercise on me are striking; I'm alert, focused, capable of staying organized and on track, relaxed, able to deal more effectively with set backs, and self confident. There are many reasons rooted in brain chemistry for these changes, which I won't go into here; as I said in my last post read the book Spark by John Ratey, and you will receive an education on the inner workings of the mind. The point is, the brain responds well to physical activity and enhances your abilities to focus, organize, and perform other tasks.

For the person with ADHD, exercise is an all natural way to treat aspects of the disorder, and some people use exercise exclusively as their remedy. Combined with other modes of treatment, exercise will increase and enhance the effectiveness of medication, therapy, coaching, and will also offer enhanced self confidence and mental well being. Hey, what have you got to lose besides a few pounds?

The Eight Fold Path Part One: The Bodily Truths

There is clearly a very direct relationship between the physical body and the mind. As we learn more about the brain, we are seeing ever more clearly how improving the health of the body can bring about positive changes in the human brain. If you have ADHD it is very important that you exercise good "self care". This doesn't just mean showering, and brushing your teeth (although those around you really appreciate that) but it also means certain fundamental things are vitally important to managing your condition. The book Spark by John Ratey goes into excellent detail on a lot of this, but here are three essential practices I feel anyone should follow, but especially those with ADHD:

Right Sleep: The body and the mind need rest to function effectively. In our faced paced world, it can seem that sleep is a luxury. But, I have noticed that even one night of poor sleep or insufficient sleep plays havoc with my abilities to focus, my ability to initiate and follow through on tasks, and my overall mood. I have found my medications to be less effective when I am tired. It is not pleasant to face the day when you are sleep deprived as any new parent can tell you. If you have the ability to get a full night's restful sleep, this is one of the best gifts you give yourself. Turn off the TV, the laptop, and the smartphone. Curl up in bed with a good book, and make sure the light's off at a regular time every night. Make an appointment with your pillow. With enough rest, you will be ready to face the the next day, and ready to handle the next two Bodily Truths: Right Exercise and Nutrition.

ADHD and the Fourth Noble Truth: The Path, or Multi-Modal treatment

At last I can return to this series of posts! We are now at the heart of the matter: what can you do about life with ADHD? The Buddha saw the Eight Fold path as the sets of behaviors that would allow someone to live a life that would be increasingly free of unmet desires and temporary pleasures. The path that I will be laying out is actually a combination of treatment you would receive from a Doctor and Therapist, as well as new behaviors to enhance the quality of your daily life. In brief, here is the Eight Fold path as seen through the eyes of Multi-Modal treatment for ADHD:

The path is divided into three parts:

Part One: The Bodily Truths:

1. Right Sleep

2. Right Nutrition

3. Right Exercise

Part Two: The Mental/Psychological Truths

4. Right Acceptance & Forgiveness

5. Right Therapy

6. Right Medication

Part Three: The Practical Truths

7. Right Organization & Prioritization

8. Right Coaching and Support

In the next few posts, we will discuss these Truths in some detail. Each has a positive impact on the life of someone suffering from ADHD. Taken together, they are a path to a better life and a brighter future.

Stress and ADHD: From Hyper-focus to Scattered and Back.

On September 28, my Father passed away suddenly at the age of 72, after he suffered serious injuries from an accident in his home. He spent two days in the hospital in intensive care, but could not speak or really communicate as he was on a respirator and a lot of other medications. I was faced with a number of stressful conversations and decisions. My sister and I needed to determine how much care would be administered. I needed to help her deal with her intense sadness at the chain of events. I needed to inform his siblings with whom he'd had a troubled relationship. I needed to deal with a myriad of Doctors and medical personnel. Finally I had to try to retain some sense of normalcy for my kids and the other aspects of my life. While all of this was happening I experienced one of the oddest aspects of ADHD that I know of; the ability to completely hyper-focus.

It's an extremely weird feeling; everything slows down, and things in my mind seem to click into place. A list seems to form; who to call, what things I will need, what information I need to ask the Doctors about. I am calm and clear. I can manage to push emotion aside, while still retaining my empathy. I can ask questions and follow up without trouble. Its as if I have been listening to a static filled radio broadcast for sometime, and then the signal suddenly became crystal clear. I am able to filter out distraction and concentrate. Following my father's death, for the next week I remained in this hyper vigilant state. I planned the funeral, went through my Father's important papers, put together photo collages, sorted through his bills, and then dealt with a lengthy wake filled with well wishers and a longer funeral and post funeral reception. Through it all I was calm, composed, alert and together.

It was only after his funeral that I began to come back down to my normal state. It was then I experienced the flip side of the coin: how low level constant stress can aggravate and even worsen the normal symptoms I experience from ADHD. For the next two weeks I had trouble organizing, prioritizing, and initiating tasks. Thankfully my wife ran interference for me on a number of things. I had lower than normal levels of energy, even with my medications. I thought perhaps it was sadness, and I'm sure part of it is. But, a bigger part of it is just normal, routine ADHD that is for some reason more active and aggravated.

I've tried to exercise regularly and get enough sleep. I've tried to tackle tasks head on as much as possible. I've got lists coming out my ears and two different calendars right now. Is it helping? A little. It's as if I had an Ulcer, and I need to just realize that a big life stressor will aggravate the condition and time will be needed to get things back to equilibrium. Until then, I just try to stay focused on the good behaviors that have helped me in the past, and try to go easy on myself while I work through this process. Knowing the challenges you face helps immensely as you try to overcome them.

Getting back to normal

I had to give up posting for a while because my life got turned upside down when my father passed away very unexpectedly at the end of September. Things are starting to get easier, and I'll begin posting regularly again next week.