Mindfulness and ADHD

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Mindfulness and ADHD

• A practical guide to the use of mindfulness

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• One of the best ways to practice mindfulness on
  your own is to learn meditation. "The purpose of
  meditation is to center and balance the mind,"
  Gersten says. "ADHD symptoms tend to throw the
  mind out of balance." A study in Mind Brain,
  The Journal of Psychiatry found that students
  with ADHD who meditated twice a day reported a 50
  percent reduction in stress and anxiety.
  Meditation requires only 10 to 20 minutes a day,
  and classes and manuals are widely available

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The UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

• Early findings from the centres research,
  involving 25 adults and eight adolescents, half
  of whom had the combined (both inattentive and
  hyperactive) form of ADHD were very promising,
  with significant improvements recorded, and
  participants satisfied with the programme.
  Research results also suggest that brain activity
  and dopamine levels may vary between those who
  meditate regularly and those who do not.

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Mindfulness for ADHD Toronto Body Mind

• As unlikely as it might sound, mindfulness
  meditation can be highly effectively in helping
  people live successfully with ADHD. While most
  people with ADHD think meditation is impossible
  for someone with such a busy and disorganized
  mind, this is actually the reason it is so
  beneficial. Using specially modified exercises
  designed for people with ADHD, complete stillness
  or the ability to empty your mind is not
  required.

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Why Mindfulness might be helpful

• Although medication treatment is effective
  for many individuals with ADHD, including
  adolescents adults, there remains an
  understandable need to explore and develop
  interventions that can complement or even
  substitute for medication. This is true for a
  variety of reasons including
• 1) Not all adults with ADHD benefit from
  medication.2) Among those who benefit, many
  have residual difficulties that need to be
  addressed via other means.3) Some adults with
  ADHD experience adverse effects that prevent
  them from remaining on medication.
• Dr. David Rabiner

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Mindfulness Training

• Mindfulness meditation is described as
  involving 3 basic steps 1) bringing attention
  to an attentional anchor such as breathing
  2) noting that distraction occurs and letting
  go of the distraction and, 3) refocusing
  back to the attentional anchor.
• This sequence is repeated many times during the
  course of each meditative session. As the
  individual becomes better able to maintain
  focus on the attentional anchor, the notion of
  paying attention to attention is introduced
  and individuals are encouraged to bring their
  attention to the present moment frequently
  during the course of the day.
• (David Rabiner)

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The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD An
8-Step Program for Strengthening Attention,
Managing Emotions, and Achieving Your Goals

• A superb book, an important book, a book that
  breaks new ground. Anyone who is interested in
  the treatment of ADHD in adults must own this.
  Rigorous in its research, accessible in its
  style, convincing in its argument, and novel in
  its premise, this book keeps its promise of
  offering a reliable mindfulness prescription. I
  hugely recommend this book!Edward Hallowell,
  MD, author of Driven to Distraction

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MAPs for ADHD

• Mindfulness Awareness Practices (MAPs) for ADHD
  is a six week class taught by two physicians who
  are experts in ADHD care Dr. Lidia Zylowska, an
  adult psychiatrist, and Dr. Mark Bertin, a
  developmental pediatrician. The program provides
  an overview of ADHD including its causes,
  comprehensive treatments and a review of the
  neuroscience of ADHD and mindfulness-based
  interventions. The class also includes
  education into the impact of ADHD and executive
  function skills on day-to-day life. Each session
  includes mindfulness exercises taught in a manner
  suitable for those with attention issues or new
  to meditation.

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7 ADHD Stress-Reduction Techniques

• Take 10 Deep Breaths
• Practice Mindfulness
• Exercise Every Day
• Get Enough Sleep
• Try a Yoga Class
• Have a Good Laugh
• Write It Down

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Mindfulness techniques by L Rosenberg

• The instructions with using mindfulness are
  simple. Here are 4 brief steps using the breath
  as an example
• Bring your attention to the sensation of
  breathing as an anchor to the present moment.
  This can be at the tip of the nose, the chest or
  the belly, wherever you notice it the most.
• When the mind wanders, note where it wandered to.
• Gently bring attention back to the anchor.
• As Larry Rosenberg says in his book Breath by
  Breath The Liberating Practice of Insight
  Meditation, repeat step 3 several billion times.

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The Mindful Attention System for ADHD is an
8-week mindfulness training program that gives
your child the tools he or she needs to begin to
rewire neural pathways in the brain and increase
focus. The program is designed to increase
motivation, improve sustained focus, teach
success strategies, and develop lifelong
mindfulness habits. This easy-to-listen-to audio
program has been fine-tuned by a decade of
hands-on research and experience with students
with ADHD.