Mindfulness for ADHD

Mindfulness is defined as a state of nonjudgmental awareness of what’s happening in the present moment, including the awareness of one’s own thoughts, feelings, and senses.

Mindfulness has two components:

Awareness 

During a state of mindfulness, you’ll notice your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations as they happen. The goal isn’t to clear your mind or to stop thinking - it’s to become aware of your thoughts and feelings, rather than getting lost in them.

Acceptance

The thoughts, feelings, and sensations that you notice should be observed in a nonjudgmental manner. For example, if you notice a feeling of nervousness, simply state to yourself: “I notice that I am feeling nervous.” There’s no need to further judge or change the feeling.

Practicing mindfulness is a way to tame our monkey minds. Over time, the more we do it, the better we are able to handle life’s challenges.

There is no one size fits all approach to practicing mindfulness. It will look different for everyone. But, once you find what works for you, the benefits of putting a daily mindfulness practice into place include:

Reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety

Greater satisfaction with relationships

Improved memory, focus and mental processing speed

Reduced rumination (repetitively going over a thought or problem)

Improved ability to adapt to stressful situations and

Improved ability to manage emotions.

When it comes to practicing mindfulness, there is no “one size fits all” approach. For some, practicing mindfulness means going for a walk in the woods. For others, it can be snuggled up in a favorite blanket sipping a cup of tea and listening to classical music.

The point is to practice being in the moment. You can even practice mindfulness while doing the dishes.

A study conducted by researchers at Florida State University found that washing dishes could be a significant stress reliever - but only if you do it mindfully.

How do you wash dishes mindfully? By remaining focused on the task by engaging your senses. The study found that participants who focused on the smell of the soap, the warmth of the water, the sound of the dishes clanking, increased their feelings of inspiration by 25 percent and lowered their nervousness levels by 27 percent.

As humans we are busy doing. Practicing mindfulness reminds us that we are human beings. And it’s okay to just “be” with yourself in the here and now.

To get started with mindfulness, check out our resources page here.