Holistic Tips for Managing ADHD and Stress

In this article I have listed and discussed some of the natural and holistic ways to ease your ADHD symptoms. However, it works great for anyone without ADHD. Basically, these tips work for those who want to achieve stress free life, calmness and mind control. Continue reading and tell us which one works for you more.

Living with ADHD is no joke. It can make you feel loads of shame, guilt and burnouts. However, the good news is that you can manage these symptoms effectively. You can do so in a very natural way without any side effects. This can make your brain the most efficient.

You must put more effort than an average person to do something if you have ADHD. Even the routine work looks like chore. At work it may seem like every day you are doing new job. And if that is the case, chances are high that you may lose your attention. This is obvious for an ADHDer. It can result in mistakes ranging from silly to big. This at times, may cost your job too.

You must understand how your ADHD brain works at its optimum level. Then, learn how to tackle it. According to Ayurveda, ADHD is not considered a mental condition. Instead, it is caused by a Vata, Pitta, Kapha imbalance in your body. So, the key is balancing these doshas to correct your issues.

Apart from Ayurvedic lifestyle, there are some proven tips and techniques that can ease your ADHD symptoms. These methods can also improve your life significantly. I completely agree that consistency is something that an ADHD brain does not like. Still, trying to be consistent as much as possible is the key here. This is possible if you follow healthy diet in the first place. I will explain more about diet in the upcoming sections.

Now let us see what all measures you can take to come out of your executive paralysis.

1. Exercise

Regular exercise can do wonders to your body and mind. You can workout or run or walk according to your capacity. But make sure that you sweat. This will result in utilizing your lungs capacity to its full potential. When lungs work in its full capacity, your oxygen intake will increase automatically. This means that the brain gets more oxygen supply which is great for your brain activity.

According to a study, dopamine level spikes within an hour of work out. This spiked dopamine level comes down after some time. However, regular and consistent exercise helps to maintain the required dopamine level throughout the day.

Exercise includes simple to simple stretching exercise, super brain yoga, running and Yogasanas. Experiment and do whichever suits you more. I personally prefer Yoga over anything else. As they say something is better than nothing, just start no matter how easy it may sound.

2. Diet

This is the most crucial one but is also ignored by many patients and experts. A good diet keeps your brain healthy. When I say good diet, it not only refers to balance of carb, protein and fat but also a natural food. Because you never know how the chemicals used in processed food affect you and your next generation.

Everyone knows that a good diet keeps your gut healthy but how is it related to brain? The relationship is most of the brain chemicals are produced by the gut. These brain chemicals help to keep your brain healthy. This is the reason why your gut is also called second brain. So the next time when you are tempted towards junk food, think about your brain health once.

When you try solution from Ayurveda, it works on this same principle. There are three doshas called Vata, Pitta and Kapha. One among these doshas dominates every individual out there. So, everyone should know their body type and take the food accordingly. The food that is healthy for a Pitta dominant person may not be healthy for a Vata dominant person. This applies to other body types as well. That is why knowing your body and acting in favor of it is most crucial part before doing anything else.

Recently I came across the research of Dr. Christopher Palmer, a Harvard psychiatrist. His research is about the link between metabolism and brain health. His research indicates that people with ADHD, autism, or other mental health issues often have poor metabolism. This is because metabolism is the process of taking food and oxygen and turning them into the energy we need both for the body and brain. When there is disturbance in this process, there will be disturbance in the working of body and mind too. He also says these conditions are not genetic but due to bad metabolism which run across family.

3. Adequate sleep during nighttime

Again, sleep is also another most important aspect in our lives. Its not like you need 8 hours of sleep in anytime of the day. You need those hours of sleep during night. Earliest the best while sleeping. I know this sounds too hard because I had been there. Sleeping early is hardest of anything for the ones who is affected by ADHD. It is because you can’t just turn off your brain during bedtime. One or other thing keeps running until its dawn. But this results in lack of sleep.

According to Ayurveda, the best time for sleep is from 10 pm to 4 am. You can extend this sleep time as you wish. Making sure that your sleep time falls under this time frame is best practice. Modern science agrees that your growth hormone will be released during this time. This release is especially important for kids. In addition to this, any repair of the system will take place in the same period. So more you align with this time, more you reap the benefits.

It is said that people with ADHD actually need more sleep than normal individuals. Their brain works harder than those without ADHD. So please take care of your sleep.

4. Meditation

Last but not the least, Meditation is something that I always recommend to everyone. People who struggle to sit for meditation even 5 minutes a day actually need it the most. They require meditation for at least 20 minutes a day. It may sound ridiculous but this is the fact. Mediation makes your mind stable and strong. If you invest 20 minutes for meditation it can give required focus for the rest of the day. It also gives you willpower to be consistent in any task. Here the key is you have to feel the bliss of the meditation rather than just sitting forcefully.

Simple meditation that anyone can practice is relaxing. First, observe your breathing rhythm. After it becomes normal and slows down, focus on your third eye chakra. You can also concentrate on the tip of the nose or your heart chakra. Be consistent with your practice and witness the changes within you.

5. Remove your mask

Yes. Remove your mask and be you wherever you go. I know this may sound little hard because you prepare your mask in attempt to fit into the society. But this is not going to help in the long run. In fact, it will adversely affect you by giving lots or stress and burnouts. You can not listen the things when you act like listening. You have capacity to listen word to word when you act like you are not listening. At the end of the day, what you listen and apply in your work matters. So, try to be yourselves.

6. Acupressure/Reflexology

Acupressure is a kind of treatment similar to acupuncture. In these modalities they identify some points on our body which corresponds to each organ. Thus, when pressure is applied on these points, its corresponding organ starts working properly.

This modality is very good for these neuro divergent conditions because it includes disharmony of most of the organs. Acupressure treatment demands only 10 minutes of your day. You can attend to every organ and make them healthy.

In addition to above mentioned natural approach, you can follow whichever suits best for you. According to me, easing your ADHD symptoms is a never-ending journey. You should maintain this each and every day of your life to thrive. Take some measures to improve your brain functionality. Put your effort in this regard every day. This is always a wise idea rather than failing miserably in this world.