ADHD is a kind of "loss of control over your attention".
Meditation is "getting control over your attention".
So you see the connection there.
Tried to, but it instead it makes me super aware of every bodypart, and suddenly everything is uncomfortable. That was the usual sit cross legged, recite a mantra kind of meditation.
Now I just do breathing exercises instead, count 1 to 10, then back down, focusing on my breathing. I usually have to do that when I'm very tired but still can't manage to fall asleep due to my wandering mind. It helps settle myself down. I still manage to get distracted though, counting in different languages and catching myself doing it, then wondering if trying to correct it is better than just letting it be.
I tried mantra too. And a few other "things to focus on". I experimented.
I ended up using breath too. Specifically, I used the feeling of breath in the tip of my nose.
FYI. That focusing type meditation is what the Buddhists call "Samatha". It's also called Anapanasati, Concentration Meditation, Samprajnata Dhyana, and a few other names, depending on who's talking.
There's another kind of meditation too. The Buddhists call it "Vipassana". It's pretty great. It's another thing to do with your attention. Something other than focusing and concentrating.
Huh, interesting. I'll look into it. Might help nail down how I do it cus it helps, but not much.
- Meditation is a good idea for anybody and takes many forms.
- Your post comes off with a "why don't you just..." vibe to me. I don't like the tone honestly. You don't think a community of people with ADHD have heard of meditation? Do you go into depression related communities and ask if they've just tried being happier?
I get the idea of trying to help but it isn't very productive IMHO.
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maybe, maybe not. There are differences that aren't so different and there's a lot of smoke around the subject. We'd be better off to talk more specifically, maybe. I'm being specific about the "controlling your attention" thing, for example.
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Hmm. Getting offended is basically the national sport of the internet. So you'll pardon me if I take it with a grain of salt. I'm striving for brevity and clarity here. I for one find tiptoeing around the point to avoid offending anybody to be the most offputting style. But all that noise aside, ya, speaking as an AS guy who meditates, it's a really big deal. I'm actually intentionally avoiding getting too handwavey and excited about it here because people tend to find that REALLY offputting.
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It's not really meditating, but I think the effect is somewhat similar. I love cycling, it allows me to clear up my mind of anything else. It's like I forget anything that happened before, or will happen after and my mind is only on what my body and bike are doing, and what's on the trail. Sorta hyperfocus but without the strain on your mind
We don't choose our thoughts. They arrive unbidden, sometimes colored by feelings, but they always pass and get replaced by, again, more thoughts and feelings. They are temporary, but the consciousness that experiences the stream of thoughts is not. We are that consciousness and meditation is largely just allowing our attention to rest in our fundamental being, that of awareness. There is no objective goal meant to be found in mediation as I know it. It is the absence of intent and seeking in favor of just being. The idea that mediation requires us to quiet the mind is anti-meditation to me. The mind becomes quieter the more I've stopped trying to shut it up. Trying to make my mind's chatter go away only provides it with the attention that fuels it. There is no sound without silence. There is no activity without stillness. It is possible to feel within awareness that you are that stillness and silence, that it is not other or objective, but a core part of your being perhaps worth exploring
Shamans of yore referred to AS maladies as "the teaching disease". Because it teaches you something important about reality. Something that's otherwise hard to see.
A bit of experimentation might be required. Different kinds of "object to focus on" work differently for different people.