Meditation styles effective for ADD

[Max_V]

Hi guys,

The last 3 years I have been meditating daily with about an average of 1 hour a day. My overal awareness over my emotions, thoughts, and other experiences has definitely elevated to a point where I can say it is really effecting my life in a hugely positive way. But, what I've noticed is that even with concentration practice on the side and trying out different styles of meditation, because of my ADD brain I don't feel like my concentration has increased significantly enough relative to the time I've spent every day.

What this topic is about and what I want to ask you guys is if you have any idea or suggestions which form of meditation styles are effective specifically among people with ADD. If you have any alternative suggestions to what I could try concerning this, that is also fine. 

I'd say I'm pretty much on top of my game with nutrition. I eat mostly a whole food plant based diet which has definitely helped me with my overal energy levels and brain fog, but then again, did not effect my capacity to improve my concentration I feel like.

Nootropics is also something I should look into but the thought of having to use a substance to increase my performance doesn't sit with me as well as doing it through a certain practice or method. But, if there is no other way, I will give it a shot.

Thanks for your time.

 

Edited November 8, 2018 by Max_V

[Preetom]

1) simplify life. Only do a set of activities regularly. Minimize distractions. Just resting in the free time is a way better strategy.

2) watch your thoughts. Make sure you aren't investing too much thoughts in worrying and daydreaming about situations. Also notice if you're always investing in living up to a certain self image or patterns you have. These are huge energy drainers.

Hope you get some ideas for your solution

[Preetom]

Having said that I'll share the most effective and ruthlessly simple 3 step strategy for building concentration as prescribed by Swami Vivekananda.

1) Decide what you're gonna concentrate on.

2)  concentrate on that

3) Immediately bring back your focus on the object  of your concentration the moment you first notice that your attention has wandered away. There should not be any introspection or judgement involved in where, why, how, when your focus drifted away. Just bring it back the moment you notice your focus got diverted.

Repeat...repeat...repeat...that's concentration building over time. 

[Salvijus]

Kriya helps a lot, if you're lucky to find the right one for attention and brain activity performence. 

There're many techneques in kriya disigned for different purposes. For health, enlightenment, kundalini, 3rd eye opening, etc. If you can find a kriya that increases your mental performence it would work. It really really works.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Salvijus

[FredFred]

I've been diagnosed with ADHD 2 years ago. Classical vipassana meditation helped me a lot with my concentration over the past couple of months. I haven't tried a lot of other technique so unfortunately I can't help you on this one.

But one thing for sure : do not take amphetamines prescription. Those meds will fuck you up.

[PsiloPutty]

I would think that Vipassana with labelling would have the most "action" for someone with ADD.

And I started taking L-Theanine and sulbutiamine a couple weeks ago and really love what they do for me and my meditations. They are an amino acid and Vitamin B1, so they're not drugs. 

[Michael569]

Probably a non-related question but have you ever suffered from cold sores / herpes outbreaks in the past? If so, how often? 

....just exploring a potential (but unlikely) link with the ADD. 

[Max_V]

1 hour ago, Michael569 said:

Probably a non-related question but have you ever suffered from cold sores / herpes outbreaks in the past? If so, how often? 

....just exploring a potential (but unlikely) link with the ADD. 

Nope, never had any of that. Or at least, as far as I can remember.

@Preetom Nice of you to list how to do concentration meditation but that won't change my problem. I've done different types of concentration-type meditation both very simple and more complicated but I haven't noticed much improvement.

It's not that I have low energy which causes my focus to be bad, it's that my focus is just not steady in itself. I cannot hold strong focus for a long amount of time.

@PsiloPutty @FredFred  Yes, that's what I'm doing right now. Verbally in my mind pointing out what I'm experiencing helps a lot. As a meditation technique this is awesome for me, but it doesn't seem to do much for my steady focus, more so for my overall awareness. 

@Salvijus I was already planning to do a course in Sadhguru's Surya Kriya hopefully next month. But, now that you remind me of it again I think more research into Kriya Yoga could be helpful. Thanks for you suggestion.

 

[Hellspeed]

Grounding. 

[Max_V]

@Hellspeed Very funny but it's not in my control even if I wanted it to be. I can sit and go meditate for 2 hours a day but that wouldn't change the fact that my genetical makeup is so that my concentration is inherently awful.

[Leo Gura]

Psychedelics + Nootropics + Kriya yoga

Kriya yoga is very effective at shutting down the monkey mind through brute physical force.

Also, if you have the money, EEG neurofeedback training. You can find a center near you that offers hourly sessions. It's great for ADD. Just 5 to 15 sessions can make a lasting impact.

[Salvijus]

@Max_V Surya kriya is definitely an option, I do it myself. And plus it's a kriya also

Edited November 8, 2018 by Salvijus

[FredFred]

@Hellspeed It's easy to answer poorly researched comments like that isn't it?

ADHD is a very real and complex disorder, as you can see by this long-ass research : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2626918/

People affected by ADHD aren't simply lacking motivation or discipline. The general consensus seems to point towards a malfunctioning dopamine system, resulting in boring actions becoming ultra-boring actions. It's a tangible neurological dysfunction that cannot be simply be solved by "grounding".

It is however very manageable, which is kind of the purpose of this thread.

[aurum]

@Max_V

I would question whether you really have ADD in the first place.

[Michael569]

10 hours ago, FredFred said:

People affected by ADHD aren't simply lacking motivation or discipline. The general consensus seems to point towards a malfunctioning dopamine system, resulting in boring actions becoming ultra-boring actions. It's a tangible neurological dysfunction that cannot be simply be solved by "grounding".

This is what I was thinking when asking about the Herpes virus as it been proven to trigger ADD by causing some neurological hyperexcitability

[Strikr]

16 hours ago, Max_V said:

Nope, never had any of that. Or at least, as far as I can remember.

@Preetom Nice of you to list how to do concentration meditation but that won't change my problem. I've done different types of concentration-type meditation both very simple and more complicated but I haven't noticed much improvement.

It's not that I have low energy which causes my focus to be bad, it's that my focus is just not steady in itself. I cannot hold strong focus for a long amount of time.

@PsiloPutty @FredFred  Yes, that's what I'm doing right now. Verbally in my mind pointing out what I'm experiencing helps a lot. As a meditation technique this is awesome for me, but it doesn't seem to do much for my steady focus, more so for my overall awareness. 

@Salvijus I was already planning to do a course in Sadhguru's Surya Kriya hopefully next month. But, now that you remind me of it again I think more research into Kriya Yoga could be helpful. Thanks for you suggestion.

 

this is my advices 

- read a lot of books with wanting understand truth and your mind and humans ( you'll then broke most pattern that you believe on )

- sport ( intense, until suffer ) don't need to bother everyday

- intense dancing ( dubstep, metal everything that makes you broke tables ) cut with pacific music/chill music to relax. ( bonus : listen trance/psytrance, and focus on kick, and makes the music your entire mind / create a separation with thinking )

- be a god tier at gaming / or art. ( aim to be the best, and work hard )

- hot shower then cold shower ( until you can only breath and not think )

- then meditate 5 minutes, trying to not think anything, focus on breath, if meditate bother you, do yoga until you suffer in your legs and can only focus on it.

- listen "positive" hypnosis for sleep, stop thinking of your past.

- if you have to work in bothering job, challenge yourself by saying, grinding makes me suffer, it makes me grow, it makes me know why I won't grind. The more I grind, the more resistance I get.

or do the easy way, and get the easy result

Edited November 9, 2018 by Strikr

[Max_V]

@aurum I got tested for it when I was about 12 years old so that's all I can go on for now. That and my lack of concentration and the deep cognitive dissonance I feel with change, and planning.

@Leo Gura Hopefully my insurance can cover it. If  Neurofeedback can change the way my brain works and how I feel on a daily basis, I'm forever grateful for that suggestion. That and Surya Kriya I will be starting soon. Thank you.

[moon777light]