I was late diagnosed with ADHD, it was by my early 40's that I finally started understanding my brain. This came as a slow trickle through social media videos by Connor dewolfeI. I found his funny videos relatable and that grasped my attention. It was then I realized I am not an anxious mess or a frantic mom who can't be on time or have all my stuff together. I finally realized, it wasn't me... it was the process!
Everyone always had a trick to tell me for keeping a orderly house, arriving on time to places, or showing me how they carry a monstrous bag so they are always prepared. I finally just attached things to me so I can't loose them, decorated more functional in my home and have timers to keep me on time. I was striving to adapt to the outside world that I felt so misplaced in. I knew I could do these things, just not the way they did it.
I have been studying neuroscience for years, learning the way the brain functions. I dove in about how the brain is nearly a computer, taking in what is around it and coming to conclusions via patterns. It was intriguing and I hyper-focused on it for years, when normally that drive would last days. I must have sparked a true purpose.
During my research I found out that meditation and fasting can help calm the brain. I had always heard that stilling the brain was great for over active and over thinking minds. I had one of those, I was asking the universe to help calm my mind... and so I thought "what can I lose sitting for 10 minutes a day and changing my eating patterns for 40 days". With a Facebook Group to help support me, I committed. It started off with a few members and then grew quickly, some starting on day 1 and some starting into week 2. Change is something the brain resists greatly, knowing how to hack the brain helps us do new things easier. I really like the easy button, don't you?
I was emotionally invested in this challenge, so I went all in. As I fasted 16 hours (mostly while sleeping) and ate 2 meals within 8 hours (staying from sugar and carbs) my body started dramatically changing, so did my mind. As I questioned my habits because I was changing them (new food, new habits), I started questioning my emotional reactions. I wanted to beat the symptoms I was having due to ADHD. I wanted to stop resisting!
This was the first time doing a diet and lasting over 1 day, I jumped in knowing my system wanted to go against anything "telling me what to do". I changed my to-do list, into a "I get to" list, I started white noise meditation for 10 min every morning and I used the tips I learned to hack my brain into starting new habits and sustaining them (clarity, emotional drive, meaningful purpose, tools and simple action).
By day 10, I had silenced the criticism and constant conversations inside my mind. I finally silenced the anxiety that used to run through me and caused random conversations that didn't really even truly exist or accomplish anything. I heard my brain question my reaction to fear, and now I no longer jump at every sound. I felt a shift as I realized my actions will never change how someone else sees things, so I need to live for me. I felt more in alignment as I felt the weight of the world come off my shoulders. It was that time I truly felt free within.
I challenge you to do something different, that way you can start getting something different. Look at the new journey with a different perspective, the one that is more compassionate towards ADHD tendencies. The more aware we are, the more we can change.
I leave this hoping it can bring you hope. I once left chaos behind me with trails of impulsive decisions. Now my mind is still so I can think, feel, react and get things accomplished much differently... all in 10 days.
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