Meditation for ADHD: A Brief Introduction

Of all the natural coping methods I commonly see recommended for those with ADD, one that, to me, doesn't get nearly enough props is meditation.

I don't know why this is. Perhaps it's because it's just too New Age-y for some folks. Maybe it's because those acquainted with the issues of ADD find the idea of prescribing intense concentration to treat focus problems as lofty, perhaps even laughably so.

Whatever difficulties can come in learning to meditate (I'll get to those in a moment), I still think it's a shame not to try. The benefits of meditation to the ADD mind are profound in both a practical and emotional sense. First and foremost, it helps with hyperactivity, teaching one the art of stillness and calm. It's also a highly comforting balm to the emotional distress we so often experience, while creating a mental state excellent for gaining insight and unraveling bad habits. And of course, it helps with focus.

I myself learned to meditate via a hypnotist (hypnotism and meditation are essentially the same things; the differences between them split hairs along the lines of how the trance states are used, but that's really up to the user either way). He was actually an entertainer, and with trademark ADHD "look at me!"-ism, I volunteered to be a "subject" for his stage show. I found the experience of hypnosis so profound, I bought some of his CDs and started to learn self-hypnosis. The CDs contained ambient electronic music as well as progressive relaxation hypnotic inductions and instructions, including guided visualizations and behavior-modification exercises. Pretty basic stuff.

Chances are, I wouldn't have been able to learn the discipline if I'd tried to start from scratch, no music, no direction, just me sitting down, closing my eyes, and trying it. I needed the voice on the CD to give me direction and keep me focused until I'd been doing it for quite some time on my own. But that's what worked for me. For many people, visual stimulus is required to get into a meditative state, or some kind of meditative physical activity, like yoga, or a repetitive action. Things like drawing, getting lost in music, light housework, gardening, working with your hands, can all be good ways to get into the mindset.

Some good resources:

Pandora Internet Radio. Design an ambient music station of your own to help you with meditation. (I use "Kitaro" as my foundation, personally.)

Frederick Winters. This is the guy I learned hypnosis from.

Self-Hypnotism. This is an instructional article I wrote for eHow.com.

Illuminescence on YouTube. This user creates videos with hypnotic visualization and binaural beat music to assist in achieving a trance state. Just sit somewhere comfortable and watch and listen, preferably in the dark.