Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Attend!

Attend to the moment . . . to the task at hand . . . mindful, heed, observe. Attentive, as in focus on One thing. Wow! Alot to demand from someone with ADHD.

If your ADHD is anything like mine, you have a minimum of four or five things going on in your head at the same time. Each requires attention, or so we think, and we do a darn good job of keeping up. At least until the four or five screens in our head increases to a dozen. That's when someone finds our keys in the refrigerator space that the carton of milk used to occupy.

Attending to what is before us, being mindful of what we are doing is not only possible--it's a necessity. ADHD is a focus problem. I recommend mindfullness as the perfect antidote for inattention.

Don't freak out in ADHD fashion. You can accomplish attending and manage your focus problem by taking little steps to get used to the idea of mindfullness, and progress to keeping full attention on one task at a time. Note: keeping full attention on one task at a time is in italics because it's frightening without the following clarification:
This does not mean that you must focus on the task until it is completed. You
focus on the task at hand until you decide to move to a different task. This
requires that your full attention remain on the task at hand until you decide to
stop the task.

Start the focus exercise while eating a snack. Keep your attention on the eating process. Focus on what you are eating, the color and shape, smell, taste, and texture. How the food feels as you chew and swallow.

When your focus wanders and your mind jumps to a new screen, tap the center of your forehead and bring back the focus to the food you are eating. Repeat this process throughout your snack. Eventually, you will be able to focus throughout an entire meal.

Soon, you can transfer this management exercise to other tasks. Granted, mindful eating is a healthy practice . . . but, eating all day long, maybe not.