ADHD 2.0
“Ha” breathing technique. It’s simple but takes some focus and concentration. To begin, inhale through your nose to a count of three or four. Next, exhale through your mouth to a count of six or eight making a soft haaaa sound as you do so. The inhale/exhale relationship is always at a 1:2 ratio. Using this kind of forced breath technique as you se
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
To compound the problem, people with ADHD or VAST tendencies usually reject help. Of course, there is an upside to this trait—it’s called nonconformity. Another, less polite way of saying it: People with attention issues tend to have acute bullshit detectors. We hate hypocrisy maybe more than any other human failing, and we can spot it a mile away.
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
You might say that stimulants stimulate the brain’s brakes, thus giving you more control.
An increase in dopamine helps our nerve cells pass on information more “cleanly” from one to another. It helps to reduce the noise, quiet the chatterbox, and tune your brain to the right channel. If the signals aren’t clear, it’s easy to fall into confusion and
Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
While complicated in its anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and synaptic flow, the DMN is easy to understand for the layman, if spelled out in plain English. So, as we recap, we’ll keep it simple:
Don’t feed the Demon.
Shut off its oxygen by denying it your attention.
Do something else that engages your mind.
Stay in action!
Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
a neurotypical brain, when the TPN is turned on and you’re on task, the DMN is turned off. But in the ADHD brain, the fMRI shows that when the TPN is turned on, the DMN is turned on as well, trying to muscle its way in and pull you into its grasp, thereby distracting you. In ADHD, therefore, the DMN competes with the TPN, which in most people it do
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
“If there is one takeaway in distilling down the complexity of the DMN and the TPN, it boils down to the fact that the toggle switches between them are off in those with ADHD.”
In other words, in most people the DMN does not slip so easily into the TPN; the gears mesh well and are not glitchy. But in people who have ADHD, the gears get stripped, so
Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
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Strong will, stubbornness, refusal of help. It can seem stunningly stupid, but many people with ADHD, especially men, state outright, “I’d rather fail doing it my way than succeed with help.”
Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
There are some supplements everyone can agree to recommend: a multivitamin; vitamin D; magnesium; B complex; vitamin C (ascorbic acid, as well as Connect!); calcium; zinc.
Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
The blessing and the curse vie for top billing, for attention. When the DMN brings lovely images, it is our golden tool. But when it jumps track into the TPN and hijacks consciousness, then the DMN becomes the Demon, the seat of misery, the disease of the imagination. Trapped in the past or future in the DMN, you’re likely to abandon projects you o
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
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Connect with your personal vision of greatness and try to hold it in your consciousness every day as a guide and inspiration. One way to do this is to identify one living person you admire, then allow that admiration to lift you up.