The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD: An 8-Step Program for Strengthening Attention, Managing Emotions, and Achieving Your Goals

Strategies that relax and replenish can restore one’s reservoir of willpower and are thus helpful in ADHD. These strategies include: times of relaxation such as meditation, positive emotions, self-talk that is encouraging, time of play, physical exercise, adequate breaks, or even having a snack that increases blood glucose.

My big epiphany came when I realized I could pay attention to my attention.

These short-term memory difficulties are related to working memory, a component of executive function.

Describing with awareness.

It’s often said that in ADHD the problem isn’t that a person isn’t able to pay attention, but that he or she isn’t able to pay attention to the right thing at the right time.

other words, ADHD makes it more difficult to have appropriate attention at the right time. In different contexts, a lack of focus or hyperfocus can be a problem for the same person with ADHD. Difficulties with transitions in focus, such as disengaging from a task and starting a new one, are also common.

At its core, mindfulness embraces heartfulness, as it requires being kind and compassionate to yourself and your experiences.

Being nonreactive. Not automatically reacting to (that is, pushing away or hanging on to) your thoughts or feelings; instead, being able to see them calmly and with some distance.

While reasons for being scattered may be different, the antidote is learning to pause and shift your attention—this time in a purposeful way—to the present moment.