Meditation Tips For ADHD

Ever wonder how an ADHD brain fits into meditation? I explore the 'hunter vs. farmer' brain theory, uncovering hidden strengths observed in your meditation practice, some challenges, and unique workarounds for ADHD minds in meditation practice.

Transcript

Hey,

This is Hishar,

And today I'll be talking to you about some tips for you if you have ADHD.

And just as a disclaimer,

I'm not giving medical advice here,

But rather these are just tips from someone who has an ADHD brain.

And specifically in this talk,

I'll be going over the hunter brain versus the farmer brain and how this relates to meditation.

And I'll be going over some hidden strengths that you may have in your meditation practice,

And then also some workarounds as well.

So starting off,

There is a theory that says that those with ADHD have certain traits that would have made them good hunters back in primitive hunter-gatherer societies,

As opposed to those that would have certain traits more suited for farming and agriculture.

And in many ways,

The hunter traits are opposite or contradict many of the qualities that we cultivate in our meditation.

So some obvious examples would be being very impatient versus cultivating patience,

Being restless versus cultivating calm,

Having a short attention span versus long sustained attention over time.

And if we go further,

We can see that some of these hunter-gatherer traits would have actually helped us back in primitive societies.

So for example,

What we might label being hyperactive or easily distracted would have helped us back in the day because we would be hyper-aware of our environment,

Constantly scanning for different threats.

Or what we would label as being very impulsive or fast-paced would have helped us take very quick actions in a matter of life and death.

Or having a very low boredom threshold might make us very restless,

But this would have helped us seek novelty and explore more in the environment.

So being natural adventurers and explorers would have helped us survive.

And on the other hand,

Having certain traits that are more aligned with a farmer's brain does make certain aspects of meditation a lot easier.

So being able to not get easily distracted is very helpful,

Obviously.

Or being able to sustain steady effort over time.

Being very conscious of time,

Because in ADHD you tend to block out time completely.

Being very patient.

And also understanding that certain things take time.

So for example,

It would be planting crops,

You have to be very patient and not expect immediate results right away.

And the big thing is also having a very high boredom threshold.

So when you're engaging in meditation practices,

Especially in more monastic type environments or if you're doing retreats where you're sitting still for 10 hours a day,

16 hours a day,

You must be very comfortable with dealing with a lack of external stimulation and periods of boredom.

There's not much going on in the environment or all around you,

You have to be very patient with that.

So obviously this poses some obvious challenges if you're starting your meditation practice.

But I want to talk to you about some of the hidden benefits that you may actually notice if you do continue with your meditation practice.

So the first would be hyperfixation and loss of time.

So while this may have been seen as a con if you have ADHD,

What this allows you to do is to hit really deep concentration states.

So generally,

When you have ADHD,

You won't really focus on things unless you have an interest in it.

But once you do find that interest,

You're able to lock on like a laser and completely immerse yourself in this.

So this is very helpful when you're doing deep concentration style meditation,

Where if you get completely absorbed in your meditation and you find a lot of pleasure in it,

You'll go right in all the way.

So you'll actually get into very deep meditation states.

And what I find very useful is if you do a practice that is more pleasure focused,

This is also very helpful.

Because as mentioned,

People with ADHD tend to focus on things that they like and what they want to do.

So if you do pleasure meditation practices like loving kindness or practicing the jhanas,

Very blissful state meditations,

This will help your mind to keep coming back to it over again and actually enjoy it.

And another thing you can do is focus on meditations that have you observing change.

This is a big thing talked about in Buddhism,

The concept of impermanence or anicca.

And if you do practices like the vipassana body scanning technique,

You'll find that this satisfies not only the pleasure aspect because it's a bit of shamatha or calm abiding practice,

But also the vipassana aspect of noticing change or impermanence.

And because ADHD brains like novelty,

It can be quite interesting when you start to lock in and notice the various changes in your body and the various subtle perceptions that come in and out.

Another huge strength of ADHD talked about quite a lot is the enhanced creativity that comes with it and also web-like thinking.

So with this,

What you'll find is that you're able to focus on vast topics and broad topics and also connect different concepts and ideas.

So you look for hidden patterns and find a way to connect what you're learning.

Since there's endless amounts of material you can be reading and studying,

Different masters you can be studying under,

Different concepts,

You can find different ways you can apply these teachings and connect all that together in different ways that maybe other people may not be able to.

And the good news is that you'll probably never read all the books and materials out there in your life because there's so much out there.

So there's endless learning opportunities for you to grow as well.

And now talking about some workarounds,

While it is possible to get very deep in your meditation practice,

How it may look like if you have ADHD may be slightly different.

So don't let it be a limiting belief,

But what you may notice is that going into very conventional and formal environments,

Such as maybe monastery life,

May not be well suited for you as much.

In these environments,

There's a lot of stability,

A lot of routine,

A lot of periods of things just being the same every single day.

So you eat at the same time in retreats,

You meditate at the same time,

You're not really changing your routine too much.

And if you're especially doing a multi-day retreat,

It will definitely feel more enhanced.

And ADHD brains typically like a bit more novelty.

So there's been many retreats where I felt like running out of there.

So what I found helpful is being a bit more flexible in your approach.

So one thing you can consider is an online meditation retreat where you won't really have the feeling of being confined in one place and you can meditate on your own time and you have more flexibility in your day-to-day routine every day.

And another thing you can do is also study different topics instead of just one.

So because the brain likes to go from one topic to the next,

You may find it a bit boring just to focus on one specific lineage or practice every single day.

But rather,

You can branch out,

Maybe you study a different one and then come back to the same one,

But you need that variety a little bit more.

And the last thing you may notice is that a more mystical route may appeal to you more than more narrow schools of thought.

And this is because if you take a look at personality tests and types,

Those with ADHD tend to score a little bit higher on openness.

So you can take in a lot of different ideas,

A lot of different concepts,

And you feel very bored and confined if you just study one specific school of thought.

Because you're a natural explorer and adventurer.

So taking in many different ideas,

Being very open-ended may appeal to you a bit more.

So the mystical route,

Which is more flowery,

Poetic,

And more open-ended may appeal than being more of a traditionalist in that sense.

So I hope you found this helpful and curious about what tips you've learned along your journey.

So you may share that in comments for other people to learn as well.

Thank you.