Hi,
My name is Mark Burton.
I'm a developmental pediatrician,
And I've written several books integrating mindfulness into ADHD care.
I just wanted to spend a moment.
In this video just talking about what ADHD really is because there's so much misinformation out there.
I think it really just increases the stress around living with ADHD because people don't even know what the condition means.
ADHD is one of the most proven medical conditions of early childhood and then it can grow into adult ADHD.
The genetics of ADHD alone are as strong as the genetics of height almost.
That's one of the ways we know it's a true neurological condition.
It's not something society just makes up.
You know,
The pressured technology in the world can exacerbate ADHD,
But correctly diagnose the ADHD is real.
And the diagnosis is a topic for another day.
But if someone really has ADHD.
They're struggling with a fairly wide-ranging condition.
That has to do with a self-management skill set called executive function.
It's not even just an attention disorder and it's different for everybody.
By the way,
The term ADHD includes the idea of what we used to call ADD.
So some people have ADHD with more of the external symptoms.
Some people have ADHD.
With more of the internal symptoms,
What we used to call ADD.
Which would be inattention,
Disorganization,
Time management issues.
So this skill set of executive function may be the single most important concept to understand if you're living with ADHD or someone you care about is living with ADHD because It's kind of impersonal.
It's very personal in the tensions it may create,
But it's a medical condition like any other,
And it can affect any part of executive function,
Which includes managing attention.
That can be both the hyperfocus and the short attention span and shifting attention.
It includes a behavioral component,
The hyperactivity impulse control,
But also includes organization,
Planning,
Time management,
So much more.
And quite importantly,
Emotional management.
So emotional dysregulation is actually very common with ADHD.
And again,
Nobody's fault,
Just a challenging aspect of living with ADHD.
And one of the most powerful applications of integrating mindfulness into ADHD care is working on that emotional piece.
Um,
So when you see it that way,
It is a very wide ranging condition.
It doesn't affect your school.
It affects school and communication and relationships.
Increasingly,
It's been linked to health challenges that undermine sleep and eating and sticking with exercise and driving.
If we don't address it.
People can thrive with ADHD if they see it for what it is.
That's a little hint of how it relates to mindfulness a bit.
If you see it for how it is,
With a sense of compassion and care and determination,
It's a multimodal intervention.
Coaching,
Therapy,
Medication is actually quite relevant for ADHD in spite of how it's talked about.
All of these different things,
I think,
Individually need to be put together in almost like pieces from a puzzle until someone thrives.
And certainly the practice of mindfulness,
Contemplative practice,
Developing skills that lead to self-regulation is very powerful when it comes to ADHD.
So I hope that's a helpful perspective.
If I was to kind of leave you with one thought,
It's that if you live with ADHD,
You really want to understand executive function to the point it sounds just normal,
Not like some wonky scientific term,
But,
You know,
Kind of familiarize yourself to the point where it's actually a practical tool set to be using in everyday life.
Like,
This is how I'm working with executive function.
So thank you for listening.
I hope that was helpful.
We have plenty of other ADHD resources on the app you can be seeking out,
So I hope that's helpful to you.
