Imagup General Magazine 2024
Over 5.1 million children currently have a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is one of the most common mental disorders children can suffer from worldwide.
Despite that, not many people know how this disorder works, let alone how to treat it, which increases the suffering of children with ADHD who don’t know what’s happening to them. In a nutshell, ADHD makes it difficult to either pay attention to things or control impulsive behaviors.
Thus, ADHD patients can’t focus on school or other activities as they should. Apart from that, they are overly active and often experience symptoms of a manic episode.
We want to give you natural remedies to counter ADHD when it gets out of hand. Many ADHD patients follow these tips daily to make their disorder easier to face. However, keep in mind they are not a replacement for therapy or medicines.
If you think you have ADHD, you need to go to a therapist or a psychiatrist who can study your case and give you a professional diagnosis. Medication is not always needed to treat this disorder, but some psychiatrists may ask you to take some pills depending on how severe your case is.
With that being said, these are six natural remedies for ADHD:
1. Keeping Healthy Habits
Although this works for almost any other mental health disorder people suffer from, keeping healthy habits is one of the most effective ways to fight this condition. On the other hand, living an unhealthy lifestyle can trigger ADHD even more and intensify its symptoms.
Make sure you get a good night’s sleep every night and follow a healthy diet. Never forget to take care of yourself, and you’ll see its benefits in the long run.
Besides that, if your ADHD gets too severe along the way, you should try to simplify your lifestyle a bit. Avoid extracurricular activities that may put you in situations of distress.
2. Meditation
Now that we are speaking of self-care, we couldn’t help but mention how effective meditation is for ADHD patients. The reason for this is that it thickens your prefrontal cortex. What’s that? It’s a part of your brain that helps you focus, control your impulses, and make plans, which is what ADHD takes away from you.
This doesn’t mean meditation will make ADHD disappear, but it’ll reduce its symptoms.
ADHD patients have low dopamine levels in their brains, and that keeps them from being as “happy” as they can be daily. However, meditation can help raise your dopamine levels, so many therapists recommend it to their patients.
Naturally, you need to focus to meditate, so many people wonder how someone who struggles to focus does it. They can, though! You can also look for guided meditations online to get started on this great activity.
3. Spinner Rings
Fidget spinners became widely popular years ago due to how much they helped people suffering from anxiety disorders. However, if you want to get those benefits without getting something that flashy, you can always buy a spinner ring or borrow it.
These rings can help autistic people, patients suffering from anxiety, and ADHD patients feel better and avoid stress. Apart from that, it helps you hide your neurodiversity symptoms in public spaces.
How do these rings help people? They distract you from other things while helping you focus on this harmless activity. This will help you focus and calm down in stressful situations.
4. Exercise
The last tip we’ll include in this list is working out. Although this counts as having positive health habits, its benefits require a whole section for it.
Working out is one of the best methods neurodiverse people have to feel better and reduce the symptoms of their condition. The reason for this is that exercise programs/routines promote dopamine release and enhance the executive function of your brain.
It’s proven that it’s easier for children with ADHD who work out often to focus than it is for others. Besides that, they tend to be less aggressive and impulsive than other ADHD patients.
Whether it’s a sport or any other physical activity, you should do it if you suffer from ADHD.
5. Yoga/Tai Chi
Similar to meditation, yoga, and tai chi classes can help ADHD patients cope with their symptoms.
Taking yoga classes can highly reduce anxiety and hyperactivity in children. Although this will not work as a replacement for medication.
Yoga has some additional benefits such as increasing your muscle strength and flexibility. It can also improve your cardio and circulatory health.
You can take yoga classes to reduce stress.
Tai chi reduces anxiety and hyperactivity in ADHD patients. Besides that, it helps you have fewer inappropriate and intrusive thoughts.
6. Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness consists of staying aware of your thoughts and emotions, what triggers them, and doing what you can to work on yourself and stay relaxed.
Many therapists tell their patients to do mindfulness exercises to reduce their intrusive thoughts, anxiety, and stress. That makes it excellent for ADHD patients.
You can start by doing breathing exercises daily. People practicing mindfulness like to meditate a lot.
Other practices, such as journaling, will help you feel better too.
However, you need to have the right attitude if you want to get into mindfulness. Overall, you must trust the process and understand it can have its ups and downs. Improving your awareness may take some time, but as long as you’re committed to doing it, you will likely get positive results.
Therapists can tell you where to start and what exercises may work best for you.
Bottom Line
It’s difficult for ADHD patients to live normal lives if they don’t know how to control their symptoms. On top of all, it can be frustrating to see other people doing “normal” things you struggle to do. Thankfully, there are many ways you can ease the symptoms while you seek professional help.
Following the tips on this page won’t cure your ADHD or make its symptoms disappear completely, but if they can make your life easier, they are worth trying.
Regardless of that, remember you should always talk to a professional if you think you suffer from any mental health condition. Try to get several opinions from different medical experts to get an accurate diagnosis.
