Let’s face it, life is hard, especially for those in high-school or college. The social pressures are enough to drive one mad, and when your mind is traveling a mile a minute, its easy to lose track of yourself. School work, home life, everything in your life seems a constant torrent of information, and even in those quite moments, it seems the tornado of thought can not be abated. I know because I have severe ADHD, and have been medication free for 3 years, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at me. Through this article, I hope to show that there are medication free ways of controlling your rampant mind.
1. Lists are your friend! Micro-manage yourself. when you put everything you need to do in order, it helps a lot with the feeling of being caught on the crap-end of an avalanche. This way you know what you are supposed to be doing, and can look to the list if you become confused or forget. you don’t need a minute by minute (although that is perfectly acceptable) , but schedule at least every 2 hours, even if its just to sleep or play video-games.
2. Be Early! showing up to school a half hour to an hour in advance is a great way to calm down. find a quite hallway or something and read or study or just think for half an hour. It gets the energy of the trip to school out of your system, and by the end you are craving the stimulation of classroom activity. Also, if you are a caffeine junky like myself, wake up a little earlier and drink your coffee about an hour before you have to be in class, and make sure to drink water and eat whole grains, because nothing is a bigger distraction than hunger or thirst. if you are watching the clock you can’t watch the teacher.
3. Learn controlled muscle focus. There are times when you become overwhelmed by everything going on, and you feel your energy taking you over. in these times, learn to focus on just the muscles in you fingers, or you toes, or your jaw. practice flexing them surreptitiously, and learn to put a lot of energy into it. Imagine you are lifting a large amount of weight and practice putting resistance against yourself. this will allow you to burn those surges of energy. In a pinch, if there is no one around, focus on flexing every muscles in your body, hold it as long as you can, then release it. This exudes a calming effect over the body, and it actually builds up muscle.
4. White noise is your friend. whether studying or sleeping, the ambient sound of trickling water or a fan is a great sleep agent. but make sure it is constant. no nature sounds, as the random birds and chirps may actually make the situation worse. Also, in extreme cases, there is a such thing as white touch, a fan blowing on your face is a great way to calm down as well as cool of. It’s easy to focus on because you can’t ignore the touch as easily as the sound because the  wind pressure changes in a wave form.
5. Avoid caffeine. Too many times teens think they need it to get by. Some do, you probably don’t. Never underestimate the power of a bagel and some cream cheese. It may not be immediate gratification, but you will be thankful when you are not bouncing off the walls only to come crashing down a few hours later. One thing about ADHD teens is we love and hate energy. the trick is not overloading ourselves.
5. Lastly DO SOMETHING! You can’t expect to become less hyperactive if you bottle yourself inside. Run, jog, play Dance Dance Revolution, be active. even if you are playing video-games, pace while you do it, practice your muscle control, do something other than sit there. It will do wonders for the rest of your day. Also, avoid over-stimulating activity during the morning, like playing video-games and such. The first thing you do sets the mode for the day, and if you are in video-game mode you will just be itching to get out of where ever you are.
Follow these steps, and make up your own. When you focus all that energy inward, you’d be amazed what you can do! ADHD and ADD are not diseases, they merely make us different, better is some cases, worse in most. Kids with ADHD tend to be the brightest in the class, if only they could focus! So be that shining star and use your energy to help yourself. When you are in the dark, do not curse the darkness, but instead light a candle.
