Dr. Mark Bertin and Dana Crews explore ADHD-friendly ways to begin or deepen a mindfulness practice that helps you thrive while managing this complex medical condition.
Practicing mindfulness and compassion helps us see our lives more clearly. ADHD undermines a wide-ranging skill set called executive function, which represents self-management abilities including attention, behavior, time, tasks, effort, and emotion.
While everyone has their emotional ups and downs in life, it is our executive function abilities that allow us to navigate them effectively. Therefore ADHD often leads to escalating challenges with emotional dysregulation, self-criticism, and stress. It even undermines the planning skills one would use to manage ADHD itself. For starters, mindfulness does not replace any part of ADHD intervention. Concentration and impulse control may improve, but no single treatment works in isolation for ADHD. Integrating mindfulness makes it easier to follow through with the rest of evidence-based ADHD care.
A broad approach to mindfulness in ADHD care means far more than meditation. One useful framework for this practice invokes three foundational supports: training the mind, building community, and a desire for ongoing learning.
A broad approach to mindfulness in ADHD care means far more than meditation.
Understanding the Mind’s Mechanics
Learning is a vital aspect of mindfulness practice, often related to the principle of cause and effect. By examining our ways of thinking and communicating through this lens, we stay in closer touch with our own best intentions and core values.
Executive function can affect anything requiring “management” in life. Because of that, ADHD can impact not only work or school, but also relationships, communication, decision making, and health routines. Core interventions typically include a mix of educational supports, parent training for families, cognitive behavioral therapy, coaching, and or ADHD medication.
Prioritizing foundations like sleep, exercise, and nutrition for mental clarity, as maintaining these routines can be especially tough with ADHD.
Understanding the impact of emotional dysregulation and stress tied to ADHD and practicing tools and strategies for navigating these obstacles.
Exploring the reality of cause and effect as it relates to well-being, such as exploring how perfectionism and self-criticism compound suffering, or how meditation or gratitude practices increase the likelihood of happiness.
Training the Mind
Reframing the intention of mindfulness practice increases the likelihood of sticking with it. As noted above, with or without ADHD, the initial motivation is often to build awareness and patience—a far more realistic goal than complete stillness.
The goal of meditation is not a mind empty of thoughts, although the practice helps calm or steady the mind. With or without ADHD, the initial intention is often to build awareness and patience—a far more realistic goal than complete stillness.
Inside this framework, we enhance our ability to notice what’s happening right now. We see both joyful moments and our challenges with more clarity. Practice doesn’t have to require sitting still; mindful eating, yoga, and other movement practices work too. This all relates to one key definition of mindfulness that is quite valuable with ADHD: aiming to see our lives with clear and compassionate awareness.
Meditation develops patterns that influence us in the long term. Short-term benefits like relaxation happen, but the broader hope is for building traits that spill into everyday life. For example, simply observing emotion during meditation, rather than falling into habits like reacting with anger or shutting down, slowly recalibrates our responses when we are outside of formal meditation. Other meditation practices focus on traits like compassion, kindness, or forgiveness.
Meditation develops patterns that influence us in the long term. Short-term benefits like relaxation happen, but the broader hope is for new traits that spill into everyday life.
To get started, consider:
Setting aside a few minutes regularly to meditate, with the aim of building self-awareness and patience.
Trying compassion or loving-kindness practices to address ADHD-related challenges such as excessive shame, self-criticism, or rejection sensitivity.
Including movement practices in your day, like walking meditation or yoga.
Staying patient and kind with yourself when starting, as beginning and sticking to new routines are both especially difficult for individuals with ADHD.
Nurturing Connection and Support
Community is another pillar of mindful living. Valuable friends support mutual growth and respect, sustain us, and can foster our mindfulness-based practices.
Ways to connect with community include:
Joining a spiritual or meditation group, or ADHD-focused organizations like, CHADD, ADDA, or ACO.
Scheduling regular time with family, if those ties feel close and supportive.
Creating or seeking shared school or workspaces that emphasize mindfulness, compassion, and growth, including executive function accommodations for ADHD.
Prioritizing time with authentic friends while reducing time spent with people who leave you feeling depleted. This typically includes limiting exposure to social media, which frequently leads to experiences like anxiety, negativity and jealousy.
Building a Practice That Works With ADHD
Let go of thoughts of perfection, a totally quiet mind, or the idea that you’re unable to meditate. Aspire to a sustainable mindfulness practice, whatever that looks for you. Even when living through difficult times, you will more easily stay in touch with your own wisdom, joy, and compassion.
Let go of thoughts of perfection, a totally quiet mind, or feeling like you’re unable to meditate.
Dr. We hope to see you there!
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