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People who suffer from severe ADHD, meditation is nearly impossible.

astrange 5y ago
This is true but the causation is the other way round - meditation is an exercise and if you gain the capability to do that means your ADHD is getting better.
kragen 5y ago
Like programming, meditation is nearly impossible for everyone. At first.
- 0xcde4c3db 5y ago
  Also like programming, mainstream tools and procedures sometimes fail in bizarre, frustrating, and utterly undocumented ways when working with unusual hardware.
  - kragen 5y ago
    Sometimes, but you'd be amazed at how much documentation there is on meditation.
cbfrench 5y ago
This is an underappreciated point. I’m an Anglican priest, and I always thought I was just really bad at prayer. (Ironic, I know.) But then I got diagnosed a couple of years ago, and I realized that my brain was working against me. Some day I have a mind to write a book on spiritual disciplines for those with ADHD and how we talk about prayer and the spiritual life is often not useful for those with the disorder. But, you know, I have ADHD, so I doubt that will ever get written. ;)
KerrAvon 5y ago
This is definitely not the case for everyone with severe ADHD. I think you have to define "severe" and you have to define "meditation." If your ADHD allows you to hold a steady professional-level job, I suspect you can do TM, for example.
zozbot234 5y ago
Concentration meditation (samadhi) might help. The whole idea is that you should learn to nonchalantly bring your awareness back to the focus of your meditation whenever you get distracted by some other fleeting thought. Distraction will happen, whether or not you have ADHD - but it should also not matter. You're also not simply relying on willpower or higher executive function, which would of course be very stressful and tiring for those affected; you're learning to focus your attention via an entirely different path.
ivansavz 5y ago
I know what you mean. I have tried to pick up meditation at least a dozen times, and I can never get the thoughts to stop even for a minute. Every morning I sit and try observe my thoughts, it just feels like I'm going through the TODO list for the day, with random interrupts of things that bother me or that I should worry about. So I used to think meditation is impossible for me until I started doing the "morning pages" exercise recommended in the book The Artists's way: > Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages–they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tomorrow. via https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/ https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/ After doing this 3 pages (on letter paper folded in two 5.5"x8.5") of writing down all my worries, thoughts, plans, and other random thoughts that come to my mind right after I wake up, I have been able to sit for 15 mins and experience moments of "mental silence." I'm not levitating or achieving some deep insights (probably not possible with 15 mins), but definitely a good way to start the day. Since I had tried to meditate so many times before and failed every time, I found the morning pages helped a lot, and I would recommend to anyone try this out. Then again, my ADHD is more moderate than severe, so the same approach might not work for everyone.

This is true but the causation is the other way round - meditation is an exercise and if you gain the capability to do that means your ADHD is getting better.

kragen 5y ago

Like programming, meditation is nearly impossible for everyone. At first.

0xcde4c3db 5y ago
Also like programming, mainstream tools and procedures sometimes fail in bizarre, frustrating, and utterly undocumented ways when working with unusual hardware.
- kragen 5y ago
  Sometimes, but you'd be amazed at how much documentation there is on meditation.

cbfrench 5y ago

This is an underappreciated point. I’m an Anglican priest, and I always thought I was just really bad at prayer. (Ironic, I know.) But then I got diagnosed a couple of years ago, and I realized that my brain was working against me. Some day I have a mind to write a book on spiritual disciplines for those with ADHD and how we talk about prayer and the spiritual life is often not useful for those with the disorder. But, you know, I have ADHD, so I doubt that will ever get written. ;)

KerrAvon 5y ago

This is definitely not the case for everyone with severe ADHD. I think you have to define "severe" and you have to define "meditation." If your ADHD allows you to hold a steady professional-level job, I suspect you can do TM, for example.

zozbot234 5y ago

Concentration meditation (samadhi) might help. The whole idea is that you should learn to nonchalantly bring your awareness back to the focus of your meditation whenever you get distracted by some other fleeting thought. Distraction will happen, whether or not you have ADHD - but it should also not matter. You're also not simply relying on willpower or higher executive function, which would of course be very stressful and tiring for those affected; you're learning to focus your attention via an entirely different path.

ivansavz 5y ago

I know what you mean. I have tried to pick up meditation at least a dozen times, and I can never get the thoughts to stop even for a minute. Every morning I sit and try observe my thoughts, it just feels like I'm going through the TODO list for the day, with random interrupts of things that bother me or that I should worry about. So I used to think meditation is impossible for me until I started doing the "morning pages" exercise recommended in the book The Artists's way: > Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages–they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only. Morning Pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize and synchronize the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages: just put three pages of anything on the page...and then do three more pages tomorrow. via https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/ https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/ After doing this 3 pages (on letter paper folded in two 5.5"x8.5") of writing down all my worries, thoughts, plans, and other random thoughts that come to my mind right after I wake up, I have been able to sit for 15 mins and experience moments of "mental silence." I'm not levitating or achieving some deep insights (probably not possible with 15 mins), but definitely a good way to start the day. Since I had tried to meditate so many times before and failed every time, I found the morning pages helped a lot, and I would recommend to anyone try this out. Then again, my ADHD is more moderate than severe, so the same approach might not work for everyone.