Hyperactivity & the Concentration Problem

Nutrition is an important factor and deficiencies may be a root cause of ADHD in many cases. In particular a child needs adequate omega-3 fatty acids and magnesium. Also zinc and B6 deficiency may be factors. The above site suggests some nutrition (rather than drug) supplements specially designed to help with this problem. For further information about the nutritional aspects I recommend the following:

A new study shows that toddlers parked in front of the TV have a much higher risk of developing ADHD by age 7.

GSR and EEG biofeedback can be good training to help the child learn to recognize and control their emotional arousal and so be less impulsive and more conscious of their feelings and behavior. But this needs to be done under supervision from a good practitioner - just using a GSR at home would not be much help. An all-natural program to manage ADHD, dyslexia, and test anxiety that has a very high success rate is described in the book 'Being in Control' by Jason Alster. It's attractive and inspiring - very accessible for youngsters to read - and is based on multimodality biofeedback research, seated yoga, proper nutrition and accelerated learning/creativity tools. More at Lesson Tutor's ADD & ADHD page.

Lester Fehmi's efective Open Focus biofeedback technique enables a drugless approach for ADD treatment - see Biofeedback and ADD.

Newly released is a video based on the Being in Control book: Natural Solutions For ADHD Dyslexia and Test Anxiety. Do you, your child, or client want to be a better student? Is it hard for you to sit quietly in class and concentrate? Do you have a problem preparing homework? Do you want to pass exams with less pressure? Then this video may be for just for you. It portrays in a "roadmap" format topics for improving relaxed concentration for the classroom and when preparing homework - like increasing self confidence; relaxed concentration; seated yoga; creativity; time management; organization of material; sensory integration; using our senses to relax; biofeedback; games; better cursive handwriting; speed reading; test taking strategies and more. And a second video, Guide To GSR Biofeedback For The Natural ADHD Practitioner describes how to use GSR biofeedback techniques as a physiological objective measure of relaxed concentration in ADHD and then describes natural techniques that stabilise the GSR (electro dermal activity) in ADHD. This work is based on the finding that ADHD people are lacking the natural perception of relaxed concentration and can be trained to gain or re-gain this perception. In addition, there is a Podcast Interview with The ADHD Specialist about using GSR biofeedback in ADHD. The principles of GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) are described here.

You can gain a lot more understanding about the issues of ADHD and discuss them in forums here:

ADD - The Concentration Problem
ADD (without Hyperactivity) sufferers often go unhelped and undiagnosed. They may be very intelligent people, but because of their concentration and memory problems they perform poorly at school or college and seldom reach their full potential. An over-aroused right brain, perhaps caused by stress and anxiety, can make it hard to focus and see through a sequence of actions (left-brain functions) - so it is a kind of dyslexia. ADD sufferers often feel listless and can lack motivation and energy because of their constant struggle to concentrate and focus on their work. Sometimes they can even develop depression, because of their inability to achieve and due to negative feedback from those around them.

Recognizing the growing need for a safe and natural alternative for adults and teens with ADD, Native Remedies has formulated Focus ADDult, a specially selected therapeutic blend of herbs from around the world, specifically to address the symptoms of Adult ADD.

According to one of the leading pioneers of the concept of sensory integration, Dr. Jean Ayres, all our senses have to work in concert. In other words, our senses of touch, smell, taste, sight and sound, as well as our physical movement and body awareness, they all have to work in harmony. The senses send the information they gather to the brain, where it is interpreted and organized. That process is called sensory integration. When one of our senses doesn't function properly, our learning process and our quality of living are diminished. For some children, sensory integration develops effortlessly during the course of ordinary play and childhood activities. For others, though, sensory integration develops in a disordered manner, causing a number of problems in learning, development or behavior. By helping to integrate the senses, the Tomatis Method has helped many people with ADD/ADHD, dyslexia and autistic symptoms.

The A.D.D. Audio Coach workbook provides a much needed path out of the snarl of chaos and confusion that is a way of life for most adults with ADD. It is presented in clear, simple step-by-step language so that the reader/listener is not overwhelmed by detail and engages the senses in such a way so that the user does not get distracted and is kept interested and focused on the tasks at hand. The tips and the upbeat tone of the book make it user friendly and it is easily referred to when needed. It is also useful as a tool for professionals to guide their ADD/ADHD clients. The book contains fantastic check lists for taking control of your time, your home environment and finances, and it has an easy to use layout. The audio CD's are professional, empowering, relevant and on target - great for different learning styles!

A busy doctor may simply prescribe a drug like Ritalin for a person exhibiting ADHD symptoms without considering the range of alternative factors that may possibly be involved; other psychological and behavioral problems that may be connected with the person's difficulties may be overlooked, as well as possible nutritional causes.

Deficiency in EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) - especially Omega 3 as in fish oils - is a common cause of mental problems such as irritability and depression. In addition, a high-glycemic diet of junk food, Coke, etc, gives rapid rises and falls in blood sugar, reducing the ability to concentrate for long, and poor diets with processed foods containing additives may cause allergic reactions, including irritability and lack of energy.

The toxic effects of vaccination, certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies, excessive TV watching or video game playing, sleep deprivation, lack of sensory integration and repressed emotional upsets are further factors that may lead to the inability to pay attention, as described above.

Further, because it's all too easy, he may not have learned the skills of concentration and the skills of studying that the other kids need to learn in order to be able to do the introductory studies. He tends to have a glib approach and later on in his studies he may therefore get out of his depth, since concentration and study skills have become necessary, even for a person of his intelligence, and he has missed out on acquiring these, unlike the other school children to whom it did not all come so easily.

Also he may be frustrated that the subjects are not of interest to him or taught at too basic a level. Hyperactivity behavior (as opposed to that resulting from pathological ADHD) may be a result of the frustration he feels, since he has no outlet for the energy other kids would need to put into their studies. Parents should ask him how he feels about what goes on at school and listen non-judgmentally so that he feels understood.

A remedy is for the parents to spend the time after school to make resources available for learning about those subjects that he is genuinely and personally interested in, and encourage him to study these in considerable depth, so he perceives the need for concentration and study skills, and so begins to acquire them. To help him acquire these skills, it would be best for the parents to learn these skills too, such as taught in our basic Mind Development courses, so they can demonstrate these to the child.

All of this applies to adults too. We need to be very much in touch with our heart, with our feelings, but still to remain intelligent about it - to remain in control, not driven by our emotions. We need a balance of left and right brain - rational mind and emotional mind, logic and feelings, intellect and intuition. This is where mindfulness and wisdom is found.

Mindfulness
We tend to be too cut off from our feelings, in order to suppress painful ones - and this becomes a habit. Academic education reinforces this imbalance. And then we lose a lot of our creative and intuitional ability. At the same time, however, when those emotions 'escape' we tend to be driven by them, and think and act impulsively, without wisdom.

You see this often with kids who act without thinking first, can't wait their turn in line or in a game, blurt out answers in class, speak when they're supposed to be quiet, maybe show aggressive behaviors, are often a little too loud, sometimes fight, and so on... they often get labeled with ADD. They impulsively say the wrong thing at the wrong time and then think, "Why did I say that?" The other kids are asking, "Who is this guy?" and often begin to avoid him. Impulsive people are not learning from past mistakes, and they're not listening. They haven't picked up on those subtle social cues that everybody else has learned, and so they're socially awkward and often don't know why. And this applies to adults too of course.

Korzybski said that most people are to some degree impulsive, therefore there is a compulsion to act or break out in speech and this limits their intelligence. His advice - when you feel this coming on - is to stop for a count of ten to let your much slower cortex (thinking brain) catch up with the emotional limbic system, before you act or speak. He went on to say that many people have an under-aroused cortex and an over-aroused limbic system: they guess rather than work out the solution to a problem, or when they are making a decision they don't work through a list of alternatives. A person in that state seeks immediate closure and cannot reject an immediate reward (immediate gratification) for a larger reward in the future, because he or she is acting impulsively - not being conscious of their choices. Acting in a more considered and intelligent way, on the other hand, will be much more true to the person's real needs and purposes, and therefore to their heart.

Mindfulness has to do with the ability to accept, in a non-evaluative and nonjudgmental fashion, both oneself and the current situation - and how one feels about it. Acceptance of reality is not necessarily approval of reality; it is simply not being blind to it, not resisting nor distorting it. Then we can see the truth.

Fixed beliefs are always a limitation and unnecessary - they cause all the types of harm that occurs in the world, especially when they are rigidly identified with or attached to, so that one cannot tolerate another having different beliefs or it is felt to be a threat if they do. Provisional beliefs are necessary, as one needs to make a map of the world, but they must always be open to revision. Be open to the opinions of another that provoke a new view of things, or that seem to conflict with what you already know. It makes it easier to see the middle path, the shades of grey between the black and white of opposing viewpoints.

So, if you feel an impulsive reaction coming on - and you feel you are being driven rather than being the driver - then take a pause, breathe deeply for several seconds and look at your options, the pros and cons - BEFORE you say or do something that isn't really congruent with your inner truth.

Intuition is not subjective truth or inner knowing if it is based on a reactive emotional response, whether a painful feeling or even a good one. How do you know if it's reaction or a fast input? Heart intelligence is about understanding emotions, not just accepting that whatever raises your heartbeat must be the way to go. Emotions always follow an interpretation. Reality testing is necessary, to see if there's more to it and you need to look deeper, or if it's an answer but in the wrong direction perhaps with thought distortions, or if it's somebody else's subjective truth rather than your own.

For most people, their mind moves rapidly from one thought to another, like a playful kitten, in constant motion. Learning mindfulness involves bringing the mind back to some detail of the present moment, acknowledging it, and accepting it. So ground yourself in the present and let your mind become still, by noticing everything you are perceiving, through all your senses. Practicing this regularly - in times of meditation and in times of stress - can help you keep your focus more and more in the present moment.

We have a couple of Mind Development courses that are particularly relevant to mindfulness. If impulsiveness and attention span are a problem for you, then 'Super Vision' will improve perception and 'Educating the Will' will train your ability to concentrate. Further courses are available to practice effective communication, to learn to be a super student and to master the art of reading.

Over the course of many years, techniques have been developed for helping individuals to achieve their potential mental capacity. These Mind Development courses make the mind much more efficient because they open up the pathways of left-right brain communication and assist the person to regain all of their positive mental energy. They can then obtain the goals they want and take control of their destiny.

A course in Mind Development can benefit you in a number of ways, depending on what areas you feel you are weak at, or what you want to change about yourself and your capabilities. If you do these courses you should expect to see stable improvements in your career and abilities. You should have better judgment, increased mental speed and will power, better self-expression, the ability to study effectively and recall what you have learned, more creative insights, and confidence in your capacity to achieve your personal goals in life.

A useful method to help achieve the mindful state is the application of appropriate brain-wave entrainment through audio stimuli. The OptiMINDzation CD is one such tool, and works very well to stimulate the Beta frequencies of alert cognition. It's helpful for all those of us who often find our attention wandering - or disappearing altogether - when we should be focusing on the job in hand. It is important to combine such a method, however, with active learning and practice of cognitive skills, as offered by the Mind Development courses. What you don't use, you lose.

Emotional
Freedom
Techniques

"I consider EFT to be the perfect means now available to everyone for regaining physical and mental health" –Tania de Winne, MD

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is one of the most successful health innovations in the last 100 years. Based on impressive new discoveries regarding the body's subtle energies, EFT has been astonishingly successful in thousands of clinical cases.Ê It applies to just about every emotional and physical issue you can name and often works where nothing else will:

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Children's Issues
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Where emotional relief
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Home Page

Introduction: What is EFT?

Free EFT Manual–Get Started Package

Overview of all EFT video products

EFT Order Page

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