As one grows older, his/her hyperactivity part may wither away but what remains is still ever-so deadly.
This article here, is intended for three main types of audience –
- Those who suffer from ADHD or ADD
- Those who can’t focus for long or have problems concentrating
- Those who want to boost their productivity, efficiency and efficacy.
The following what you are about to read is my personal anecdote. After it, I have added some recommended books based on the anecdote, which I think you may find useful.
I have had ADHD. I have had ADD. ADHD had been my longtime friend – since I was of the age of 6. My teachers were frustrated with my hyperactivity and recommended my mom to take me to a psychologist.
Fortunately she didn’t recommend me any pills, and thanks to that, I didn’t turn up like most other ADD-diagnosed guys.
I would like to say that ADD is deadly. It is also the most misdiagnosed disease that I have ever come across. It’s also one of the diseases where the child receives very little parental support.
Anyhow, I’ll save all that for a later section in this article. But first, let’s start with the cure.
Stupid Monk Meditating Levitating Bullshit
 |
| Don’t worry – that isn’t going to be you in a few days, if you start meditating |
Most people are averse to the idea of meditating, even if it is for just 10 minutes a day.
And, I just can’t blame them. In fact, I used to look upon meditation as some sort of religious pseudo science BS. You should have seen the face I made when my friend mistook me saying – “Meditation works for ADD” (Attention Deficit Disorder – I have had been diagnosed with it, but more on that later) for “Medication works for ADD”.
Meditation seemed to be something that was practiced by the geeks of my school and endorsed by the huge-beard-dangling pseudo-monks who were hell-bent to rip you off.
Anyhow, as I soon learnt after five years, that meditation is a goddamn superpower. 10 minutes of meditation each day is the minimum amount one needs to see results and if he can squeeze in 30 minutes…. baaamm… the effects will blow your mind!
But first, let me tell you…
My Ritalin-Fueled ADD Counter Story
I had been hyperactive since childhood and my attention span was almost 0. I couldn’t focus on any studies. Whenever it was time for me to study, I would get lost in my thoughts in my head.
So, if I sat down to study, it would be more of a 20 minutes daydream – 1 minute study- 1 minute thinking about something absolutely irrelevant – 3 minutes study – 20 minutes imaginary fight with a guy of my school – 5 minutes study – 10 minute water and food break.
But I was kind of intelligent (that’s what my IQ tests and all my teachers used to say) and got quite a good score at school. However when I was 15 and reached Higher Secondary grade, the syllabus increased manifold and my so-called intelligence did not help.
You guessed it.. My examinations were horrible and although my grades were above average, I wasn’t used to anything below 80% ever.
This was the time when my mother took me to a different psychologist (it was a 9 year time gap from the first para – I was not 15 years old) and this woman prescribed me Inspiral (it’s known as Ritalin in USA).
I thought it was a wonder drug for a short period of time as my focus was at an all-time high, but soon I faced the biggest misery of my life.
The med used to make me extremely happy (obviously it increased my dopamine production manifold) and I couldn’t control my happiness and used to spend the time under it’s effect talking with my family and friends.
Soon enough as it’s effects began to wear off, I felt depressed, lethargic and sometimes, even suicidal. I struggled to study for my upcoming boards. And then I made the biggest mistake of my life (yet).
After wasting the focus-boost that one Inspiral gave by chatting and gossiping with friends, I took another to push through the lethargy and depression in order to feel better and possibly squeeze in a tad bit study within that time.
Overdosing on Inspiral had yet another side-effect that I was totally not prepared for – I couldn’t sleep. Heck, I would go to bed at 12 AM and toss and turn till 5 in the morning. Then I would fall asleep and wake up next day at 11 AM sleep deprived.
As you may know, sleep deprivation causes extreme focus-loss… Anndd you guessed it.. More Inspiral.
This kind-of became a vicious cycle. One that did extreme damage to me. Inspiral had three side-effects-
- Bad feeling (kinda like depression)
- Loss of appetite
- Sleep went away with the wind
College Begins…
 |
| That’s Brian |
Result of Mindulness Meditation And It’s Effect On My ADHD
 |
| That’s not me either, but that can be you |
It isn’t an overstatement to say that – it worked like magic. My focus didn’t become like that of a rocket scientist but, yeah, it’s was on par with people without ADHD – including those who had a so-called good focus.
Final Recommendations
