#edward-hallowell #john-ratey
A deeply, variously connected life is the most enriching gift you can give yourself and your family. Connection comes in many forms. #connection #self-awareness #self-improvement #adhd #gift
Whatever you’re wrestling with, take a bow for working so hard to be a better person. In other words, connect with your desire to improve and give yourself credit for trying to do that. #family
Many studies show that charismatic mentors—not grades, study habits, where they go to school, or IQ—make the biggest difference in kids with ADHD and VAST. #charisma #intelligence
In some way, people like Jon seem almost to enjoy the process of perpetual failure, as if the real, hard truth of life is to be found in pain, suffering, and defeat. Their victory is to be found in carrying on no matter what. #failure #suffering #pain
The realistic goal in life is not to be independent, but to be effectively interdependent. In other words, you have to be able to give as well as get. That’s how successful people operate. #independence #interdependence #success #generosity
In addition to connection, exercise, and stress reduction, there are five areas of your environment that we would have you focus on for yourself or your child: daily structure, nutrition, sleep, populate your world with positivity, and accept and find the right help. #sleep #exercise #optimism #stress-and-anxiety
And a note of encouragement: Rewards work much better for the ADHD mind than do consequences. #rewards
You can choose who you’ll allow into your world and, to a degree, who you will spend time with. So choose wisely. #choice
People with ADHD and VAST often make the mistake of falling for train wrecks. That’s because helping and saving people in distress is highly stimulating. #love #attraction
Notice how you feel when you leave a person. That’s a good indicator of whether it’s worth spending more time with that person. #friendship #relationships
For getting and staying on track, exercise is one of the most powerful non-medical tools we have and an important first line of defense. Beyond making your cardiologist happy, or looking better in a bathing suit, one of the most fascinating and beneficial effects of exercise is that it prepares the brain to expand, learn, and change better than any other human activity. It improves mood and motivation, reduces anxiety, regulates emotions, and maintains focus. #learning #focus #neuroplasticity #exercise
It is interesting to observe that when a child is focused on exercise and play, his or her sensory and emotional issues almost disappear. #play
There is hard science behind strengthening the balance and coordination of those with attention issues. #science #balance #attention
Failing to master the adaptive pursuit of dopamine leads to addictions of all kinds, but mastering it leads to success and joy. #addiction #joy
Nature rarely creates spectators. #nature
No, our neural functioning is slightly but meaningfully different from that of the “neurotypicals” in the population. There is a sometimes glitchy connection between our task-positive network and the default mode network in our brains. And our cerebellum—another area of the brain—is often a little off balance and in need of strengthening. In other words, the science is proving that we aren’t just trying to be difficult; we’re really having a difficult time inside. We also know that connection to others, identifying our strengths and focusing on them instead of our weaknesses, setting up systems of structure in our environments, getting exercise, and taking medication all really help with these glitches and imbalances. #neurodivergence #cerebellum #structure #medicine #medication #the-brain
Most everything we do is part imitation, but what makes each of us unique is what we add in on our own to create our individuality, our special sauce, our style. #imitation #self #individuality #anthropology #creativity
Try to remember that life’s great reward, its greatest joy, lies in the game itself—the trying to figure it out, the trying new ways to do so. #problemsolving #trying-or-attempting