For an ADHD Group, from self-regulation to procrastination

The Nature of Willpower (aka Self-Regulation aka being the Captain of your Ship)

(I hate the title but appreciate the content):

If you want to get it straight from the source:

If you want a condensed version:

Episodic Future Thinking (to remember intentions and follow through with them):

Research Study on Mechs & Fxns: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29130061/

Scholarly Explanation: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~squartz/files/atance.pdf

A quick, accurate explanation: https://twitter.com/ParnianRafei/status/1530224357087539202

Understanding, and Responding to, Procrastination

Additional Resources (for all three posts on an ADHD group)

https://www.focusmate.com/ (for dopaminizing/reducing friction)

https://askjan.org/index.cfm (for accommodations, free consults)

https://selfcontrolapp.com/ (for sinking your ships/designing a “no-temptation button”)

https://freedom.to/ (ditto)

https://students.dartmouth.edu/wellness-center/wellness-mindfulness/mindfulness-meditation/mindfulness-sessions-drop-ins-and-classes

https://www.uclahealth.org/marc/audio

August 28, 2022 0

For an ADHD Group, from environment to self

Changing Self by Changing the Environment (for Fuel & Friction)

Extreme Friction/Designing an (Effective) No-Temptation Button (second part)

Self-Compassion

Research Study on ADHD and Self-Compassion

https://self-compassion.org/

Ted Talk on Mindfulness, Shame, Self-Compassion:

Video: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/video/item/how_to_be_kinder_to_yourself

Urge Surfing (useful for procrastination and impulsiveness)

Article: https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/urge-surfing.pdf

Video: Kelly McGonigal’s Google Talk (see last intervention, where people hold their breath)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5BXuZL1HAg

August 26, 2022 0

Accomplishment or What Might Have Been?

Some intentions turn into accomplishments and some drift to What Might Have Been. What guides intentions one way or the other?

Yesterday, I remembered one guide when my guitar teacher asked me to perform publicly three weeks from now: a time-limited goal, with accountability. I have practiced the song I am to play, on average, five minutes every two weeks for the last three months. My goal has been to play the song eventually and sooner rather than later. Yesterday, “eventually” became three weeks from now. And, with this goal change, I scheduled a daily practice of at least 10 minutes. This is the power of a goal that has a near-future deadline…combined with accountability. My guitar teacher is counting on me and there will be an audience…my guitar-playing just got real.

Where can you add a near-future deadline plus true accountability to shift an intention toward accomplishment and away from What Might Have Been?

November 17, 2016 0

Stuck On Your Carousel?

I have long loved carousels and, for some reason, began to love them even more after reading Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. I find them enchanting.

But when I get stuck going round and round riding the same beast (or moving from one to another on the carousel), I know it’s time to get off it.

How does anybody do this? First you have to notice that you’re on your carousel. This means identifying what’s on it.

What thoughts, emotions, etc. are the beasts that call you to it? If you have ADHD, these may include boredom, frustration, the thought “Why bother?” or “I’ll do it later.” Once you jump on one of these beasts, what does going round and round look like for you? Watching movies, playing video games, going online? Nothing wrong with these things.

If you know, though, that one round on the carousel is likely to lead to many others without your even noticing while it’s happening, consider seeing your carousel from a distance.

When you are off it, go ahead and try to create a visual of your carousel, including what thought, emotion, memory, etc. each beast represents and what behavior follows. Then when you jump on your carousel, you have a better chance of noticing this and choosing whether to keep riding or step off. And, unlike the poor souls of Bradbury’s story, you’ll be only minutes or hours older.

November 11, 2016 0

To get things started, add sugar…a spoonful or more

Just the other day, my husband played this song to our daughter, and I said, “Hey, Mary Poppins had it right.” As a mental health therapist running groups for adults diagnosed with ADHD, I encourage members to have fun with their tasks as much as possible. Turn up the pleasure, excitement, interest. Some will work outside or somewhere they find pleasant, some pair a reward with tasks and some work with others, even just as company. Some do all of these.