This is the first in a series of posts digging deeper into the Drug Free ADHD Toolkit — you’ll learn the exact tools I use (and teach others) to manage ADHD with skills (not pills).
Supply issues on ADHD meds will continue until at least April 2024.
Although I’m against the long term use of ADHD meds, I realise some people need them to function.
But there is a positive side to the shortage.
And that’s what I’m going to focus on today.
Due to the shortage, several clients came to me at the end of last year with a determination to ditch the pills and learn the skills to remain drug free.
If that sounds like you, click here to get on my 1:1 Coaching waiting list.
3 clients, in December alone, have successfully gone drug free.
And they did it, in part, by making the following 3 tools a part of their daily life.
Those tools are:
Cold exposure
Breathwork
ADHD-friendly Meditation
But they didn’t just jump into an ice bath, breathe deeply, and close their eyes for 10 minutes.
They followed the specific techniques I developed seven years ago to manage my own ADHD without medication.
I call them The Fundamentals.
Drug Free ADHD Toolkit: The Fundamentals
Cold exposure, breathwork, and meditation make up the fundamentals of the Drug Free ADHD Toolkit.
I teach them to every client.
They’re essential to the Toolkit for the following reasons:
Cold exposure is proven to boost dopamine (by up to 250%)
Breathwork reduces blood pressure, heart rate, and calms the busy mind
ADHD-friendly Meditation quiets the voice in your head
Combining those three is a potent weapon for reducing your reliance on ADHD meds. Or, if you’re already drug free, giving you the tools to be in control of your ADHD.
Let’s dig a little deeper into each one.
Cold exposure
You don’t have to suffer through an ice bath to feel the benefit of cold exposure.
2.5 to 3 minutes in a cold shower will often do.
But I’m not expecting you to do that from day one.
Instead, we start slowly.
10 seconds the first week, 20 seconds the next. Increasing weekly until we hit that magic number of 2.5 minutes.
After 2.5 minutes you’ll experience all the physiological benefits. Anything longer is all about building grit and determination (mind over matter).
I’ll dig more into cold exposure in the coming weeks.
Breathwork
Breathwork has been around for 1000s of years.
The ancient yogis of the Himalayas developed breathing techniques to stimulate the bodies natural energies. This helped them get into a deeper state of meditation in their quest for enlightenment.
We’re not seeking enlightenment here. But we do want to get into a deeper state of meditation.
The best way to do that is with this very simple breathwork technique.
In through the nose for 3 seconds
Out through the mouth for 10 seconds
Repeat for 3 minutes
There’s more to the technique. I’ll go into more depth in the following weeks. But that simple process is enough to feel the benefits of breathwork.
Finally, there’s meditation.
ADHD-friendly Meditation
Why do I say “ADHD-friendly” meditation?
Because there is an assumption amongst people with ADHD that they can’t meditate.
This is simply not true.
It’s not that you can’t meditate. It’s that the meditation technique you’ve been taught is not tailored to your busy mind.
Meditation is almost always taught by focusing on the breath. In 99% of cases, this is intolerable. The mind gets more and more busy until we can no longer take it.
The solution is simple.
We use a mantra.
That mantra can be anything.
Repeating the words “I can handle this” silently in your head for 5 to 15 minutes can work wonderfully.
With the mantra “I can handle this” not only are you calming down your busy mind, you’re also conditioning yourself to “handle this”.
This is useful for when you’re thrown into a difficult situation.
In the past you might have lost it when something happened against your will.
But at some point after sustained practice, thrown into a similar situation on the verge of losing it, you’ll hear “I can handle this” repeating in your mind.
This alone can help end the suffering you’re experiencing.
So simple, yet so powerful.
If you want a more “spiritual” mantra, replace “I can handle this” with the sound “AYAM”. This is the mantra I use.
I’ll explain more in the following weeks as I dig deeper into each part of the Drug Free ADHD Toolkit.
Accountability
It’s often not enough to know the fundamentals. We need to practice them daily.
That’s why, in January, I will launch a daily meditation & breathwork accountability group. Several beta users have already signed up. Once everything is setup properly I will roll it out to all of you.
Thank you so much for reading.