Ugh, I resonated with this one so much. I mean, YAY, I resonated with this one so much. But, ugh. :) Though I do not have an official ADHD diagnosis, I relate to so many descriptions of what it means to wrestle with it. And while most of the time I like a lot of space to just be and let my mind go during your guided meditations, Jeff, your gentle and spot-on cues in this one felt like they were anticipating my every experience by half a beat. Mind wandering? Yep. Shame? Yep. Overwhelm? Double yep. Thank you for seeing me and guiding me through the roller coaster of experience with this one.
As usual, you’ve nailed it. I hear and read you on the ADHD struggle and it reminds me to love my restless mind – however tiring it can be – to laugh a little more and be much kinder to myself. If there’s more to come, I’m one very happy ADHDer. 👏🏻
A great post Jeff. Thank you:) I can sure relate to much of what you describe;) And.. I feel like my phone, and perhaps menopause, have kicked all of it (which used to be felt more subtley) into high gear.
Thanks Susie, nice to hear from you. Yeah phones make everything worse. My friend Andrea tells me her menopause had a similar explosive effect on her ADHD. There’s just so many things that can throw a wrench in the works! And actually that’s part of ADHD: having more sensitivity and volatility, so easily dysregulated by seemingly everything.
Dude. I can’t thank you enough for this. Just starting my adhd journey of understanding at the age of 52. It’s so freeing to know! I now understand comic more about myself my life and my pathways. Grateful for this ride with you. ❤️
Thank you, Jeff! Your meditation teachings are so very helpful to me. Your descriptions of what ADHD brains tend to do is exactly my experience, and the frustrations and shame while meditating (and in life in general) are real. One style of meditation practice that I have found to work EXTREMELY well with ADHD is that of Sayadaw U Tejaniya. From my perspective it is mind-blowingly well-suited for the ADHD brain. No concentration practice required….just a light touch to try to cultivate a relaxed continuity of knowing what is arising in awareness. I hope you’ll find this style just as helpful as I do!
Thanks so much for this note Cheryl. I love Tejaniya’s teachings for exactly that reason. They totally up my alley. Any strain is counterproductive, instead just tune into more of a global non-dual sense of what’s arising. Could not agree more that it’s perfect for the ADHD brain.
In fact, one of the things I’ll be talking about is how one of the gifts of ADHD is… Always come back to the moment. Mindfulness - of a kind - is quite easy for the ADHD brain. Problem is, it just takes a second before we jump off somewhere else!
This sounds like what I try to achieve. I often put on one of Jeff’s meditations from calm and just try to stay in the moment and ‘chill’… “copacetic” just came to me….
I felt like you were literally describing what was happening inside me! Thank you Jeff, you are my ADHD meditation hero. It was emotional to think about the shame and the grief of wasted opportunities. Please keep doing this series, there’s really nobody else like you
I appreciate the encouraging words Susanna, thank you. Very happy to hear you can relate.
I totally will keep going. If… my ADHD doesn’t steer me in another direction. But this time I’ve got some good drafts down, and Lilli is committed to keeping me on track
That’s definitely one key to working with my ADHD: having some external frontal lobe executive support !
Thankyou so much for this meditation. I really needed it today. I’ve gone undiagnosed until age 24 cause I functioned too well for anyone to notice my problems. I kept my struggled for myself. Crying everyday, stressing through life, feeling drained trying to focus my attention on what people were saying, when something else totally caught my attention. I still struggle with this, but recently started medication and are trying to find the right dose. Still, I’ve never been able to sit still without nothing to do, until I started medication. Now I’m meditating through the Calm app (following Jeffs daily trip since I tried his ADHD support meditations in the same app and instantly felt understood and more OK with how I am). I now meditate 10minutes a day in different ways, sometimes I lay down, sometimes I walk, sometimes I do yoga and sometimes I’m able to sit quietly. The longest I’ve meditated till now is 30minutes with 2 breaks in between and this is a whole new world for me. I try to be kund to myself and adjust the practice to how I feel and what I need, not how I should be doing things (story of my life trying to be normal with a neorodivergent brain..) and I feel so much better. Trying out different medications and doses has had its ups and downs as well, but I feel like I’m able to find a calm even when I get really frustrated here as well. I live Jeff’s meditations and It feels so good to finally be understood and not feel like a weirdo for having this brain that runs around like a tasmanian devil sometimes. There is so much I wanted to do, but never got to do in my life and I’m finally coming to terms with this and working through this grief. How hard I’ve been on myself and the pressure I had to put up just to be able to cope with everyday life, and finally I see that I did my best and I achieved alot despite of my struggles. And I’m working to notice this critic in my head even though I sometimes dont even notice it until I’ve been for a run since my brain is just blurry thoughts. I also figured I’m more a daydreamer than a thinker as well so sometimes it’s hard to know what I feel or think since I never thought so much, just daydreamed alot. I still atruggle with a brain that seems to find everything interesting and worth noting. I try to call this voice my inner roomaye and welcoming it whenever I notice it. Meditayion has been a lifesaver and I intend to meditate everyday in every way I find useful for that day. Some days I just cant sit still eith my tacing mind even on meds so I go out for a walk or workout to take some of the restlessness out. And it works OK. Foguring out what I need and just doing that has made a huge difference. Not trying to be normal or do it in a normal way has changed my life. This is way to much information, but still. I just had to get it out snd share my experience and how you, Jeff, have turned my life around since I first heard your meditations on ADHD and finally felt understood and found ways to meditate with this tasmanian devil of a mind. So thankyou!
Not too much information at all Synne! I think I’m gonna read your comment 10 more times. It means the world to me that I’ve been able to offer that support. Everything you’re saying is what I wish I had known in my 20s. I was exactly the same, and I had no idea I was ADHD or that there was any kind of legitimate way to be neurodivergent. And I masked like hell.
Have you read Devon Price’s Unmasking Autism? I can’t recommend that book enough. Autism and ADHD are sister conditions, at least that’s how he put it. But even if you don’t relate to the autism part of it, the way he breaks down the million ways we mask and the consequences of those different ways of masking, is masterful. I feel like five secret masks (that is, secret even to me! ) fell off just from reading that book.
It’s exciting to think about a world where we can all really be how we are, and communicate that to others, and find systems of accommodation and support and expression within that. The world needs the gifts of ADHD folks and autistic folks and everyone else who identifies as neurodivergent. And, to unlock those gifts, it helps to have understanding from that same world.
Thankyou so much for such kind words and it helps to know I’m not alone in feeling this way and having had to mask for so long... Again, Thankyou so much 🙏🏻🥰
Jeff, you are a GEM! I continue to gain so much insight from you along with hundreds of AHA moments. Your meditations, articles, shared experiences, podcasts and your countless interactions and discussions with Dan Harris fill my heart and soul every time.
Jeff and fellow neurodivergent friends, you may enjoy checking out Morgan Harper Nichols on Substack and her website at www.morganharpernichols.com. From her bio page: “…At age 30, I found out I was autistic, and age 31, I received a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, and SPD (sensory processing disorder). In the years leading up to her diagnosis, I lived with many autistic traits and made art, music, and poetry about these experiences, even before she had a name for them.”…Morgan is also the creator of the Storyteller app.
Neurodivergent’s are finally discovering (with the help of people like you, Jeff), just how much we are capable of. Our voices, creativity, meaningful contributions are starting to receive the attention and acknowledgment we so deserve.
Jeff, you are a gem! I continue to gain so much insight from you with hundreds of aha moments between your meditations, articles, podcasts and the countless interactions and discussions with Dan Harris. I adore you both.
Please know that you are not alone! Also, there is nothing at all wrong with you or your mind, and in many ways, you and your mind help make our world more awesome. Thank you for sharing your story and good luck with your medication journey. ❤️
I don't have a diagnosis myself but work with people who do, so your shared insight is very useful in helping me to have more of an understanding of how someone else might be feeling and give me ideas of how best to be with them. Thank you Jeff
It was not lost on me that I had just created a longish (by app standards) meditation for ADHD people, some of whom may find one minute challenging! I’m glad it held your focus
Since childhood, I always felt there was something seriously different about me, which grew into feeling like there was something seriously wrong with me. For decades, I would bring up the possibility of my having ADHD to various doctors and psychologists, but they would condescendingly laugh in my face (literally) and say there's no way. Finally, someone listened and I got tested (so brutally boring and long!). Anyway, at the age of 47, I was told that the team testing me had never seen higher scores. (I'm not gonna lie, I kinda love that. 🤭) I shouldn't be surprised, they didn't realize I have OCD and C-PTSD instead of Bipolar I until a couple of years ago when the same doctor who believed me about my ADHD symptoms also took my history of trauma Seriously. To be completely fair, I learned how to mask, read what others need, and not talk about myself before I was a toddler. Being so new to all of this, I am highly looking forward to your insights, meditations, and writings on the topics of ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions to help me better understand and accept my and other's special alphabet soups. Thank you!
Congratulations on the high scores! I love that. From one alphabet-souper to another … welcome to the club of magic people. I mean, all humans are magic in their way. But with ADHD and the high sensitivity and the dreamy creativity you get to live out at the edges of the forest, where the wild things are :)
“I plan on living to 100. And I’m taking you fuckers with me.” So grateful for your sage teachings on meditation and the constant reminder that this insane journey of life is nothing if not insanely fun—even in the midst of the hard shit. It does me such good to remember that. Thank you Jeff.
Adhd here, You know how many times I had to listen to this before I did nothing but listen? I drew a whole picture of where my feelings show up and what color they could be.
Ugh, I resonated with this one so much. I mean, YAY, I resonated with this one so much. But, ugh. :) Though I do not have an official ADHD diagnosis, I relate to so many descriptions of what it means to wrestle with it. And while most of the time I like a lot of space to just be and let my mind go during your guided meditations, Jeff, your gentle and spot-on cues in this one felt like they were anticipating my every experience by half a beat. Mind wandering? Yep. Shame? Yep. Overwhelm? Double yep. Thank you for seeing me and guiding me through the roller coaster of experience with this one.
Thanks, Joe, I appreciate you sharing this. It’s good to know the meditation is relatable even for people who are not ADHD!
As usual, you’ve nailed it. I hear and read you on the ADHD struggle and it reminds me to love my restless mind – however tiring it can be – to laugh a little more and be much kinder to myself. If there’s more to come, I’m one very happy ADHDer. 👏🏻
Thanks, Andy! Yeah, much more to come, with more of a focus on that humour and strength side . Be kind of the mind!
A great post Jeff. Thank you:) I can sure relate to much of what you describe;) And.. I feel like my phone, and perhaps menopause, have kicked all of it (which used to be felt more subtley) into high gear.
Thanks Susie, nice to hear from you. Yeah phones make everything worse. My friend Andrea tells me her menopause had a similar explosive effect on her ADHD. There’s just so many things that can throw a wrench in the works! And actually that’s part of ADHD: having more sensitivity and volatility, so easily dysregulated by seemingly everything.
Dude. I can’t thank you enough for this. Just starting my adhd journey of understanding at the age of 52. It’s so freeing to know! I now understand comic more about myself my life and my pathways. Grateful for this ride with you. ❤️
Jules! Equanimity tattoos on our calves, my friend
Thank you, Jeff! Your meditation teachings are so very helpful to me. Your descriptions of what ADHD brains tend to do is exactly my experience, and the frustrations and shame while meditating (and in life in general) are real. One style of meditation practice that I have found to work EXTREMELY well with ADHD is that of Sayadaw U Tejaniya. From my perspective it is mind-blowingly well-suited for the ADHD brain. No concentration practice required….just a light touch to try to cultivate a relaxed continuity of knowing what is arising in awareness. I hope you’ll find this style just as helpful as I do!
Thanks so much for this note Cheryl. I love Tejaniya’s teachings for exactly that reason. They totally up my alley. Any strain is counterproductive, instead just tune into more of a global non-dual sense of what’s arising. Could not agree more that it’s perfect for the ADHD brain.
In fact, one of the things I’ll be talking about is how one of the gifts of ADHD is… Always come back to the moment. Mindfulness - of a kind - is quite easy for the ADHD brain. Problem is, it just takes a second before we jump off somewhere else!
But we can work with that too.
so true, so true
This sounds like what I try to achieve. I often put on one of Jeff’s meditations from calm and just try to stay in the moment and ‘chill’… “copacetic” just came to me….
Nice Lu!!
I am so grateful for your wisdom, humbleness and lovely words! They save me from myself every time! Thank you for the wonderful ride!
Thanks Laura. Definitely that’s part of community for me, people to save me from myself!
I felt like you were literally describing what was happening inside me! Thank you Jeff, you are my ADHD meditation hero. It was emotional to think about the shame and the grief of wasted opportunities. Please keep doing this series, there’s really nobody else like you
YES! Same!
I appreciate the encouraging words Susanna, thank you. Very happy to hear you can relate.
I totally will keep going. If… my ADHD doesn’t steer me in another direction. But this time I’ve got some good drafts down, and Lilli is committed to keeping me on track
That’s definitely one key to working with my ADHD: having some external frontal lobe executive support !
Thankyou so much for this meditation. I really needed it today. I’ve gone undiagnosed until age 24 cause I functioned too well for anyone to notice my problems. I kept my struggled for myself. Crying everyday, stressing through life, feeling drained trying to focus my attention on what people were saying, when something else totally caught my attention. I still struggle with this, but recently started medication and are trying to find the right dose. Still, I’ve never been able to sit still without nothing to do, until I started medication. Now I’m meditating through the Calm app (following Jeffs daily trip since I tried his ADHD support meditations in the same app and instantly felt understood and more OK with how I am). I now meditate 10minutes a day in different ways, sometimes I lay down, sometimes I walk, sometimes I do yoga and sometimes I’m able to sit quietly. The longest I’ve meditated till now is 30minutes with 2 breaks in between and this is a whole new world for me. I try to be kund to myself and adjust the practice to how I feel and what I need, not how I should be doing things (story of my life trying to be normal with a neorodivergent brain..) and I feel so much better. Trying out different medications and doses has had its ups and downs as well, but I feel like I’m able to find a calm even when I get really frustrated here as well. I live Jeff’s meditations and It feels so good to finally be understood and not feel like a weirdo for having this brain that runs around like a tasmanian devil sometimes. There is so much I wanted to do, but never got to do in my life and I’m finally coming to terms with this and working through this grief. How hard I’ve been on myself and the pressure I had to put up just to be able to cope with everyday life, and finally I see that I did my best and I achieved alot despite of my struggles. And I’m working to notice this critic in my head even though I sometimes dont even notice it until I’ve been for a run since my brain is just blurry thoughts. I also figured I’m more a daydreamer than a thinker as well so sometimes it’s hard to know what I feel or think since I never thought so much, just daydreamed alot. I still atruggle with a brain that seems to find everything interesting and worth noting. I try to call this voice my inner roomaye and welcoming it whenever I notice it. Meditayion has been a lifesaver and I intend to meditate everyday in every way I find useful for that day. Some days I just cant sit still eith my tacing mind even on meds so I go out for a walk or workout to take some of the restlessness out. And it works OK. Foguring out what I need and just doing that has made a huge difference. Not trying to be normal or do it in a normal way has changed my life. This is way to much information, but still. I just had to get it out snd share my experience and how you, Jeff, have turned my life around since I first heard your meditations on ADHD and finally felt understood and found ways to meditate with this tasmanian devil of a mind. So thankyou!
Not too much information at all Synne! I think I’m gonna read your comment 10 more times. It means the world to me that I’ve been able to offer that support. Everything you’re saying is what I wish I had known in my 20s. I was exactly the same, and I had no idea I was ADHD or that there was any kind of legitimate way to be neurodivergent. And I masked like hell.
Have you read Devon Price’s Unmasking Autism? I can’t recommend that book enough. Autism and ADHD are sister conditions, at least that’s how he put it. But even if you don’t relate to the autism part of it, the way he breaks down the million ways we mask and the consequences of those different ways of masking, is masterful. I feel like five secret masks (that is, secret even to me! ) fell off just from reading that book.
It’s exciting to think about a world where we can all really be how we are, and communicate that to others, and find systems of accommodation and support and expression within that. The world needs the gifts of ADHD folks and autistic folks and everyone else who identifies as neurodivergent. And, to unlock those gifts, it helps to have understanding from that same world.
Much love to you friend, you’re doing so good.
I’d definitely read that book!
Thankyou so much for such kind words and it helps to know I’m not alone in feeling this way and having had to mask for so long... Again, Thankyou so much 🙏🏻🥰
Jeff, you are a GEM! I continue to gain so much insight from you along with hundreds of AHA moments. Your meditations, articles, shared experiences, podcasts and your countless interactions and discussions with Dan Harris fill my heart and soul every time.
Jeff and fellow neurodivergent friends, you may enjoy checking out Morgan Harper Nichols on Substack and her website at www.morganharpernichols.com. From her bio page: “…At age 30, I found out I was autistic, and age 31, I received a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, and SPD (sensory processing disorder). In the years leading up to her diagnosis, I lived with many autistic traits and made art, music, and poetry about these experiences, even before she had a name for them.”…Morgan is also the creator of the Storyteller app.
Neurodivergent’s are finally discovering (with the help of people like you, Jeff), just how much we are capable of. Our voices, creativity, meaningful contributions are starting to receive the attention and acknowledgment we so deserve.
Jeff, you are a gem! I continue to gain so much insight from you with hundreds of aha moments between your meditations, articles, podcasts and the countless interactions and discussions with Dan Harris. I adore you both.
Oops. Apologies for the ADHD and Dyslexic symptoms of repeating myself. Perfectly imperfect I am!
Please know that you are not alone! Also, there is nothing at all wrong with you or your mind, and in many ways, you and your mind help make our world more awesome. Thank you for sharing your story and good luck with your medication journey. ❤️
Well said friend, I could not agree more.
I don't have a diagnosis myself but work with people who do, so your shared insight is very useful in helping me to have more of an understanding of how someone else might be feeling and give me ideas of how best to be with them. Thank you Jeff
I’m so glad Angela. Thank you for what you do.
Ouh, ouh, oooo ...
I am just like you ..
( well, physically more like Baloo) .
Yesss, that a great MAD pride autoflagelation minimizer blueprint.
I was vibing with it .
I suggest using Louis Prima voice, and jive for the singing version .
You definitely are this jungle's VIP.
I'll shake my derrière to that !!!
PS: I owe you two bananas ...
Reference: I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)
https://youtu.be/rV8HrpOu1FA?si=SXaxpS-kvkBklDXT
The king of the swingers!
💯!
I managed to stay focused the whole 12 minutes. So that’s the best compliment I have to offer!😉 Thanks again. Very relevant for me.
Nice!
It was not lost on me that I had just created a longish (by app standards) meditation for ADHD people, some of whom may find one minute challenging! I’m glad it held your focus
Since childhood, I always felt there was something seriously different about me, which grew into feeling like there was something seriously wrong with me. For decades, I would bring up the possibility of my having ADHD to various doctors and psychologists, but they would condescendingly laugh in my face (literally) and say there's no way. Finally, someone listened and I got tested (so brutally boring and long!). Anyway, at the age of 47, I was told that the team testing me had never seen higher scores. (I'm not gonna lie, I kinda love that. 🤭) I shouldn't be surprised, they didn't realize I have OCD and C-PTSD instead of Bipolar I until a couple of years ago when the same doctor who believed me about my ADHD symptoms also took my history of trauma Seriously. To be completely fair, I learned how to mask, read what others need, and not talk about myself before I was a toddler. Being so new to all of this, I am highly looking forward to your insights, meditations, and writings on the topics of ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions to help me better understand and accept my and other's special alphabet soups. Thank you!
Congratulations on the high scores! I love that. From one alphabet-souper to another … welcome to the club of magic people. I mean, all humans are magic in their way. But with ADHD and the high sensitivity and the dreamy creativity you get to live out at the edges of the forest, where the wild things are :)
you always have my attention 🧘🏻♀️
thank you for the extended version on this extended weekend
Ha!
“I plan on living to 100. And I’m taking you fuckers with me.” So grateful for your sage teachings on meditation and the constant reminder that this insane journey of life is nothing if not insanely fun—even in the midst of the hard shit. It does me such good to remember that. Thank you Jeff.
You’re welcome, Kate!
Adhd here, You know how many times I had to listen to this before I did nothing but listen? I drew a whole picture of where my feelings show up and what color they could be.
Awesome! I draw pictures of my feelings with my four-year-old. Ive found it to be a faster way to process them than to meditate
🌍🌬️🔥🌊🌞🌘✨🕊♥️🎶