10 Natural Remedies for Adult ADHD

Jaime Stathis
·7 min read

adhd

These are the top natural remedies for Adult ADHD.<p>iStock</p>
These are the top natural remedies for Adult ADHD.

iStock

If you've had difficulty concentrating due to the stress of the past few years, you're not alone. Occasional disorganization, poor planning, and restlessness are a normal part of life, especially this year. But these symptoms could signal something more serious, like ADHD/Hyperactivity Disorder, which the Cleveland Clinic describes as "a developmental problem characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity."

Most adults with ADHD had the symptoms as a kid, whether they were diagnosed or not. Many people go through life untreated either through a lack of diagnosis or because they don't like the side effects of Ritalin and Adderal, the medications commonly used to treat ADHD.

While it's always important to talk with your doctor about the best treatment plan for you if you have ADHD—or get a diagnosis if you don't yet have one—there are natural remedies to try. From turning to nature to leaning on routines, here are 10 of them.

Adult ADHD treatment

Dr. Jeffrey Ditzzell, DO, a Manhattan-based psychiatrist who specializes in treating mood and anxiety disorders including ADHD says, "Medications can be an aspect of care, but they're not the entirety of care."

To decrease the functional load of medications, Dr. Ditzell educates patients on things like nourishing the body at consistent intervals, getting proper sleep, and living an overall fit lifestyle, which includes exercise, hydration, and adding supplements as necessary. This type of mindset coaching not only helps with ADHD but "over the course of a lifetime improves performance."

In his practice, Dr. Ditzell uses the obstacle—what brought them into the office—as an opportunity to begin to improve their lives. He collaborates with ADHD clients to come up with ideas that will help them pursue purpose-driven activities throughout the day. Populating the intervals of the day is profoundly satisfying and calming to the mind, and Dr. Ditzell says that when patients put in consistent effort, they find that their level of performance and mindset is more efficient than they ever dreamed.

Nev Schulman Reveals the Incredible Way Having ADHD Has Helped Him On Dancing With the Stars 

Natural Remedies For ADHD

1. Make lists

Some people with ADHD can feel overwhelmed by the enormity of a task ahead of them, but breaking it into smaller chunks makes life's responsibilities seem more manageable. After breaking up larger tasks into more manageable pieces, making lists allows someone to cross items off a list, which leads to a sense of accomplishment, which people living with ADHD often lack if they're pinging from one thing to another.

2. Streamline routines

Whitney Olivia Wilson, a life skills teacher in treatment programs, says, "I teach kids to come up with streamlined, unwavering routines for mundane tasks like getting out of the house in the morning, times when their minds may check out and go exploring into other concepts. Setting routines reduces anxiety over forgetting or messing up something simple. Students can stick to the routine until the neuropathway in their brain has it hardwired. Eventually, when you start the routine your brain will automatically take you through the process while you enjoy the wonderland that is your wild, creative mind."

Related: The 5 Best Free Brain Games Training Apps 

3. Move your body

Almost everyone with ADHD reports an improvement in symptoms if they move their body. Some prefer vigorous exercise like running or spinning, while others find relief through yoga. Either way, exercise increases breathing, which has a calming effect. One person with ADHD points out that starting the day with exercise works for her because it's something to cross off the list, which sets her up for a successful day.

4. Create silence and order

Some find that life itself is loud and distracting, so wearing earplugs creates a cocoon-like sense of calm. Life can feel more disorderly to someone with ADHD, so color coding things with neon Post-it notes can help with visual organization, which helps with mental tranquility.

5. Nourish yourself

Maui-based nutritionist Jennifer Dreisch encourages those struggling with ADHD symptoms to investigate food sensitivities and, if necessary, repair a leaky gut. "80% of our neurotransmitters are made in our gut," Dreisch says, "if it's not healthy, our brain isn't healthy." She also recommends adding omega 3s and vitamin D to the diet and cutting processed sugar.

6. Turn to nature

Getting outside and into nature is great for most of what ails us, including ADHD, and herbs found in nature are also helpful for treating ADHD naturally. Sarah Holden, a Missoula, Montana-based clinical herbalist, recommends adaptogens like American ginseng, Rhodiola, and ashwagandha to "help the body accept and deal with stress hormones and reduce the impact of stress on the body. Through this mechanism, the body uses the herb to help it regulate the fight or flight response."

Holden also recommends nootropics like Ginkgo biloba to help with attention, focus, concentration, learning, memory, and mental acuity and nervines like Gotu Kola to tone down or calm the nervous system, reducing hyperactivity.

7. Do anything you know helps

People with ADHD do well with structure, and many find relief through proximity. One woman could never get her clothes to the laundry basket, so they ended up on the bathroom floor, creating visual chaos that wasn't helpful. Putting a laundry basket in the bathroom was a simple change that helped immensely. A man couldn't remember to take his vitamins, which help with his ADHD, so he started putting them in his coffee pot so when he went to make coffee in the morning he couldn't miss them.

8. Strategize 

Jill Wheeler, MA, LMHC, a psychotherapist and transformational leadership coach, has a toolbox full of strategies she uses to help herself and her clients who struggle with ADHD. For starters, Wheeler sees ADHD as a strength. "We're hardwired to be distracted," she says, "It's what kept us safe from predators, and though life isn't as demanding as it once was, we can lean into the distraction but also remain mindful and remember to return to the task at hand."

To set the stage for success, Wheeler suggests beginning the day with both an intention and an affirmation. For example, the intention could be setting a timer for checking email, then turning off the phone and hitting the yoga mat for a designated period of time without answering calls, responding to texts, or any other distraction that might show up. To support an intention, the mantra could be, "I am focused, present, productive, and engaged."

9. Set reasonable expectations

Wheeler stresses the importance of setting reasonable expectations for ourselves, especially when things can be slowed down or out of our control. "We all make mistakes," Wheeler says, "But the important thing is that you get back up and begin again."

10. Get in touch with your body's natural rhythms

Wheeler notes that up to 60% of the human body is water, and sound waves move through the body like water, so getting in touch with sounds and rhythms can help. "Any kind of music can do this," Wheeler says, "but the vibration from crystal bowls or Tibetan bowls is especially powerful as the vibration slows and calms an overactive nervous system."

Next up, here are the 20 best workout apps of 2020.

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