How About Making Some Guided Imagery for ADHD?

Hi Ms. Naparstek,

I am a longtime fan of your products, having had back surgery 6 years ago. To prepare for that surgery and to recover afterward, I listened to your Successful Surgery CD and others that you have created. Your products have really helped me and I have referred many friends to you and to your wonderful DesktopSpa.

I am writing now to ask if you have any products to help people with inattentive type ADHD. My son, 14 years, started high school this year and is very sad and feels alone.

He is incredibly gifted verbally, but has major issues writing down assignments correctly, keeping his school work neat and organized, turning in assignments and following through with major projects.

I know that eventually his brain will mature and grow and that his executive functioning will settle in, but now he feels alone and stupid, since most kids his age can do these "easy" things.

He does not have trouble at all learning the material or performing on tests, which is good, but with the things I mentioned. This is a tender age and I fear for him.

If you can suggest a product or develop one, I would greatly appreciate it or any help you could provide to us.

Your fan,
Janine S.

Thank you for the kind feedback. I'm happy the imagery was a help.

The staff at HJ has been asking me to create imagery for ADHD for a very long time. They tell me it’s the most frequent request we get nowadays. I’ve been resisting doing it because I’ve been so busy with PTS, TBI and the military.

But I have to say, your loving, concerned Mom’s note put me over the edge. Fourteen is a very tender age indeed. I’ll start researching it after October, when a lot of my speaking obligations are done with and I’ll have a little white space.

But fair warning: I may be emailing you with questions. I’ll be after specifics about what it’s like to experience ADHD and how it rears its head on a typical day.

I'll need to be further educated on the cognitive subtleties and social/emotional nuances of dealing with ADHD, beyond what the books and experts say about it. I can’t create this stuff without hearing from the people who experience it firsthand or at least within close range of a loved one.

[So that goes for anyone else who would like to educate me from their own experience, either as somebody with ADHD or somebody who works with people who are challenged by it.]

In the meantime, getting a good tutor or life coach or learning psychologist could be a big help to your son. It’s better if the coaching and guidance comes from a non-parent with no emotional over-investment or axe to grind!

And do trust that he'll come out of the other side of this, just as you say. And when he does, he'll have a whole stash of compensatory tools and tricks for managing life that will stand him in good stead for decades to come.

All best,
Belleruth

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written by Gigi, September 11, 2012

My daughter has ADD (without the H) and I can tell you that the resulting frustration and extreme emotional outbursts are the very worst part for her and for our family. Anxiety, panic, low self esteem, a feeling that life is just too hard and everyone's expectations are unrealistic, feeling that no one understands what life is like for her; these are just a few of the things that my daughter feels. For my daugher eliminating processed sugars (not easy with an 11 year old), avoiding artificial additives and undergoing Neurofeedback have helped with the emotional side. She is still very much struggling with the focus and attention areas, however, and I worry about her long term self image as this continues. Socially, she expects to be rejected and often makes it a self fulfilling prophecy, although she is a very friendly and personable girl.
E-mail me for info any time, Belleruth. I am one of those mothers who is begging for this type of CD as well.

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written by Craig, September 11, 2012

Very exciting, Belleruth! I agree with Janine and Gigi about the issues those with ADHD have in feeling stupid, dealing with anxiety, experiencing panic attacks as well as social challenges and suffering from low self-esteem. I'd like to also add that impulsivity, quite dangerous at times, is also one of the tremendous challenges that folks with ADHD struggle with. My understanding is that, in some instances, their brains crave excitement or thrills to make up for the excess in slow brain waves that they may have as well as the desire to feel normal. Or, in our experience, it seemed that the enormous frustration simply built up to a point where the flight/flight response kicks in and does so in an unbelievably intense way. It's been a hard one to figure out for sure. As a parent who turned repeatedly to your imagery resources to help calm me down while dealing with the dangerously impulsive outbursts of an ADHD child, I can tell you that could be one of the biggest helps for not only the client but the whole family as well. So, finding the right balance between helping someone with ADHD being calm, focused and confident to perhaps straying too far into twilight reverie may be the ultimate challenge on this one. I'm sure you'll find the right mix, though and I'll eagerly await it's arrival! Go gettum, Belleruth! :)

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written by Lynn, September 11, 2012

I would love to see guided imagery specifically for ADD. The sudden outbursts of anger when frustrated are the biggest problem my son has, although he's doing very well in school. Forgetting details and losing things also causes a lot of distress. His pediatrician actually suggested listening to a number of your recordings and also some by a Scottish counselor named Andrew Johnson and they've been a big help. My son listens a lot to your recording for OCD because that seems to help him a lot with panic and anxiety. Maybe an ADD recording could include something to encourage the listener to break tasks down into small steps and to write the steps down or record them out loud - that's something that helps a lot of kids with ADD, but it's hard to put into that into a guided imagery recording.

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written by Laura Forsyth, September 11, 2012

The previous posts have it just right - anxiety is the first and often, greatest obstacle for kids and adults with ADD/ADHD.

Perhaps you've already heard about mindfulness practices targeted specifically for ADHD? Researchers and clinicians Lidia Zylowska, MD and Susan Smalley, PhD, at UCLA's MARC (Mindful Awareness Research Center), developed a Mindful Awareness Program, MAP for ADHD, with practice tailored to ADDers. Dr. Zylowska recently published a self-help book, "The Mindfulness Prescription for ADHD" which includes a CD for practice.

Naturally, this approach is a little different from guided imagery, moving towards a common goal. I've had a handful of patients like and benefit from it. The practice cultivates awareness and attention, and strengthens the brain's ability to regulate. Might be worth looking into for inspiration and cross-pollination!

Appreciatively,

Dr. Laura F

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written by Sandy, September 12, 2012

I recommend looking at the Love and Logic folks. Innovator Jim Fey is one of the AD-- diagnosed folks who was once a rigid rules following teacher. In "Calming the Chaos" he explains what's going on for the kids and how to work without drugs.

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written by Zona, September 12, 2012

I have 2 adopted teenagers with ADHD..one diagnosed by an MD, one diagnosed by me. Parents of kids with ADD will accept any & all alternative (To medicines with horrible side effects.)help! What a great idea!

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written by Jody, September 12, 2012

A large part of my coaching practice for self-mastery, resilience and performance with kids, cross-systems advocacy on behalf of kids and their families, and a dedicated focus of holistically designed and facilitated school community~classroom workshops (reached more than 3000 kids and staff) are created and focused to respond and shift the day to day life navigations and challenges often held within ADD/HD labels and expressions; to co-create less stress, more success in whole person multi-sensory skills, and more lived experiences of self-mastery and the satisfactions that kindle more resource-full and also greater safety.

We use specifically designed holistic 'coaching sheets', imagery, kinesthetic energy processes, Reiki, meridian tapping techniques, and customized flower essences for day to day practical life, more ease, challenge targets, project focus and satisfaction boosting.

Happy to offer detail/ input from my experiences creating and offering this over many years and in diversity of settings from living rooms to classrooms to residential programs (and consults to kids, families, systems and private organizations wanting to meet needs in better ways).
Please feel free to let me know if any of above summary may hold nuggets useful when drilled down for future dedicated imagery being created or possible support resources/approaches.
Best,
Jody

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written by Belleruth, September 13, 2012

This is great. Plse keep it coming. I'll be coming through all this and asking more questions after mid-October, when I come up for air. Thanks so much, all.

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written by Mimi Handlin, September 13, 2012

I'm an ADD coach who has worked with lots of students and adults for many years. One thing I know for sure is that stress and anxiety makes ADD symptoms worse! As well as conscious breathing and other relaxation techniques, a huge help is to use external cues to slow down, become aware of where attention is in the present moment, decide if it's the best choice, and then proceed or change direction. I use a lot of mindfulness, relaxation, and even meditation in my coaching and classes and people have found these methods a huge help. I have lots of info on my website about ADHD so if you're interested, please take a look.
www.addfamilycoaching.com And...clients.

~Mimi

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written by Rosalyn, September 15, 2012

As an adult with ADD, I agree that limiting sugar and processed foods can help. I also take a homeopathic supplement called Attend, by the company Vaxa. I notice immediately when I don't take it.
I also find that regular exercise, being outdoors, and having routine 'alone' time helps me quite a bit. Stress certainly makes this worse, however, deep breathing techniques seem to help.