Self-care
I have discovered 4 cornerstones of ADHD Success, Self-care, Understanding ADHD, Self-Awareness and Developing Strategies for ADHD. I believe there may be a 5th cornerstone, Finding Your Passion. Can I have 5 cornerstones? I’m ADD I can do that. We don’t need to think outside the box, we live outside the box. There are days when I can’t even find this box everyone keeps talking about.
Okay, back to the cornerstones. I’m starting with Self-care. For me if the Self-care is missing nothing else works. Self-care for ADHD is made up of Eat Right, Sleep Well and Exercise. The same as for almost anyone but the benefits are much greater for us.
There are some important differences though. We are often very sensitive to, or even allergic to, wheat, dairy, legumes (i.e. peanuts), tubers, some food color dies, some food preservatives, sugar, caffeine, some over the counter medications… Well you get the idea. The reaction is not always severe but it may keep you from getting to sleep at night, waking up in the morning, cause mood swings and in general intensify ADHD symptoms. The last thing I want is to intensify my symptoms!
When I first learned about this my first question was “So what am I supposed to eat? What is left? The answer is fresh or frozen meat, fruit, and vegetables. Not the processed, breaded, covered in gravy frozen food but the real thing. Frozen raw meat, fruit, or vegetables.
The protein in meat is an important part of this strategy. We need protein and lots of it but it also gives us a slow release of energy so we don’t crash in-between meals because of low blood sugar. I recommend reading the Paleo Diet by Dr. Loren Cordain. Also, Dr. Sebring has an excellent series of free pod-casts on eating right at http://www.sebringclinic.com/home.asp.
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