ADHD and Anxiety Tips: Why Mindfulness can Mean More Than IQ
Channel: Panic Attack Recovery
Date: 2017-09-10

This video discusses mindfulness for ADHD, anxiety, and cognitive function.  The Centre for Mindfulness Studies explains that mindfulness is a non-judgmental way of paying attention in the present moment. It enables us to increase our understanding of our habitual reactions to challenging situations and creates the possibility of choosing to respond in more effective ways.

Many people may think of meditation.  However, the simplest way to think of mindfulness is that it refers to paying attention to what is happening in the present moment.
As an anxiety sufferer, at times you’ll likely find yourself so immersed in your thoughts that you are likely not paying attention to the present moment.  The relationship between the lack of mindfulness and anxiety works like this.  Your anxious thoughts can sort of run on auto-pilot at the expense of your not attending to other things…interestingly, paying attention to these things can break the flow of anxious thoughts if you were to attend to them.

Learning this concept can allow you to avoid missing out on all the great things that the present moment has to offer. Better yet, you can do so in two simple steps:

1. by choosing to focus your attention on the present moment and really making a commitment in this regard, and
2. bringing your attention back to the moment when it begins to drift.

You might be wondering what does the evidence says about mindfulness?

Authors of a study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology conducted a literature search of 39 studies totaling 1,140 participants.  

The participants were receiving mindfulness-based therapy for a range of conditions, including cancer, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and other psychiatric or medical conditions.

The authors concluded: "These results suggest that mindfulness-based therapy is a promising intervention for treating anxiety and mood problems in clinical populations."

These are pretty powerful findings and indications about the benefits of mindfulness.

Dr. Goleman, indicates that attention is like a muscle, and we have to exercise it in order to improve it, just like going to the gym to exercise your muscles.  Attention can be strengthened by practicing the 2 steps we shared earlier in the video on a regular basis.

Dr. Goleman stresses that if you find that your mind is somewhere else bring it back again and gently restart.  The key is not to prevent your mind from wandering, but to notice when it wanders, and simply bring it back again.  That’s what strengthens the connectivity in the attention circuitry of our brain, and this will allow you to strengthen your attention over time and manage it at will.  

In summary, by practicing mindfulness on a regular basis, we can help our anxiety.  And, we can also improve our cognitive control by exercising our attention to focus on one thing, and then bringing our attention back when it wanders.  Remember, the implications of the research findings: developing a new habit in this practice can increase our chances of success and health more than IQ or our family’s status related to income, education and occupation. Mindfulness is a great technique to keep in mind for many children and students who are getting back to school this time of year.

At Panic Attack Recovery we are former sufferers teaching others how to be proactive and take charge of their anxiety and panic attacks. We provide a comprehensive solution to anxiety so that you get better and stay that way! We'd love to have you subscribe and join us.

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