Brain Fog and ADHD

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This post on brain fog and ADHD is inspired by a book I picked up to support me as a coach and as a human. The book is written as a resource for people with ADHD and is called ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction. As one of the reviews says, it is definitely “an insider road map for living with a distractible brain”. Even more so, I found it helpful for all humans as it gives tools to specifically support brain fog and ADHD and more generally, healthy aging and living.

I’ve pulled out five things that are helpful for parents and women in their midlife us warriors to know about and practice. None of the five things are new areas of focus. I’m sure you’ve heard of the importance of all of these things before. Rather, the question is whether you have had enough motivation to do these things? As a life coach, my job is to get people to do the things that help them live lives they love. Sometimes we can know something is good or bad but need that one more piece of information to motivate us in to action. Today, I hope in hearing that practicing these five specific things will increase lead you to action.

Five things to help with Brain Fog and ADHD:

1. Balance

The first behavior to practice is balance. By balance I mean physical balance like can you balance on 1 foot versus work life balance. Listen in to the episode to learn more about why balance increases our ability to focus and helps those diagnosed with ADHD. Also learn the powerful habit tool that Susie suggests using to incorporate balance into your everyday life. Final bonus is the two examples Susie gives of how she practices balance each day. Let her know in the comments if you think her sharing of Dr. Christiane Northrup’s idea was TMI.

2. Just One Thing

Being distracted or having split focus is a lot of what creates my feeling of brain fog or confusion. The authors of this book bring focus to a particular way of thinking that happens when different neurons fire together and connect to one unified goal, called the TASK POSITIVE NETWORK or TPN for short. They speak of the importance of strengthening this part of the brain so that it becomes easier for us to remain focused. Listen in to the episode to hear all the different ways that you can practice this specific skill. This is one of the areas where I have noticed real life growth in my focus and attention when I practice and strengthen this muscle. Please let me know in the comments or on my Instagram page, how you could incorporate practicing this daily.

3. Connection

Vitamin C! Connection is important for brain fog and ADHD. Who knew? This one surprised me, even though connection is one of my wellness pillars. The importance of connecting to other humans is apparently not only good for our wellness but also for our brain’s health, with ADHD or without. Listen in to the episode to learn the research behind why connection is so good for brain health, brain fog and ADHD. Further listen to specific examples of how to bring connection into your daily life (these are not overwhelming). Let me know which you will try this week.

4. Exercise

No surprise here yet how many of us are moving our body daily? I wanted to include this as one of the five so that if you’re not moving your body daily, let this be the final piece of information that you need to start moving your marvelous self. Exercise is all around awesome and here’s another reason why, when we exercise daily, we increase blood flow to the brain which decreases distractibility and increases focus. Say what? Are you using this free miracle drug? Please find a way to move your body every day, preferably in a way that is enjoyable for you. Start small: five minutes is better than no minutes. How can you move your body today? Let me know

5. Have a Goal

The authors speak of having a goal that is the “right difficult”. Listen in to the episode to learn what that means and how you can find the “right difficult” for you. I mention ten questions that they write of in the book to help you with finding your right difficult. Since I am not an expert on copyright infringement, I’ll only share five of the ten, put my Susie spin on them, AND make super clear that THESE ARE NOT MY QUESTIONS. They’re from the authors Dr Hallowell and Dr Ratey and in the book ADHD 2.0.

What are 3-4 things you’re best at doing?
List 3-4 things things you like doing.
What three or four activities have brought you the most praise or accomplishments in your life?
Is there something that you’re good at or interested in, that surprises you that others are not good at or interested in?
What could your teacher, supervisor, or parent do to support you in spending your time more wisely?

Let me know what goal you are working on. I believe that we should always have a goal or intention that we’re working towards. It can be something small or big, it doesn’t matter, it’s just that as human beings, we are either growing or shrinking. I’d love to hear what your next “right difficult” thing is.

Brain Health

That’s a wrap, Warriors. Let me know if you liked this kind of podcast and post, one where I take something I”m inspired by and expand it to support us. I love making things simple and empowering warriors in to action