Meditation Works As ADHD Treatment

A new study indicates that Transcendental Meditation may be an effective ADHD treatment.

The research suggests that meditation can help improve attention span, ameliorate anxiety, and relieve stress in ADHD children. The study was published in the journal Current Issues in Education.

The purpose of Transcendental Meditation is to calm the body and quiet the mind while sitting silently for ten- to fifteen-minute intervals. A mantra is also repeated in the mind repeatedly during meditation.

The ADHD children in the study engaged in this type of meditation for 10 minutes two times each day. After 3 months of meditation, the children reported reduced anxiety and other symptoms of ADHD.

List of Famous People Diagnosed with ADHD

If you have ADHD, you are in good company. Several of the most creative and talented people in history have also had the illness. Here is a list of famous people diagnosed with ADHD or suspected to have ADHD.

• Jim Carrey


• Howie Mandel


• Bill Cosby


• Robin Williams


• Jason Kidd (NBA player)


• Ty Pennington


• Pete Rose


• Michael Jordan


• Sylvester Stallone


• Vincent Van Gogh


• Pablo Picasso

Special ADHD Diet May Help Alleviate Symptoms

Though the correlation is tenuous, there may be some evidence that a special ADHD diet may help alleviate symptoms of the illness in children.

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have difficulty concentrating, are impulsive, and are extraorindarily active. Typically, medication is used to allay these symptoms, but adjustments in diet may also help.

Some research suggests that supplementing an ADHD child's diet with omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish oils, may help attenuate symptoms. These supplements are thought to correct the deficit of omega-3s that ADHD children are suspected to have.

Other diets geared toward ADHD children concentrate on eliminating certain processed and artificial foods. For example, the "elimination" diet advises children with ADHD to avoid preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, high-sugar beverages, and sweets.

ADHD Symptoms Can Manifest in Different Ways

Alan, a salesman from Edmonton, Canada, was diagnosed with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as an adult. ADHD is a hereditary neurochemical imbalance usually regarded as a childhood disease.

Alan received his diagnosis more than 2 years ago, when he sought counseling to salvage his 3rd marriage. Relationship and interpersonal difficulties and multiple marriages can be ADHD symptoms.

"My wife was getting frustrated with what she perceived as my lack of attention to her," Alan recalls. "I would say I would do things and she was thinking I wasn't going to do them, but in my mind I was going to do them, but in my own time, type of thing. We were on two different time planes, something that kept boiling up with her." Procrastination is another sign of ADHD.

A psychologist provided Alan with an educational article on adult ADHD. Alan recognized parts of himself in the article, but his wife's agreement with the description was what was made the diagnosis official for him. About ten million American adults and about 1 million Canadian adults have ADHD, but many sufferers are unaware of it.

ADHD Medications Can Cause Hallucinations

Physicians already know that young people taking ADHD medications may suffer psychiatric side effects from the medication, like hallucinations, paranoia, hearing voices, and manic behavior. As of 2007, the FDA estimated the incidence of adverse psychological side effects from ADHD drugs at one in every 1,000 children.

However, a new study printed in a journal called Pediatrics indicates the risk of psychotic side effects at 1.48 for every one-hundred person-years. Scientists define a person-year as the overall number of years of medication treatment. For instance, one hundred children taking a medication 1 year translate into one-hundred person-years.

The report also demonstrated that psychiatric side effects were experienced even by children who were not elevated risks for manic behavior or psychosis, such as drug abusers or those with additional mental illnesses. Of the 8% of American children between ages four and seventeen who have a diagnosis of ADHD, over 50% are on meds for the illness.

With most children, the medication-induced hallucinations were tactile and/or visual, causing the sufferers to see or feel things like insects and snakes. The symptoms usually vanished once the children discontinued ADHD medication.

Howie Mandel Raises Awareness about Adult ADHD

Howie Mandel, a well-known game show host, is boosting the public's awareness of adult ADHD with a campaign called "Adult ADD is Real."

As a child, the host of the show "Deal or No Deal" struggled with impulse control and paying attention, which resulted in a host of scholastic problems. Mandel had no idea what was wrong until he was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Mandel has said he reacted to his diagnosis with overwhelming relief.

Currently, Howie wants to make it known that ADHD is an authentic disease with effective treatments. According to Mandel, treatment is always an option, no matter how late in life the disorder is discovered.

The "Adult ADD is Real" campaign aspires to motivate those who suspect they suffer from ADHD to get evaluated by a medical professional. A recent study reported that ADHD affects an estimated 9.8 million Americans.