Natural Health

Children with ADHD are a trial to their parents, and to themselves. And when the problem carries into adulthood, it can be a serious barrier to financial and social success.

Of course you can buy pills to tame it, but since those carry harmful side-effects, it’s a good idea to experiment with natural treatments that can do no harm.

Knowing what I know about the dangers they present, I’d try every natural remedy in the book before subjecting my child (or myself)  to pills.

Here are 4 possible solutions:

Meditation:

Studies on a group of children who couldn’t focus and concentrate long enough to learn anything in the classroom have shown remarkable results with transcendental meditation.

In the study, children were asked to meditate for 10 minutes at a time, twice a day, over a three month period. Both parents and teachers reported of lower stress and anxiety levels, based on questionnaires given after the study. The teachers also reported improvements in attention, working memory, organization, and behavior regulation. Teaching and learning became possible.

The name “transcendental meditation” sounds like something mysterious or difficult. It isn’t. It is merely the act of sitting still and repeating a sound, word, or phrase over and over in thought, while concentrating and focusing completely on that sound, word, or phrase. In other words, it fills the mind so that distracting (or distressing) thoughts have no room to enter.

This simple exercise also helps thousands of non-ADHD people gain a sense of balance and control in their lives – without the use of dangerous drugs.

The Figure 8 Exercise:

Standing in a spot with plenty of room around you, hold both arms straight out in front, with palms together in a prayer position. Now begin swinging them from side to side in a “Laying down figure 8″ motion. Let yourself really loosen up and relax into the motion for at least 15 – 20 seconds. Be sure to go to both sides, so your energy crosses over your body several times.

If you don’t have that much space or need to exercise in a seated position, hold your palms together and just reach as far to each side as you can as you move your palms in the laying down 8. Be sure to focus your eyes on your thumbs as you do this.

Studies have shown that these exercises not only help ADHD patients – they can help anyone to clear their thinking and focus. It’s especially helpful for people working at a desk job with deadlines to meet and too many distractions cluttering their thoughts.

I use them when I’ve been working on a copywriting project for too many hours and my brain suddenly just stops. If you’ve ever been in the middle of a paragraph and lost whatever you’re thinking, you’ll know what I mean. It’s like a brain freeze, but this movement clears it out and gets me moving again.

Bach Flower Essences

Bach flower essences are natural substances that have been used since the 1930′s to help balance energies and help people gain emotional control of their lives.

Used in the proper combination, they’ve shown to be very beneficial in treating ADHD.

Because ADHD is so widespread, FeelBach.com offers a “shelf blend” especially for this condition. This is beneficial to their customers because the custom blend of 3 or 4 different Bach Flowers would be more expensive if mixed specifically for the patient, and they’ve found over the years that almost all sufferers need the same blend.

Bach flowers can be used in concert with all other treatments, and have no harmful side-effects. They’re safe for everyone, including infants, pregnant and nursing mothers, and the elderly.

Nutrition:

We’ve all seen kids on a “sugar high” that made them hyperactive. Could it be that this recent increase in ADHD has a lot to do with sugary foods – or with the harmful chemicals in sugar-free sweeteners? Could it be a reaction to preservatives in processed foods? Could it even be a reaction to the hormones and antibiotics pumped into the meat we eat?

You can find out by eliminating one food group at a time and keeping track of behavior and feelings while not using that food.