by Sol Smith
Neurodivergents, such as autistics and ADHDers, have particular challenges when it comes to mediating. And yet, meditation can be enormously beneficial for their well-being. In this mediation, we learn some of the reasons why it is a challenge and how to work with those challenges.
Transcript
Hi and welcome, This is Sol Smith, I'm. . . Here to hopefully lead you through. Meditations, Even if you're neurodivergent. By neurodivergent, I'm talking about autistics, ADHD years, And really anybody who has issues with executive function, Has a busy brain. Has a brain that just seems to have a narrator. That never stops. Autistics. Have brains that are. 42% more active than neurotypical brains. At rest. The default mode network is very, Very loud in autistics. And the default mode network is that internal narration that scrutinizes everything you're doing, That watches what you're doing. To make sure that you fit in, To make sure that you are matching the vibe, The culture, The expectations of people around you. And it also is the network that gets quieter. With meditation. My understanding is that for an autistic to get their brain on average, Down to a neurotypical brain's amount of activity through meditation would take something like 10, 000 hours of meditation. So you can understand why it may have been frustrating for you in the past. That's also why we need it. That's also why this is so important. ADHD brains are very busy as well. They tend to jump from topic to topic looking for something novel, Something interesting, Something stimulating. You see, ADHDers have a different wiring that helps them to find dopamine in places that fascinate them. But does not respond well. To boredom. To understimulation. The H in ADHD is hyperactivity, And we have this idea that we're talking about a lot of kinetic activity, But. It doesn't have to be that at all. An ADHD-er. Has a very hyperactive brain and that is where it is. Of course, It might manifest in kinetic ways and that's okay. We're not concerned about that here, But it's that Bouncing ping-pong ball of a brain that we want to Not tame. Get to cooperate. Or executive function. Is like somebody trying to drive an elephant from point A to point B. Get the elephant to cooperate, And it has a couple tools to do it. Is like a carrot. You have dopamine that's beckoning you forward to complete a project, To learn something new, To explore a new environment. ADHDers don't get that dopamine response from just any project. They have to be interested in it. So this hyperactive brain, Oh, I'm sorry. The other. Tool at the elephant's disposal, Elephant driver's disposal, Is the stick which is cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone and it is extremely useful But it's taxing. It's exhausting. And It is what ADHDers use to get the job done when they procrastinate, When they wait as long as they can so the looming deadline creates urgency that will create a cortisol flood in the brain and that helps make connections the same way dopamine helps make connections. To think more easily, Conserving energy. But the differences. When you are working with dopamine, You're following the carrot. Then everything feels very good. Everything feels inviting. Everything feels like accomplishment. Sense of pride. A sense of well-being. But cortisol. While it is useful, While it is effective. And we need to learn to use that strategically. Feels like you're playing defense. Feels like you're playing catch up. So the myth. Of meditation. Is that you're going to not think. And ADHDers and autistics all over the world have told me. I can't meditate. It's not possible. They may have tried, They may have tried for long periods of time. We have to be clever here. In brains that struggle with executive function. Where the elephant's just gonna sit down by the river and take a drink no matter how much of a carrot, How much of a stick you wave at it. A lot of the time. We have to find ways to make it work. And that's what we're gonna do. But also we have to understand that meditation is not the cessation of thought. There may be practitioners who can get there. Sounds great. But it tends to be unrealistic for an ADHD or autistic. In fact, That thought, That busyness is so. Pervasive. Than often. They turn to chemical enhancements. Addictions. Disordered eating. Different ways of managing dopamine and cortisol. Without using executive function. So what we have to see? Is that meditating. Is watching your thoughts. Let them ping pong. Let them do what they will. Let the elephant sit by the river. And instead of telling it where to go, Instead of stopping things. You observe them. This may not feel like much at first. Every time that your brain goes off course. You're just gonna say, Oh, I'm thinking again. And you're gonna give yourself a little reward. You're going to say, Hey, Good job. Good job, Saul. That's gonna help encourage you to move forward with this process. And again, This may not sound like much. But given three weeks of this. You will find. A pause button. To much of your stress. You will find space between your reactions. And your thoughts. And that's what we're doing, We're creating that space. There is a space there between your thinking and you. By observing the thinking, By watching it bounce around. You are going to drive a wedge into that space and make it bigger and bigger. You're going to be less reactive. We're going to start easy. And we're gonna do the classic thing of focusing on our breath. You're going to sit. Take a few deep breaths and get comfortable. We're not lying down right now. You might fall asleep when you lie down. Nothing's wrong with sleeping. But you're gonna focus on your breathing. You're gonna watch your breathing in, Out. You're gonna watch it leave your nose. You're gonna watch it come back in. And every time you think of something other than that. Well, You're thinking. Good job, You caught it. Now, Some sessions, You will find yourself getting into a flow. You'll find yourself really feeling the lightness. Of this process. Other sessions you will forget that you're doing this at all. Your mind will get busy trying to solve problems. Trying to anticipate problems. And you'll forget. To say, Ah, I was thinking. Until maybe the last couple of minutes. That's okay. That counts. You just come back the next day. Believe it or not, You learn a lot from that. Your body learns a lot from that. Let's close our eyes. We're going to go for five minutes. Of meditation. Just watching your breath. It's okay to fidget with something. It's okay to rock in your chair. It's okay to stare at an object if you don't want your eyes closed. You're breathing and you're labeling your thoughts. You are not in that future that you're imagining. You're right here. You are not. In the past that you're remembering. The anxieties of the past are over. You're sitting here right now. This is all. Watching your breath. Not pushing away thoughts. Just seeing them for what they are and letting them float through. The thoughts are your brain scrambling for some kind of stimulation. Scrambling. To solve. Or anticipate. Imagined problems. You don't need to do that. Watch the thoughts go. Really watch your breath here. Now you can open your eyes. You can swim up from this meditative state. Come up to the surface again. You're still in your body. You still are having thoughts, And you can still label them. We're gonna work on this. We're going to find ways to help you log in. And we are not going to be deterred. Few minutes every day for three weeks. It's not a problem. You've got this.
