hello brains a th deers tend to be
impulsive and not just when we're buying
office supplies we are emotionally and
socially impulsive too which can make us
a lot of fun when we're in a good mood
the problem is we are not always in a
good mood we get angry we get frustrated
angry thoughts lead to angry actions and
we do things that end up costing us
friendships relationships even our jobs
afterward we feel awful we regret it and
then we do it again it's not that we
aren't smart or capable of making good
decisions as dr. Russell Barclay puts it
ADHD is not an information deficit
disorder we know we shouldn't scream in
the middle of class or hit another kid
on the playground we totally get that
telling off our co-worker is not
acceptable behavior the problem is we
get so mad that we can't control it you
know what I'm talking about the kind of
feeling that builds in the pit of your
stomach and makes your teeth clenched
and absolutely want to destroy the
person who you're well actually I did
the research and it's not just you
everybody gets that upset what how then
why am I the only one in detention
you aren't the only one who wanted to
flip a table when your teacher assigned
extra homework you're just the only one
who did why because your brain is faster
than your brakes to help me explain cool
science stuff turns out there's a part
of the brain whose job it is to help us
hold back emotions and actions when
expressing them might not be the best
idea it's called the anterior cingulate
cortex or ACC in neurotypical brains it
activates anytime they experience an
emotional or social conflict as in they
might want to hang up on their boss but
that could have consequences their ACC
picks up on the fact that they're about
to do something that could be bad for
them and buy some time to think about
how they want to handle the situation
that way the part of the brain that
knows they need that job and have plans
to retire someday is able to step in and
suppress those impulses in a fight the
ACC would be the friend hold you back
while your other friends talk some sense
into you the problem is in ADHD brains
the ACC doesn't always work that way all
right all in fact according to dr.
Russell Barkley in adult ADHD brains the
ACC appears to do nothing which means
your other friend the frontal lobe might
have some amazing wisdom to share but
with no one to hold you back he won't
have time to share it before you get
punched in the nose dr. Barkley
describes this as trouble with response
inhibition dr. Halliwell calls it having
a Ferrari engine brain with bicycle
breaks I call it being enthusiastic
whatever you call it it can be a problem
for those of us with ADHD so what's a
brain to do you got to build up your
brakes fortunately there are plenty of
ways to do this here are five ways we
can help out our KCC one meditation hear
me out
meditation doesn't mean sitting still
and clearing your mind of thoughts it's
just an opportunity to practice having
thoughts and emotions without reacting
to them you know the thing we're having
trouble with Plus research has shown
that meditation actually changes your
brain thickening the parts responsible
for decision-making maintaining
attention and taking action in line with
our goals in other words the parts
affected by our ADHD if you haven't
tried meditating yet don't worry it's
way easier than you think
I explained more in this video to
mindfulness mindfulness is simply being
aware of your thoughts feelings and your
body's reactions without judging them
the great thing about mindfulness is if
you only remember to meditate when
you're already about to scream at
somebody or eat a box of cookies it's
not too late to use this technique one
of the easiest ways to do this is to
focus on your breath that's it that's
enough to activate your ACC there's a
link to a cute video on belly breathing
in the description below there's also
this video three cognitive behavioral
therapy or CBT is a kind of therapy that
focuses on how you process your thoughts
and feelings in the present moment are
you starting to see a pattern here all
of these methods are about creating some
space between an event or an emotion and
your reaction to it basically what most
people's ACC does for them automatically
CBT is especially great for dealing with
depression and automatic negative
thoughts but programs have been
developed specifically for dealing with
ADHD emotional self-regulation and
impulse control for medication yeah I
don't talk about this much because I'm
clearly not a doctor but I have to
include it because for most people with
ADHD it's very effective it can not only
help us focus it also helps with
self-control I'll include links to more
information in the description below but
if you are considering medication talk
to a doctor which I am NOT finally I've
exercised research suggests that
physical activity can make a huge
difference as well aerobic exercise like
running swimming or dancing seems to
have the most impact on ADHD symptoms
overall while mind-body exercise like
yoga seems to have the biggest impact on
self-regulation
so the next time you need to have a
difficult discussion try doing it in
downward dog and six if you find
yourself judging yourself remember that
the emotions you're feeling are probably
totally normal you just have to work on
your brakes of course it also helps to
have a back-up plan for times when your
brakes might fail I'll go into that in
another video that's it for this week
thanks for making it all the way through
this was a lot of information to cover
but really important let me know how
your brakes have failed or saved you
comment below or on facebook or twitter
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so we can make even more videos hi brain
question time have you approached
someone in order to make friends
your crush specifically love true love I
think it's important to consider the
timing probably don't talk to them when
they're in the middle of something or
clearly want to be left alone wait till
you think they might be receptive to
conversation and then try to find out
what you have in common
ask them questions about themselves to
see if you guys have the same taste in
music or share a hobby for this reason a
great place to meet is in a class or a
group that's dedicated to something
you're interested in for instance Edward
and I met at a writers group what do I
do about having a lot to do and not
enough time to do it it helps to focus
on stuff that's important but not yet
urgent my video on the priority matrix
explains why a king of which remember
Edward promised to do an FAQ a about me
if we hit a thousand hash tag in news so
keep working on yours and post about
them when you do and remember in case of
emergency shake glass