ADD: Slow down thoughts

[Stewie]

** This might have been discussed before but because english is not my native language I can't seem to use the correct words for my search **

Hi everyone...
I was wondering if you guys have tips (non medical) on slowing down the thoughts inside your head.
When I am getting distracted from doing something (like ex. reading) my thoughts jump so quick from one thing to another. With my recent diagnosis of ADD I think this is why I can get serious headaches / neck pain sometimes (they used to say to me that it was from stress, before my ADD diagnosis). The quick thinking seems to take a lot of energy from me.
When I take Ritalin, it clears my mind and blocks the constant jumping from one subject to another.

I found this forums today because a friend posted this (for some people) 'funny' image on facebook.

I've tried some breathing excercises and they do work, but only for some time so I'd like to see if there are more ADD/ADHD related tricks.
Have a nice day all!

[keliza]

When I am kept awake at night by racing thoughts (which, between ADHD and bipolar disorder, is most nights) I use a grounding technique that a therapist taught me several years ago.

I have a few places in my head, images, scenes that I think about. I shut my eyes and put myself there mentally, slowly, detail by detail. I start with what is directly under my feet, seeing it in my head, describing it to myself, and then move outward from there. I focus my thoughts on outlining every detail of that scene, first like a rough sketch, then filling in the lines until every leaf on every tree is accounted for. If I suddenly realize that my mind has wandered, I start back over again from square one.

It takes a lot of mental discipline but it does help me center myself. It allows me to slow down my thoughts and keep them in one place, focused on the details of one thing. One of my scenes is on a dock at a lake, it's actually the lake that my friend has a house on, and I just imagine that scene in my head. The other is a beach. Another is a place in the woods that I always seem to find in my dreams, so I bring that image back. Another is a valley that I used to see in my dreams a lot, quite honestly it looks like the front of the bottle of Hidden Valley ranch dressing haha. So on and so forth. I pick any one of these scenes, and I put myself there, and paint all of the scenery around me. I usually end up falling asleep before I'm finished.

Another thing that sometimes helps me with my racing thoughts at night is to get a pen and pad of paper and make a list of the things I want to think about. Then I go down the list one by one. I dedicate a few minutes to letting my mind run circles around the first thought, thinking about it as much as I want to and writing down anything that seems important. Then I tell myself, "Okay, time is up for this thought. I can think about it again in the morning." Move on to the second, and the third, etc. This is really helpful for me when I need to organize my thoughts, but they're all so fast and jumbled together that it's hard to put my finger on any one. This kind of effortful thinking and writing helps with that a lot.

Good luck!

[Stewie]

Thanks for these tips, these are the things I'm looking for and I am willing to give them all a try.

Before trying it; I assume that the one with imagining scenes will be hard to master... Even if I think now "whats below my feet" I wander off.. Asking myself what kind of material these tiles are made of, where were they produced, who's working in such a factory, would they like that job, ..
All in a matter of seconds.


Maybe I'll try to imagine a big white space.. but then again I'll start thinking about if infinity is possible etc..

Its hard for me not to get rolling but I am going to try it.
Keep 'em tips coming please!!