5 ADHD Tips for Managing NATURALLY | How I Coped Before Meds

Summary

In this video, a 52-year-old woman shares her journey of managing undiagnosed ADHD through natural methods. She reflects on her life before and after discovering her ADHD, emphasizing five key habits that transformed her life: regular exercise, prioritizing sleep, creating a calming environment, practicing yoga and meditation, and developing systems to stay organized. These strategies helped her manage her ADHD, improve her focus, reduce anxiety, and enhance her quality of life. The video encourages viewers to adopt these practices for better ADHD management, whether diagnosed or not.

Takeaways

• 😀 ADHD symptoms can change with age; in later life, they may focus more on managing daily tasks like medication, sleep, and organization.
• 🚶‍♀️ Regular physical movement, even if it’s not intense, can greatly improve ADHD symptoms by boosting brain function and executive decision-making.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Starting exercise in her 20s helped the speaker lose 80 pounds and improve her self-regulation, marking a major turning point in her ADHD management.
• 😴 Prioritizing sleep enhanced the speaker’s ability to stay consistent with exercise and manage her ADHD better, highlighting the link between rest and overall functioning.
• 🏡 Creating a stable, calm living environment was key for managing anxiety and ADHD, helping the speaker feel more organized and in control of her life.
• 🧘‍♀️ Yoga became a critical tool for managing anxiety and ADHD, particularly during times of emotional stress, such as dealing with the death of her mother.
• 🧠 Changing the speaker’s brain chemistry through fitness and mindfulness practices led to better focus, organization, and improved relationships and work performance.
• 📋 Implementing systems and routines, such as automating daily tasks, allowed the speaker to conserve cognitive energy and focus on her goals.
• 💡 Discovering ADHD at 52 through a podcast was a turning point for the speaker, leading her to pursue ADHD coaching and further understanding of her condition.
• 🔥 Focusing on personal strengths, values, and passions, such as sharing her ADHD journey on YouTube, helped the speaker find purpose and fulfillment.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The video focuses on managing ADHD naturally, particularly from the perspective of someone who was undiagnosed until the age of 50 and how they made lifestyle changes that improved their condition.

How did the speaker first start managing their ADHD without knowing they had it?

The speaker started by incorporating regular physical movement into their routine, which eventually led to weight loss and improvements in their mental focus and overall life.

What was the speaker's first major lifestyle change that helped manage ADHD symptoms?

The first major change was exercising regularly. Although the speaker disliked working out initially, the physical activity improved their brain function, which helped them manage ADHD symptoms more effectively.

How did the speaker’s physical health improve after starting regular exercise?

The speaker lost 80 pounds, gained more focus, improved decision-making, and developed better self-regulation as a result of consistent exercise.

What role does sleep play in managing ADHD symptoms, according to the speaker?

Sleep is crucial for managing ADHD, as it helps with energy, reduces irritability, and supports the motivation needed for exercise and overall productivity.

How did the speaker’s environment impact their ADHD management?

Having a clean, organized, and peaceful living environment helped reduce the speaker’s anxiety and contributed to better focus and decision-making.

What additional tools did the speaker adopt in their late 30s to manage ADHD?

In their late 30s, the speaker incorporated yoga and meditation, which helped manage their anxiety, regulate emotions, and improve their overall mental health.

What realization led to the speaker's formal ADHD diagnosis?

The speaker realized they had ADHD after listening to a podcast episode where someone described symptoms and experiences that matched their own, leading them to seek a formal diagnosis.

What is the fifth method the speaker recommends for managing ADHD?

The fifth method is creating systems and processes for daily tasks, which helps conserve cognitive energy and maintain focus on more important goals.

What additional advice does the speaker offer for those managing ADHD?

The speaker suggests finding what 'lights you up' by discovering your strengths, interests, and values. Aligning your life with these factors can lead to more fulfillment and better ADHD management.

Outlines

00:00

🧑‍⚕️ The Realities of ADHD in Adulthood

The speaker shares her experience of living with undiagnosed ADHD until her 50s, discussing how her challenges have evolved with age. In her youth, her ADHD manifested in disorganization and impulsive behaviors, but now her focus is on managing daily responsibilities like taking medication, sleeping well, and remembering where she parked her car. Reflecting on her life, she notes how her undiagnosed ADHD affected her in various ways, such as struggling with organization, time management, and academics.

05:02

🏋️‍♀️ The Power of Moving Your Body

At 21, the speaker, who weighed 210 pounds, decided to start moving her body regularly, despite hating exercise at first. This became the foundation for improving her self-regulation and developing healthier habits. Over time, she saw physical and mental benefits, including weight loss and enhanced focus. She stresses the role of fitness in activating the brain's prefrontal cortex, which improves executive function. Although she doesn't enjoy working out, she does it daily because of the positive effects it has on her brain and life.

10:04

🛏️ The Importance of Sleep for ADHD Management

The second change in managing her ADHD was prioritizing sleep. Initially motivated by the need to exercise, she realized that better sleep made her more productive and helped her control cravings. As she began working out regularly and sleeping better, her life improved in other areas, such as saving money and feeling more organized. She emphasizes how getting quality sleep contributed to her overall well-being and helped her navigate adult life more successfully.

🏡 Creating a Supportive Environment

After improving her sleep and exercise routines, the speaker's next major step was moving out of a chaotic living situation. In her mid-20s, she rented her own apartment, which provided stability and peace. Having a space that was clutter-free and organized helped reduce her anxiety and improved her mental clarity. She highlights the importance of having an environment that nurtures your mental health and how decluttering her space led to a clearer mind and more control over her life.

🧘‍♀️ Yoga and Emotional Resilience

In her late 30s, after moving to California and facing the death of her mother, the speaker leaned on her established habits of working out, sleeping well, and focusing on her health. She reconnected with yoga, which helped her process emotions and manage her anxiety. Yoga became a tool for releasing emotional stress and helped her maintain mental clarity during tough times, including her mother’s passing and a previous divorce. Eventually, she traveled to India to train as a yoga teacher, integrating it further into her life.

📅 Systems and Processes for ADHD

The fifth major tool the speaker adopted for managing ADHD was implementing systems and processes to automate as much of her life as possible. She uses these strategies to reduce the mental load of daily decisions, such as setting up routines for taking medication and organizing her space. She praises tools like weekly and monthly reviews and apps like Notion to streamline tasks and manage her time effectively. She encourages others to find systems that work for them and automate tasks to free up mental energy.

Keywords

💡ADHD

ADHD, or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by symptoms like inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. In the video, the speaker shares her personal journey of living with undiagnosed ADHD until her 50s, discussing the impact it had on her life. She highlights how ADHD affected her ability to stay organized and manage tasks, but also explains how she developed strategies to manage her symptoms naturally.

💡Exercise

Exercise refers to physical activity that improves fitness and health. The speaker emphasizes the importance of movement, explaining how starting to exercise regularly at age 21 changed her life. Exercise helped her lose weight, improve self-regulation, and positively impacted her ADHD by increasing blood flow to the brain, improving her ability to focus and make better decisions.

💡Sleep

Sleep is described as a critical component in managing ADHD symptoms. The speaker realized that prioritizing sleep not only improved her mood and energy but also enabled her to stick to her workout routine. She explains how sleep enhanced her ability to manage ADHD symptoms, such as impulsiveness and disorganization, leading to a more stable and productive lifestyle.

💡Environment

The environment in this context refers to the living space and surroundings that impact mental and emotional well-being. The speaker explains how moving into her own apartment, a space she could control and organize, helped her manage her anxiety and ADHD symptoms. She highlights the importance of a clutter-free and organized environment for mental clarity.

💡Self-regulation

Self-regulation is the ability to manage one’s behavior, emotions, and thoughts in the pursuit of long-term goals. The speaker mentions how exercise helped her develop self-regulation, which is usually one of her weakest areas due to ADHD. Through fitness and improved lifestyle habits, she gained better control over her decisions and actions.

💡Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of worry or nervousness, often exacerbated by ADHD. The speaker discusses how her anxiety was tied to her disorganized life and chaotic environment. She found that creating a peaceful, organized living space helped reduce her anxiety, allowing her to feel more in control of her life and ADHD symptoms.

💡Yoga

Yoga is a practice that combines physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation to promote mental and physical well-being. The speaker explains how yoga became an essential tool for managing her ADHD and anxiety, especially during emotionally difficult times like the loss of her mother. Yoga helped her calm her nervous system and release emotions.

💡Systems and processes

Systems and processes refer to routines and structures designed to automate tasks and reduce mental load. The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating systems in her daily life to manage ADHD symptoms. By establishing routines for taking medications or organizing her living space, she reduces the cognitive effort required to manage everyday tasks.

💡Executive functions

Executive functions are cognitive processes that regulate behavior, including planning, decision-making, and time management. ADHD often impairs these functions, but the speaker explains how regular exercise improves blood flow to the brain, giving her better access to her executive functions, which in turn improves her organization, focus, and decision-making.

💡Messy action

Messy action refers to the speaker's approach of taking imperfect steps towards her goals without worrying about perfection. She explains how, even without a formal plan or structure, taking action—whether it was running with no formal fitness knowledge or organizing her life haphazardly—eventually led to meaningful improvements in her ADHD management and overall life satisfaction.

Highlights

Living with ADHD undiagnosed until age 50 and managing it naturally over the years.

Realizing that fitness helps manage ADHD by improving focus and executive function.

Starting a fitness routine at age 21, despite hating exercise, and losing 80 pounds.

Understanding that sleep is crucial for managing ADHD and overall well-being.

Improving life through better sleeping habits and fitness, leading to healthier choices.

Creating a stable living environment was key to managing ADHD and anxiety.

Learning that a clean, clutter-free environment improves mental clarity.

Adapting to significant life changes, like moving and losing her mother, with the help of exercise and yoga.

Discovering yoga's power in calming ADHD symptoms and improving emotional regulation.

Leaving corporate work and going to India to learn and teach yoga for self-management.

Using yoga and meditation as daily tools for mental hygiene and stress management.

Being diagnosed with ADHD after years of managing it without knowing, leading to further improvements.

Understanding the importance of systems and routines for managing ADHD effectively.

Automating everyday tasks to save cognitive energy for more important decisions.

Learning to focus on personal strengths and what lights you up, as a core part of ADHD management.

Transcripts

yo if you are in your 20s 30s or even

your 40s and you think your ADHD is no

joke now just wait till you get into

your 50s I gotta tell you I am living in

what I like to call old lady ADHD it's

no longer about binge spending and binge

drinking and partying all night long

it's about did I take my pills in the

morning did I get a good night's sleep

and where the hell did I park my car so

today I thought what I would do is share

from my perspective of living with ADHD

undiagnosed until two years ago and I'm

52 now guys so my whole life is a

reflection of what's possible when

you're not treated for your ADHD in any

way whatsoever because you don't know

you have it so for context I definitely

can see how my ADHD impacted my life

before the age of about 21 I was a hot

mess Express I couldn't understand why I

couldn't stay organized or neat or

remember things I couldn't understand

why I couldn't tell time until I was

like 14 or understand math or any of

these things that are very common for us

adhders I just thought it was stupid

but something happened at the age of 21

and I'm going to jump into that now

and give you the first of the five

things that I did to manage my ADHD

naturally because I didn't know I had it

and how it changed my life and each of

these five things build on each other

and I hope if anything from this video

you take away some ideas of how you can

better manage your ADHD whether or not

it's diagnosed or you're taking

medications or in therapy or anything

like that all of these tools will make

your life better on multiple of levels

I'm not blowing smoke here guys I'm

telling you the truth I am living proof

of it we're gonna get into it right now

the number one thing that I did to

manage my ADHD naturally and it

literally changed my life was to start

moving my body on a regular basis I want

to call it Fitness but it wasn't even

that what I first started out when I

first started exercising regularly I was

210 pounds I was the most non-athletic

person you could ever meet and I just

hated moving I hated moving but more

than that I hated being overweight at

the age of 21 it is hard to be

overweight I can't speak to what it

feels like today because I think the

body positivity movement has

normalized different body types which I

think is great but when I was 21 years

old it was not in any way acceptable and

it wasn't the norm either so I was

completely ignored by men and the only

male attention I got was not the right

kind because I was just so desperate for

love

so I got to a point where I was just so

sick of being overweight and I remember

the day so clearly when I put on my

cheap pair of heads and I ran around the

block and gave myself hideous shin

splints but I got up the next day and I

did it again I had no idea what I was

doing I wasn't that consistent and I was

just making stuff up as I went along but

the more I started to see a little

glimmer of result the more excited I got

the more hyper focused I got and the

more hyper Focus I got the more

consistent I became my self-regulation

which is really usually one of my

weakest strengths became one of my top

strengths because I was motivated and I

kept taking messy action guys this is

long before the Advent of Google and

YouTube videos and any sort of Education

that you could get around working out or

eating right so I was just making things

up based on what I saw in magazines and

trial and error and the more I worked

out the more motivated I was to eat a

little bit better and a little bit

better and I want you to understand that

I never became like this

Fitness chick who was obsessed with the

gym I still don't like to work out to

this day but I do it every day because

I realized the magic that it provides my

brain so if you look at the Neuroscience

when you work out you send blood flow to

the brain when that happens you have

better access to your prefrontal cortex

which adhders don't always have that so

it's almost like it opens the door to

your executive functions where you make

better decisions you're less scattered

you're more organized and therefore you

do better in your relationships at work

in school so that's what started to

happen as I started working out as I

started losing weight yes I dropped 80

pounds and I started getting attention

from boys finally but that wasn't the

real win there that was the booby prize

the real win was that I changed my brain

chemistry and that changed my life all

of a sudden I went from somebody who was

wickedly in debt somebody who's a high

school dropout I was a bartender at the

time I would go out every night drinking

with my friends afterwards I lived in a

hideous like rental house with a bunch

of other bartenders and waiters and

waitresses it was a hot mess Express but

that one move to start moving my body

made the trajectory of improvements from

there so this gets to number two

and that is I started taking my sleep

seriously originally that motivation to

start taking my sleep more seriously was

really because I knew that when I slept

better I was able to convince myself to

work out because again guys this was not

easy for me but I knew when I was tired

on those days that I didn't sleep well I

was cranky I ate way too much sugar and

I didn't want to move my body so now I'm

working out regularly and I can see the

benefits both physically and mentally

even though I didn't know I had ADHD I

could just tell that I was doing better

at adulting and I saw that sleep

enhanced that so all of a sudden I'm now

working out on the regular and I'm

sleeping instead of going out partying

with my friends at night and I'm saving

money I'm eating better and I'm just

doing a better job at life in general

and sleeping better probably would never

have occurred to me had I not started

working out the third thing that

happened as a result of this now I'm

sleeping I'm working out and I'm doing

better at my job and I'm making more

money and I'm working more hours I'm not

spending a ton of money partying I have

a little bit more cash to burn what do I

do I get out of my hideous living

environment and I got myself my own

apartment this was huge again I have no

idea at this point that I have ADHD I'm

in my mid-20s and I'm just tired of

acting like a juvenile party animal and

I knew that I needed to have a place

where I could come home to that was a

Haven that I knew what to expect when I

was coming home rather than people

having their friends going through the

house at all hours of the night I also

grew up in a house with an alcoholic

father who was tyrannical and I never

knew what I was coming home to from one

day to the next so finally having a

space of my own set up in a way that

worked for me

completely changed my energy my sense of

security my sense of Peace I've always

been a highly anxious person but it

wasn't until I got my own apartment that

I was able to start managing it a little

bit better now I was still very

disorganized and was still taking messy

action along the way but I'm getting a

little bit better and I start to see the

benefits of having an environment that's

not full of papers and dirty dishes and

things like that because that added to

my anxiety so on the days when I took

the time to wash the dishes that were in

the sink or organize the papers and go

through them and decide what it is I

needed to do with them I started to

sense this real sense of relief I

started to have more agency over my life

so that was number three having an

environment that really nurtured me as

opposed to made my ADHD worse hey it's

future me coming in to make another

point on my new camera what do you think

I actually just wanted to share that my

environment didn't just help me in the

sense that I had my own place and I set

it up the way I wanted it to to this day

my environment is one of the things that

I lean on to feel calm and peaceful and

what that looks like today is a lot more

minimalistic and decluttered and I just

find that when my space is clear and

clutter free my brain also feels clear

and clutter free take that for what it's

worth I find for me that my external

environment is a reflection of my

internal environment and vice versa so

the more organized it is the better I

feel internally so just wanted to add

that little piece on with the rest this

is all happening in my mid-20s fast

forward to my late 30s I had just moved

to California from Toronto to start a

new job so I'm in a place where I know

nobody and everything's new and if you

have ADHD you know that transitions can

be really hard change can be really hard

so I'm in this new environment and that

in and of itself is a challenge

unfortunately I had these tools right

like I I was religious about my sleep I

worked out all the time I started

experimenting with different kinds of

movement I got into Triathlon at that

point and it was really helping me focus

on work focus on what was most important

in this new stage of life that I was in

and then life threw me another curveball

when my mom had been diagnosed with a

brain tumor before I left for California

went into remission the brain tumor came

back and about eight months later my

mother passed away

and that was a really tumultuous time

for me emotionally and then that moment

the worst of my ADHD could have showed

up but because I had these tools I was

able to really understand that I could

make better choices that could help me

cope with this stressful and just

painful time that I was going through so

instead of drinking more or eating more

or shopping my feelings away I picked up

yoga which I had done a little bit of it

and I knew enough to know that it made

me feel good because it was something

that I leaned into when I was going

through my divorce I was previously

married and when I was going through

that period when I was still in Toronto

and it was very stressful I just would

roll out my yoga mat in the living room

and I would do a little yoga routine and

by the end of the routine I would just

be bawling because I could see that it

was helping me release emotion so I

thought that was a really good thing at

the point in my life so my mom passed

away I leaned back into yoga okay and

that changed my life again some of you

may know if you've been around for a

while I ended up leaving my corporate

job and going to India to learn how to

teach yoga because I had just become

such a convert and how powerful yoga was

to help me manage my anxiety my nervous

system and my undiagnosed ADHD because

at this time I still didn't know I had

it so I went to India and I've continued

to practice yoga since that time right

now my practice is something that I look

at as part of my mental hygiene and it

helps me on the regular I meditate every

single day I use the insight timer app

it's free and it's brilliant and I do

yoga about two or three times a week so

now I've been working out regularly for

over 25 years and I dropped that 80

pounds and kept it off I've also

improved my diet I am sleeping like a

champ I'm now doing yoga and meditation

and at this point it's now 20 20 me and

we all know how that year went that was

the year where all of my good habits

went out the window because everything

went out the window that year right like

we all lost our habit and our structure

and our ability to cope because we

didn't know what was happening in the

world so at that point I really had a

meltdown and I knew something had to

change and I will thank chalene Johnson

shout out to her for sharing on her

podcast one day that she had recently

been diagnosed with ADHD and talking

about that experience and what it was

like and that was like a light bulb went

off for me because I was like holy cow

that is me and at that point I went

through the process of getting diagnosed

with ADHD I knew I had it so before I

even had the formal diagnosis in my hand

I had signed up for an ADHD coaching

course because I knew that was going to

be the next tool to put in my toolbox

and that is really where I learned the

power of the fifth way to manage your

ADHD naturally that is going to change

your life for the better and that is

creating systems and processes in your

life to automate crap out of everything

that you can this is why I do my weekly

monthly reviews this is why I'm obsessed

with notion this is why I love watching

planning videos and seeing how other

people do it this is why I love having

systems in my house for having my pills

by the coffee maker having all these

different systems and routines set up so

that I don't have to spend precious

cognitive energy figuring out how to do

those things myself in the moment having

systems customized systems that work for

you and your life and your preferences

is so important to running on Full Steam

towards your goals towards the life you

want towards a life that lights you up

and that if I were to give you a bonus

tip which is really something that I've

come into in the last year is finding

what lights you up learn what your

character's strengths are learn what

your interests and values are and really

dive into those and for me that's being

here on this channel talking about my

own personal experience with ADHD and

everything I've learned through my

coaching certification and just my

personal research and I continue to

learn because there is so much to learn

and that's why I'm so passionate about

showing up here and sharing my

experiences so on that note guys I hope

you found this helpful if you did please

drop a comment below hit like And

subscribe and all of those other

YouTubey things and thanks for being

here I love you guys I'll talk to you

soon take care