Tag Archives | ADHD

Spirituality and ADHD – Oldest Known Written ADHD Reference

By Maureen on October 28, 2016

Does ADHD enhance or interfere with your spiritual development?

Play a ‘wandering minds want to know’ game with me! It’s called:

What is the oldest known written reference to ADHD?

It is an everyday activity for me to read new research about ADHD and coaching and therapy to better serve my clients. I also nurture my personal search for spiritual growth and development online. I think my ADHD is an asset to my spiritual growth and development. On my spiritual search, I was sent to an ancient text called The Cloud of Unknowing written by an unknown but influential author. The author was Christian, probably a monk, and his writing influenced Christian thought from AD 500 to the present.

The ADHD nerd that I am loves that I got no further in my reading than the introduction page where I found the presently undisputed and oldest known written reference to the behavior now known as ADHD. The 1922 translator prefaces the mentioned ancient quote with an explanation of the nature of the unknown author:

Nothing is known of him; beyond the fact, which seems clear from his writings, that he was a cloistered monk devoted to the contemplative life. It has been thought that he was a Carthusian. But the rule of that austere order, whose members live in hermit-like seclusion, and scarcely meet except for the purpose of divine worship, can hardly have afforded him opportunity of observing and enduring all those tiresome tricks and absurd mannerisms of which he gives so amusing and realistic a description in the lighter passages of the Cloud. These passages betray the half-humorous exasperation of the temperamental recluse, nervous, fastidious, and hypersensitive, loving silence and peace, but compelled to a daily and hourly companionship with persons of a less contemplative type: some finding in extravagant and meaningless gestures an outlet for suppressed vitality; others overflowing with a terrible cheerfulness like “giggling girls and nice japing jugglers”; others so lacking in repose that they “can neither sit still, stand still, nor lie still, unless they be either wagging with their feet or else somewhat doing with their hands.” Though he cannot go to the length of condemning these habits as mortal sins, the author of the Cloud leaves us in no doubt as to the irritation with which they inspired him, or the distrust with which he regards the spiritual claims of those who fidget.

I love it! I especially love that there are spiritual claims of those who fidget! Imagine that?

I believe the text stands alone in an early written message that people with ADHD are mistrusted in their spiritual sincerity. So, does spirituality require that a body doesn’t move? Yet I suspect that many pastors, rabbis, and imams live with ADHD because it allows easy access to their spirit, hence the phrase moving in the spirit.

Let’s take a message about ADHD Awareness to our churches, synagogues, and mosques. And, the next time you see a squirmer in church remember they nurture their spirit in ways that look like fidgeting.

Call Maureen Nolan, the ADHD Whisperer at 404-713-0488 for information about professional support for your fidgeting needs.

http://catholicspiritualdirection.org/cloudunknowing.pdf

Coaching for the ADHD Whispers

By Maureen on September 22, 2016

I am an ADHD Whisperer…

I am your ADHD Whisperer…and I Hear Your Whispers

‘Do I have ADHD’, you whisper to yourself when no one can hear you. Why can’t I pay attention? What’s wrong with me? Why do people get so angry with me? What am I doing wrong?

Maybe you have ADHD and if you do you are a survivor and it’s time to thrive.

I hear your whispers:

I’m afraid, I’m not smart, I’m confused, Something is wrong with me, I’ve felt like something is wrong for so long that nothing feels right anymore…

Your whispers are the real source of your strength. The opposite of every whisper is the truth…

I’m brave, I’m smart, I understand, All is right in my world.

With a calm, down-to-earth, and natural manner, Maureen Nolan, LAPC aka the ADHD Whisperer connects to clients using methods like centering and deep breathing. Her adept interpersonal skills permit Maureen to communicate to clients a new level of self-respect using the principle of Gradual Progress of Mind. Capable of perceiving the nuances of body language and the movement of the brain, she helps clients develop a new belief in themselves and hope for the future. She speaks a language built on respect and compassion, and every individual feels the confidence she has in him or her to be led out of the maze.

Maureen knows whispers are more important than yelling.

It is easy to compare the ADHD Whisperer to a horse or dog whisperer and the comparison is valid. A Whisperer uses his or her knowledge of the mammal brain and mind and gently applies it to the errant behavior being discussed. A client’s intentions behind the behavior are regularly misinterpreted by others in their lives causing grief and sadness. Maureen whispers that there is hope for the future.

ADHD is a human explanation of an irregularity in thought and movement. It shows up in a neuro-diverse person when least expected. Children and untreated adults do not know why they do the things they do but an astute observer like Maureen will discern the true nature of their intent and separate the truth from the myths or wild explanations that they have lived with for so long.

Contact Maureen Nolan, LAPC for your first Whisper session. 404-713-0488

My clients bring their secrets and sorrows, and their aspirations and challenges into our sessions. They are brave and bold enough to find out how to make changes in their lives. They are innately creative, resourceful, and strong and so are you.

Will you bring your whispers to life? Let your innate curiosity and creativity breathe and thrive with self-knowledge and new choices. What do you want? What do you need? Bring to life a new, true, and dynamic self by coaching with Maureen Nolan, LAPC.

I hear you whispering: Can Maureen help me?

Call Maureen Nolan, LAPC now at 404-713-0488 and find out how she will help you. Coaching with Maureen is good for your health and your life.

Who Sees a Changed Mind?

By Maureen on February 12, 2013

Coaching Guides Change in Clients

Changing

Do you remember the statue game? Someone would be It. The rest of us children would become the statues taking our positions around the yard. At an undetermined time, the It person would shout out ‘change!’ Then the children statues would change their position very quickly. Someone would be out – I think the one thrown out wouldn’t have heard the command or would be too slow or didn’t change enough. The winds of time have blown the details away.

What I remember though was the importance of changing. It was a physical shift that counted in the game. If I changed my mind it wouldn’t have counted. Who can see a changed mind?

People living with ADHD seem to have problems with change both mental and physical. Either they change behavior or their mind too much, too fast, or they change in ways that irritate people around them. The world expects their change to be smooth and easy and NOW.

Who is taught to change?

My Irish grandmother called every new behavior a stage. ‘Oh, it’s just a stage she’s going through.’ But stage or not, change is the point of living. Coaching teaches people how to change in ways the client chooses. Reported in an article on coaching in the ADHD Coaches Organization newsletter:

Coaching helps people in three ways:

1.A coach allows leaders to reflect about their decisions, and about themselves. A great many coaches used the term ‘awareness’ in describing the benefits of coaching.

2. People usually avoid difficult truths. Coaching brings reality front and center. As one coach put it: “Executives [ed. note: and many people with ADHD also] don’t have anyone to trust and tell the truthabout where they need development. ”

3. People don’t know how to change. A coach can guide a client to find replacements for behavior that’s not working.

Are you ready to change? Now? Now? OK, then when?

For ‘Change!’ call Maureen Nolan, Your Attention Coach

404-713-0488 maureen@yourattentioncoach.com

My Personal ADHD Challenges – FYI

By Judi on December 17, 2012

Living with Some Degree of Transparency and Lots of Compassion

Stop the ADHD Madness

There are life qualifications and there are academic qualifications leading to my choice of professional ADHD Coaching. I choose to put some of my personal stories out here since my recovery from them are part of the reason I decided to coach people with ADHD. You don’t have to wait as long as I did to get the right ADHD support.

You can thrive with ADHD!

During my almost 60 years of living with ADHD I have:

struggled academically; but I am presently enrolled in a master’s program in counseling with a 3.56 GPA
impulsively moved out of state looking for love (in my twenties);
impulsively changed careers;
impulsively spoken out of turn (otherwise known as interruption)
been estranged from family
fixed things with words and love; with screw drivers and hammers; with needle and thread; and with compassion.
been the class dreamer…’if only Maureen would pay more attention to her studies…’
applied and been accepted in three master’s programs. I left architecture when I realized I was being trained for a life of late nights and ridiculous deadlines. I became a magazine editor instead.
irritated the heck out of people with my hyperactivity…leg shaking, finger tapping, leg crossing and uncrossing, etc.
been married and divorced due to challenges with relationships and ADHD
successfully raised two children with severe plus-sized ADHD. My daughter now teaches at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is happily married. My son is finishing his B.A. in music technology and film composition and has an AA from Landmark College. He has already composed a score for his first feature film!
lost many friends but gained the wisdom of how to choose the ones that stick around through thick and thin.
I show up as a woman swimming in a sea of family addictions. There is not one addiction I haven’t heard about or more importantly, known someone or been related to someone seeking treatment or someone who should seek treatment. Try me!
been fired. I have also known great personal success in my professional history.
been bullied.
designed clothes, words, jewelry, portraits, home interiors, gardens, businesses and more, all with love and compassion
created solutions
been physically assaulted. More than once.
been encouraged to seek more education because I was seen as underemployed.
invented, created, composed, written, edited, and drawn.
not believed in myself.
lost God and found God over and over. My belief is there is a special place in the universe for people with ADHD. I have particular personal knowledge of Catholicism, Episcopalianism, and Buddhism.
had great financial comfort and less than that, too.

In addition, I have family experience with Holocaust survivors.

If any of the above sounds familiar, I may be the ADHD coach for you.

You too, can move past and through these challenges and maintain personal integrity.

Call me at 404-713-0488 and let’s stop the madness.

Maureen Nolan

Your Attention Coach

404-713-0488

School and Calendars Are ADHD BFF

By Maureen on July 30, 2012

What The Research Says About Calendars

Did you know that…

Carry a Calendar with You

Having and using a daily calendar has a major impact on whether students will meet their daily responsibilities like getting to appointments and completing homework and chores!

Researchers taught a group of high school student to have and to use a calendar. Prior to the study students were getting very few of their responsibilities done (0% to 37%).

First, the students were allowed to pick out the calendar they liked and then asked to carry it every day.

If they had their calendar with them when the researchers asked, they got a point. The students had to be able to carry their calendars 5 days in row before they were ready for the next phase of the study.

When they learned the habit of carrying their calendar, they were then taught to write down their daily schedule including school assignments, chores, and appointments. The researchers then did daily spot checks to see if students had their calendars and had written everything down.

They were expected to do both of these tasks 5 days in a row and were given two points for accomplishing these tasks.

In the third phase of the study the researchers counted how many of the responsibilities written in the calendar the students actually completed each day. In this phase of the study, all the students improved dramatically in meeting their responsibilities: they completed 80% to 100% of their responsibilities.

So, just owning, carrying, and writing in a daily calendar can dramatically improve your ability to do what you need to do and get to appointments.

You can conduct a similar study on yourself.

Pick out a time management tool that matches your needs and your style. There are so many choices beyond paper planners: PDAs, on line calendars, software calendars, etc.

Look at the week before you started carrying and using a calendar and count how many of your responsibilities you met.

Then follow the phases used in the study:

Phase 1: just remember to have your calendar with you each day. Give yourself a point if you did. Once you have kept your calendar with you for 5 days in a row you are ready for phase 2.

Phase 2: now practice keeping your calendar. Include your assignments, studying, social engagements, chores etc. Give yourself 2 points a day if you both, had your calendar and wrote everything in it. When you have done this 5 days in a row you are ready for phase 3

Phase 3: at the end of each day count up how many of your responsibilities you met. Calculate the percentage of things you accomplished by dividing the total number of responsibilities into the actual number of those you met. How much have you improved from before you began using a calendar?

What do you need to do to keep in the habit of having and using your calendar?

Consider making an agreement with a friend to check on one another or work with a staff member from the Learning Center.

Flores, D. M., & Schloss, P. J. (1995). The use of a daily calendar to increase responsibilities fulfilled by secondary students with… Remedial & Special Education, 16(1), 38.

Submitted to me by a client with calendar challenges. Reprinted in entirety.

Maureen Nolan, Your Attention Coach

maureen@yourattentioncoach.com

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