For me one of the best ways to control my impulses, or to find answers, is to believe in, and talk to God, the Universe or something higher using prayer.
- If I want to do something, but I don’t think I can: I Pray about it.
- If I want to control myself, but feel out of control: I Pray about it.
- If I want to slow down, but feel myself running when I should be walking: I Pray about it.
- If I want “fill in the blank”: I Pray about it.
The key isn’t to know the answers or to even receive a divine answer, or providential influence: it is the process of slowing down and talking ‘it’ out with one’s self and the Universe, God or the entity that you choose. We don’t always need another ‘opinion’ to help us, but since ADHD is an ‘impulse control’ issue it’s not a bad idea to find feasible ways to slow down and talk things out. Some of the smartest people I have met have ADHD, but too many are all too often unable to use their brilliances because of their failure to control their impulses. In order to take advantage of one’s knowledge we must find ways to think out a situation or event and tap into our best judgment going forward.
One of the habits I have cultivated is ‘praying’. I’ve always been extremely impulsive and wanted results right away, but I discovered that’s just not the way the world works. I couldn’t slow down or allow things to ‘develop’. Tap tap tap… what’s taking so long?
Finding a way to ‘think things out’ and at the same time give ourselves a chance to allow emotions to vent naturally, in a healthy manner is a huge step forward in dealing with the impulsive control issues of ADHD. At least it has been for me. If it helps, prayer can have a different name; it can be called meditation, verbal self-regulation or whatever one wants to call it. We all talk to ourselves, so why not use that to our advantage? You’ve probably noticed it’s not acceptable to act out of impulse and then simply explain you have ADHD. Sure, it’s valid, but still not acceptable and no matter how far we come with awareness it never will be acceptable.
If there’s a secret to my triumphs in life it is the cultivation of healthy, positive and beneficial habits to live by, and prayer is the best of them. Just because I have ADHD doesn’t mean I can’t instill myself with healthy habits and, if for some reason (there have been many) I doubt myself in this regard, or any regard: I pray about it. I believe there’s an added advantage to prayer – by believing in something higher, whatever name it goes by, there comes with it the tendency to find ethical, moral and honorable answers that naturally generate behavior which convey courtesy, decency and respect.
In today’s world ‘prayer’ may seen controversial, but really, prayer has been used as a source of internal guidance and meditation since the dawn of humankind. It still works and always will. Is it a complete solution for ADHD? No, there isn’t one, but it helps and that’s enough for me.
Bryan
