October is ADHD awareness month and last week we had World Mental Health Day.
I wanted to write a message about both as they happened.
The fact that I have issues with both meant that I didn’t.
If you have met me in real life, you may not notice that I have attention issues. I have spent a long time learning how to “control“ them.
I purposely try to speak slowly, I meditate, do breath work, chi gung, journal and a few other things to gain clarity of thoughts.
I also have times where I let my mind go wild, mainly when I’m working with kids as the tangents they’re prepared to follow can be fun. A friend once described it as an idea hand grenade going off in my head and I follow every stream.
I’m lucky, I have chosen a career that allows me to let my creativity and energy flow. However, sometimes I can feel overwhelmed that I can’t do all of the things that I have in my head as well as I want to and that can lead to me doing none of them.
It doesn’t have to be about the things in my head, I really struggled to get around to writing an email because the kids have used my keyboard and I’m missing a G and down arrow key; it really distracted me to the point of not writing one.
When I told a friend last week that I was struggling more than normal she simply asked if I had been meditating, doing chi gung, breath work etc. I had to admit that I had let the things I know help me feel more controlled and better slip.
I’ve spent the past two weeks getting back to basics and feel like I’m back to being me again, hence tonight’s email; I can cope with the missing keys.
How often do you let the things that you know help you slip?
We all know how to eat well and exercise, we simply let the habits slip sometimes. Let this message be a little reminder that it’s ok but to get back to it.
To those out there struggling with mental health or attention issues, speak to someone, get help, you are worth it.
Darren “neuro-spectacular” Checkley
