Practicing with ADHD/ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)

[shauli]

Hi all of you,

since I've been diagnosed some time ago with ADD, its interesting me if there is anybody here with the same problem/blessing , and how does it affect his practicing room setup, or his playing, do you have any tips for being more focused ?

I have come to setup my room so it almost dark, all text papers are hidden and the room must be perfectly clean to the eye.

waiting for respones !

good luck,
shauli. :?:

[paulwl]

The room arrangement sounds like you're disciplined enough to know what you need to concentrate your best. That's good right there. You may also be a bit compulsive about details - that can be good too in our line of work, as long as you don't hyperfocus on details. Gotta remember to move on, and keep moving on.

I have had ADD for who knows how long - it was finally discovered at 25. By then I had a pretty bad attitude towards discipline in music and no tolerance for frustration. I've done reasonably well being mostly self-taught, but it's a daily struggle coming to grips with my deficiencies in high-discipline areas like sightreading, multitasking and advanced technique.

My wish to you is that you try to avoid frustration - the bane of many an ADD mind - while not confusing it with the thing that is frustrating you. Music is full of frustrating obstacles. I found ways around a lot of them, but the price has been high. I couldn't compete in many ways with younger, more technically strict players. You still have a chance.

Have a plan when you set out to practice. Then be prepared to wander off it - because that's what we do, we wander. Have several different things you want to do during the practice time, and an idea of how much time you want to spend on each.

The pitfalls will be hyperfocus and inability to focus. Either can lead to frustration and negativity. If you get hung up on a 2 bar phrase, find yourself playing it for 10 minutes at a time and it never gets any better - stop. Pull out something else to work on. If need be, just noodle for a few minutes to clear your psyche. That phrase or whatever goes in the folder for the rest of the session.

Conversely, if something is just not holding you attention - if you can't give it what you know it needs - again, probably time to move on. What you don't want to do is keep banging on it till you begin to build a negative vibe. Practice has to stay positive, because it is something you need to make a daily part of your life if you want to be a serious full-time player.

Finding advice from music teachers, etc. may be tricky. Music educators don't offer many solutions for talented people with learning difficulties - the common wisdom is "don't play music, or don't play it seriously." I think there should be a better way. I hope the above gives you at least a starting place.

[shauli]

thank you for the reply,
I was diagnosed with it when i was 20, i'm now 21. I can do a good practice but only when I'm on the drug. I'm now thinking about deleting from my computer all the games that attract me, so i won't have anything to do but to practice. The main frustration is from looking on these amazing classical players who got high techniqe level, I'm starting to gain the skills but its taking time...so then i get frustrated, from thinking on the future...all the things I want to do but can't focus.

[bari_sax_diva]

Hi there,

I'm in the same boat, and I find that one of the biggest problems I have is just getting started. When I manage it, about half the time I'll hyperfocus for hours at a stretch (and spouses *really* dig that at 1am), and the rest of the time I have to look for something to grab my interest and keep me on task. Sometimes I record myself with the Aebersolds, other times I'll grab another horn, and sometimes I use scale-based playalongs. Anything novel seems to do the trick.

Like you, I was only diagnosed about a year ago. Interstingly enough, I discovered that the meds make things like sightreading a LOT easier. As a courtesy to my fellow musicians, I try to remember to take the stuff before rehearsals and performances. Without it, my mind can wander in the middle of a phrase, and that's NOT cool when it causes me to hit clams or get lost in a chart. It also makes me easier to be around when the rhythm section has rehearsed something for the umpteenth time and still can't get it right--I almost never get the urge to back my car over the drum set any more. :roll:

Hope you find something useful in here. If you want to drop me a nnte, I can also put you in touch with one of my teachers who's a world-class player and also has ADHD. There might be more of us around than you realize...

Cheers,
Leanne

[Vader]

For me, I set goals. I'll sit down with a book, and say i'm going to do this many sections of it. If I have trouble with a certain passage, i'll work on it for some time. But, if I don't get it within a reasonable time period, i'll move on. Frustration is a really common problem when dealing with ADD.
When you reach the end of your focus, take a break. But, leave your horn together, because you know that ADD will drive you from what you're doing on your break, back to the horn again, and you don't want to waste the time putting it back together again.
Don't turn on the TV. That's really bad. ADD has a way of making even the most useless things seem really interesting.
Good luck.

[eflat in LA]

And I thought I was the only the one. :roll: I first pick up the sax when I
was 11. I could not stay focus.Pick it up again at 16 ,still the same thing.
Now for the 3rd time at the age of 42,I started playing again. It been 2 yrs now.Still at it. The hardest thing for me is sightreading(expressly at march tempo 120 and up) I know what you are talking about.It is nice to hear
others persuing there dreams.To have world class player with this.WOW
I would like to study with him.

[Josh]

I was diagnosed when I was 6. I have that over time I've been able to become more and more focused in my practicing and now my brain automatically gets into "practice mode" when I'm in the practice room.

[mostly alto guy]

OK, I'll be the voice of "dissent." Does anyone else think this idea of ADD or ADHD is a bit overblown. What I mean is, I have come to believe that in many cases, parents actually seek to have their child diagnosed with these conditions in order to get medication to make them easier to handle.

For these, it's an excuse to use drugs in place of love, patience, discipline, and understanding.

Now before you all decide to lynch me, I DO think it's sometimes legit. But I've seen cases in which it was just lazy parenting.

Shields up!

[Josh]

I know what you're talking about. I've heard many times where people assume that roudy kids have adhd rather than just being energetic, but I also recognize it as a legitimate disorder.

[Troy]

Hard to judge...so I won't. But I do believe that ADD seems to be the "disease of the moment" and therefore is vulnerable to abuse from both patient and medical staff perspectives.

How 'bout trying this: 1) Remove all sources of caffiene from your diet. 2) Cut back severely on sugar intake. #) Get yourself off antihistamines and any other over-the-counter drug that might give you a bit of a buzz. 4) Get plenty of rest.

Do all that for at least a week straight. Then, try it again and see how much improved your practice is.

Just an idea. I think our lifestyles and diet can contribute to this problem in a big way. It's really hard for me to concentrate if I'm low on sleep or gorked with sugar and caffiene.

[Josh]

How 'bout trying this: 1) Remove all sources of caffiene from your diet. 2) Cut back severely on sugar intake. #) Get yourself off antihistamines and any other over-the-counter drug that might give you a bit of a buzz. 4) Get plenty of rest.


I do all that stuff and have been for at least 6 months. It really does help, especially (and obviously) if coupled with routine exercise, but it doesn't get rid of my problems. I promise it's a real disorder, occasionally misdiagnosed and/or used as a scapegoat for bad parenting though it may be.

[shauli]

well, I don't know where you live but in the past decades many dieseases that seemed undiagnosed have been diagnosed because the technology improved and you can now observe things you couldn't in the past. ADHD had always been here, but just latley people understand and it was proven sientifically that it is a neurological problem. if you are now start with this stigma of "parents who wants some rest from their children" you try to live with someone who has ADHD, its almost impossible, if its a partner or maybe your child. For some reason you prefer stick to these false prejudices.

I can't dig you guys.

[bari_sax_diva]

Hi, Troy (and everyone),

While I can appreciate your good intentions, I have to point out that it's VERY easy to make assumptions about the validity of something like ADD and to toss out simple advice that doesn't quite address the complexity of what a person who has this condition has to deal with. Consider, for a moment, that the posts on this thread are NOT from parents who want to know how to make their kids practice. They're from people--adults--who want tips on how to stay on task in spite of some pretty significant neurological "noise." Believe me, if it were as simple as just cutting out caffeine and sugar (which, I would guess, most people with ADD already do), we wouldn't have anything to talk about.

The person with ADD isn’t always the hyperactive kid pulling everyone off the swings on the playground. There’s another subtype--one without the hyperactivity--that commonly goes misdiagnosed as stupidity, laziness, willfulness, or just simply being a “space shot.” It’s the one that screws with your life for twenty or thirty years before you are so sick of letting down everyone--especially yourself--that you find yourself in a psychiatrist’s office asking him to please tell you why you’re such a loser. And if you’re lucky enough to have a doc who tests and treats you for ADD, the results can be spectacular.

All that said, the rest of the world doesn’t change because you’ve been diagnosed. Like anyone else, we’ve got to deal with all the same obligations everyone else does, so it makes a bit of sense to learn how to handle them. Meds help a lot when I absolutely need to focus, but I try to minimize my use of them. Avoiding sugar, caffeine, simple carbs, and getting enough rest and exercise also helps. And just recognizing my worst tendencies (over-commitment, procrastination, getting sidetracked) helps me address them more effectively and avoid some of the pitfalls.

Don’t get me wrong--I know that everyone has to overcome boredom and procrastination, and most people can handle it just fine without a doctor stepping in. I managed to get through college before I got help, but I can assure you there’s nothing morally superior about that. It was just way harder than it needed to be, and took too long.

Anyhow, ‘nuff said. I gotta go practice. :-)

-Leanne

[MS]

I teach a couple of ADHD students with a other ailments included (one 6th grade, one 7th grade). The 6th grader has a touch of autism, and the other something else. Needless to say I'm learning a lot. I find myself straining my brain and planning work in special ways to help as much as I can. Both of these students are talented AND a delight to work with.

Without medication (we have worked both ways) there's a real difference in focus and the amount we can accomplish - and I know the kids are trying. The kids know there is a difference between themselves and others their age, and I hate to see it tug at their selfesteem. I use all my reserves of positive re-enforcement and organizational skills. These students have very alert parents. It sure would be difficult for the kids if they didn't.

[Sigmund451]

Yes, ADD is real and its a pain in the *** for intelligent people who generally want to achieve. Im a therapist and I do think it is over blown ...but then so is the hype of many things (including many saxophones :) ) That does not mean it is not real. So respect the guy who is asking for help. If he were just lazy he would know it. If the meds help go for it. There is also a brand new one on the market that supposed to be great and its not a stimulant either...fewer side effects. Now, as for you folks who are lazy, stop using excuses and just pick up your horn and practice.

[Sigmund451]

Im glad the new med is helping you and thanks for the name. Im usually on top of things pharmacologically but for some reason I cant seem to get that name to stick in my head (maybe my mild adhd at work :idea: ) Its good to hear good reports about it. I dont prescribe, I do therapy, but I have sent a few clients to their MD to see about the drug. Maybe I need to tatoo it on my hand or something....the name....and in fact spelling is just not to easily remembered. IMHO someone's chemists were doing a good job but marketing fell down on the job (thats quite a paradox in the medical world ! )

I hope if helps your practicing....more importantly, relaize that if you work on your practicing you may actually be applying treatment directly to your symptoms. I will attempt in a vague way to explain:

As a bit of advice...and you probably know, a life time of symptoms, despite meds builds cognitive and behavioral habits so despite the assistance of the drug you are going to have to restructure some of your thinking....much like depressed people....even when the drug makes them feel less depressed, cognitive restructuring is necessary to help them stop "thinking like a depressed person". Im no ADHD specialist but I would suspect that there are some correlations there. By applying the demands of practicing you may be doing this (unconsciously) and improving your overall functioning...in other words, your practice sessions can become an augment to your medication therapy. Give it some thought. Blow happy and sweet.

Sigmund

[BobMac]

I came late to this, but I have a little experience with it, and a couple of things to say.

Shauli, the dark room with all the papers out of sight is a very intelligent and useful approach. Congratulations on figuring it out. A friend of a friend had an uncle who was a university president. His staff used to shake their heads over his working style: He had the great big desk, with one (1) piece of paper on it. Ever. Only one. He was doing pretty much the same thing as you are, and it worked for him.

Shauli, go get "Scattered Minds" by Gabor Mate. ISBN: 0676972594 It's the best exposition I've ever seen of the disorder. It struck me as not only informative but extremely humane and compassionate, which is hardly surprising: It's written by a working MD who has one of the worst cases of ADD that I've ever heard of. It's a cliche to say that he feels your pain, but in this case it is very literally true.

paulwl: diagnosed at 25? OUCH! I've seen the grief a kid goes through when he's undiagnosed at a much younger age, and man, if you can survive to 25 on guts and brains, with no medical help, you, clearly have what it takes to do anything. I'm in awe of you.

Mostly alto guy: Every new disease is overdiagnosed. Every new drug is overprescribed. (Think valium, DES, antibiotics....) Still, there are legitimate uses for it. There is really no question that ADD exists; it's been in the medical literature since the reign of Queen Victoria, IIRC. There's no question that Ritalin help with the symptoms. Still, it's not a cure; it's not even a complete therapy.

Troy, there is no way that the buzz from antihistamines or bad diet can be confused with ADD. Caffeine, in my experience, actually helps concentration, YMMV.

Josh, and M.a.g., you're right: it's overdiagnosed. In my day, every kid who couldn't read was said to have dyslexia. Most of them were badly taught, or not encouraged to read by their parents, but a few actually had the inner ear/brain problem which causes dyslexia, and for them it's hell.

[BobMac]

I hope if helps your practicing....more importantly, relaize that if you work on your practicing you may actually be applying treatment directly to your symptoms. I will attempt in a vague way to explain:


Sigmund, I do believe that you are right here. I've seen a kid develop considerable ability to stay on task, simply through the practice of music.

I would recommend setting up practice to produce "wins." Set mini-goals, and don't be afraid to feel good about achieving them.

Hang tough!

rm

[shauli]

I've just completed reading "Effortless Mastery" by Kenny Werner, and it really helped me to get relaxed and focused after i did some meditation sessions, but now you see, I don't know how to treat the ADD stuff. I've proved to myself that i can be focused on a target without thd med. but with some massive psch. effort in order to fight those "ego deamons" that get me very upset usually, I've maintained the meditation for one week, but tonight my teacher , Arnie Lawrence got me upset again, and i'm really frustrated. I think its kind of a cheat, to practice with lots of ritalin, it is no other than any stimulating drug that is called Cockain, and therefore, although i'm diagnosed as an ADD person, its now getting on my moral self-esteem.

what do you say?

[Sigmund451]

I think the idea or belief that practicing on meds is cheating is rather skewed and self punishing. We are at all times under the influence of some element be it...blood sugar, cafine, or just plain quantity of neurotransmitters. The point is that you are practicing. How you are doing so does not invalidate the event...in otherwords, it still happened.

Did you unlearn it after not taking the medication....I would suggest not. Its not like an athlete on steriods. It does not make you superhuman. It focuses you and puts you on even ground with the rest of the world.

You can psych yourself out if you want but from a therapeutic standpoint it is self destructive and negativistic. Id suggest such an approach to thinking will transform your ADD to depression.

I bet you would not be this mean to anyone else. My advice...give yourself a break and have some fun with your horn. You only live once (I guess) so dont sweat it...there are bigger fights out there ...and in there too.

[BobMac]

Shauli, this really hits a nerve.

I don't mind that you're being hard on yourself, it's just that you're being hard on yourself for really bad reasons. It's almost as if ADD were some silly self indulgence that you should feel guilty for! What's up with that?

If taking ritalin for ADD is cheating, then it's time to change the rules.

It's true that guys with add can psych themselves up to the point where they can function, short-term without meds. NOBODY wants to spend their entire life at that kind of an emotional pitch, and people without add would never try to; there's no law saying that you have to, either.

Listen, the "non-medicated" route has been tried for a long time. Beating up on self-esteem has been tried a long time. The results do not warrant continuing these therapies!! If telling guys with ADD that, "you're lazy, you're stupid, you're bad" EVER worked, we would have seen some positive results in the last hundred years. We haven't. It's over.

YOU ARE ENTITLED to practise productively, to live productively, without paying this absurd psychological tax on ADD.

The comparison between cocaine and ritalin has been made before; it's a bad one. Ritalin does not impair your judgement, it doesn't destroy your life, it doesn't inflict heavy damage on your friends and family, and it doesn't kill you. It is one of the safest drugs there is. Properly used (I.E. the way it was prescribed for YOU!) it's safer than penicillin.

[BobMac]

From the sound of your original post, you've fought this Attention thing about as hard as anyone can without the meds. Nobody - NOBODY is entitled to bag on you over taking the appropriate medication. You're truly awesone, dude, and you're entitled to get the stuff that helps.

Be smart, be confident, play lots.

and wallow in joy when it comes by. You've earned it.

[Sigmund451]

GO BOB GO!

So I hope you have taken these last few posts to heart.

Otherwise your looking for years of therapy to overcome your self abuse rather than your ADD.

If you would like to schedule an hour, Im avaliable....but here the advice is free and good.

[rek]

I have not been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD nor do I think I have it, but I have had my share of problems either staying on task or overfocusing. I have found certain things that work for me that might also be helpful to others:

My practice room has good light but not a window I can see out of.
My practice area is very neat and only has music related materials.
I practice at the same time every day so my mind & body get in the habit and I don't have to think about what else I might do.
I practice in the AM before I have a chance to get hyperfocused on anything else.
I do not check my email, or go on the internet until my practice is done (I'm done now).
I have a list of practice topics which I choose from every day - I can adjust my practice to my mood or interest but I keep track of what I practice and try to divide my time evenly thoughout the week.
I have a timer (a kitchen cooking timer) which I use to keep me from overfocusing on one area. When it goes off I move to the next topic.
When memorizing scales, patterns, ect. I frequently get up and pace about the room while playing. Somehow this helps me think.
When I am done working longtones and other tone work, I put in my musician's earplugs which block everything else out and help me focus (and protect my ears - I have tinnitis).

[Saxland]

Why no dairy products? Is it the actual milk in the product or is it the chemicials used to process? Or hormones in the milk?

What do yellow veggies do?

[bari_sax_diva]

Hi,


Here are some helpful diet for ADD just want to share with you guys.

what NOT to eat for TWO WEEKS:

Um, you signed up and bumped a three year-old thread to post this?

Are you going to recommend a nutritional supplement next?

[ssleb]

Hey shauli, your set-up would probably be helpful for non-ADD people too.

[AuntSaxophone]

The only thing I seem to be able to concentrate on is music and art, and sometimes reading, if it's something I like...

[heath]

Most people will procrastinate all their lives if given the option. Of course the guilt of this procrastination is a cycle that can lead someone to a doctor and becoming a diagnosed ADHD or ADD.

I'd venture that 90% of the under achievers in the world are eaten up with this guilt and are more than happy to accept the diagnosis that there's something wrong with them. Of course this like all things american places the blame on my brain and not on my own laziness.

Mostly it comes down to discipline, there's nothing wrong with half the human race. A lot of this stems from being bomb barded with constant stimulation from a world fixated on television, computers, cell phones, and other worthless things that flash by our eyes with no real purpose. We've become so interested in the next thing that we can't stop and concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds.

If you want to fix your ADD.....take a trip the woods, meditate daily, throw your computer in the trash, chuck your cell phone to, while your at it throw your television in the can as well. Problem fixed.

[AuntSaxophone]

I also have a problem with procrastination, but I think it also comes from my inability to focus on a specific thing so I say "Okay I'm gonna work on something I actually can focus on now and go back to that later..." and then I never get back to doing the thing I put off and then in the middle of the night when I try to get to sleep, I can't because my mind is nagging at me "Do the thing you put off..." but I can't because there's something I need to do tomorrow... or something..." bleh... anyway I find the only way I can focus on math is if I listen to music at the same time.

[olivier]

George Garzone once mentioned he watched tv while shedding. at the time i wondered if he was kidding. he certainly has the technique. strangely i tried it and found that although one doesnt quite really watch , one doesnt get hung up or frustrated while working out a pattern or getting the feel for scales. i am not in a very good position to coach on focus and good practicing techs but i certainly have several of the add symptoms and found the multi tasking helped me practice patterns till they became tactile ...i also got to finally practive by doing what everyone else suggests here...
i would try the tv +practice for certain types of practicing...i think it takes you into a different mode, as certain part of the brain must shut down...
btw i dont know if this makes any sense to anyone... ;>
olivier

[heath]

Actually watching t.v. or listening to music while one is focusing on something important like practicing or doing their school work is just another way of staying unfocused.

The easiest way to rid yourself of these addictions is to go somewhere where there isn't a television or stereo to play music.

When I was growing up I had my own little studio in the back of the house to practice whenever I wanted. It had no stereo or television or any other distraction. Just my horn and me. Same thing when it came to studying...I went to the library and found a quite space to get my work done.

I've read that many of the tech gadgets that people use today bombard us and provide constant stimulation. Some would even say addiction. I mean how much do your really gain in life by owning a television, cell phone or having the stereo on during more important matters?

[chitownjazz]

I don't know much about the condition. Have meditation or relaxation techniques been studied as a possible treatments? Or is there some underlying cause that these techniques would not address?

[bari_sax_diva]

Or is there some underlying cause that these techniques would not address?

Yes.

Actually watching t.v. or listening to music while one is focusing on something important like practicing or doing their school work is just another way of staying unfocused.

The easiest way to rid yourself of these addictions is to go somewhere where there isn't a television or stereo to play music.

Actually, it's not unusual for people to find that background music helps them focus their thoughts more effectively. To call this an "addiction" seems a huge over-dramatization, though, and a misunderstanding of what an addiction actually is.

[heath]

I don't know much about the condition. Have meditation or relaxation techniques been studied as a possible treatments? Or is there some underlying cause that these techniques would not address?

Some people would like you to believe that there is something defective going on in your mind, but with millions and millions of people on drugs like Ritalin for ADHD or any other central nervous system stimulant, it seems that any time the drug companies come up with something new a large percentage of the human race has the neurosis that there drug happens to fix. I guess the argument that Ritalin is no more toxic than caffeine has been made, but there's always a cause and effect when it comes to drugs.

As far as techniques like "Insight Meditation" yes it can focus the mind. That is it's purpose, to eliminate distractions and to see things as they really are. It's not a relaxation technique like the new agers in america would like one to believe and there are very few places that one could actually go to learn about it from someone that has mastered it. Like all forms of meditation however you start off with simply focusing your breath and keeping yourself from being distracted from other thoughts, if distractions cause you to loose focus(could be anything like your job, love life, general stress) then you simply acknowledge them and bring yourself back to the the breath. Over time you can gain enough focus to where some one could be beating you or setting you on fire and still no loss of concentration. Ever wonder how those monks were able to douse themselves with gasoline and set themselves ablaze and sit their like a rock with their flesh melting. That's the kind of concentration that can come from meditating.

Of course you could sit around all day wishing your life was better, maybe make an appointment with a shrink, get some drugs at your local pharmacy and that will work just as well.

If your interested in Insight meditation however read "Mindfulness in plain english" by Bhante Henepola Gunarathana.

[bari_sax_diva]

Of course you could sit around all day wishing your life was better, maybe make an appointment with a shrink, get some drugs at your local pharmacy and that will work just as well.

You know what I don't get, heath? Since you're obviously convinced that ADHD, bipolar disorder, and other neurological conditions are just a bunch of B.S. being foisted on the unsuspecting public by a wide-ranging conspiracy of doctors, researchers, and the great Satan himself who masquerades as the pharmaceutical industry, why even bother responding to a these threads? The original poster's questions had to do with minimizing distractions, nothing more. Yet, you've turned this into another diatribe about how people, apparently, need to just man up and follow your "off to the woods" recipe for personal success.

If you disagree with the rest of the medical community, fine. But your hijacking of these threads, and the implicit assumption that the rest of us are just wimps looking for some easy way out, is getting both tiring and offensive. Please give it a rest.

[heath]

Bari I've not done anything other than offer the other side. Just a few posts after this topic was first started you jumped in talking about your diagnosed ADHD and prescription medication. According to you all is well with the world thanks to these medications. You even admit that you take these focusing drugs right before a gig or concert....now I'd be embarrassed to let that secret get out that I wasn't playing it straight.

You even offered the original poster a chance to get in touch with a musician friend of yours that had been diagnosed with ADD and perhaps he could direct the person that started this topic to a doctor that could help this chap get things sorted out with a little help.....pharmaceutical help no doubt.

So by me offering my opinion it's called "Hijacking a thread", but when you offer your opinion because it's embraced by the Psychiatry profession it's the only legitimate option because it's the path you've taken yourself. Am I to understand that none of use are allowed to have an opinion if it disagrees with what your doctor told you?

If you can offer advice in support of the psychiatry including details of your drug regimen then I can't see a reason that some of us in the minority can't speak up about it.

If this bothers you then I apologize diva it's not meant to.

The truth is I like reading posts like yours. I want to read everyone's opinion when it comes to these matters, especially those that might disagree with mine.

[olivier]

Good that you want to hear from people who disagree with you...
i think you could make some valid points instead of steam rolling the thread.
for example you presume much ... such as we all have to much time on our hands and therefore distracted or looking for distracted.
i wasnt kidding about watching tv to practice repetitive patterns where players might get a bit too antsy and micro focused... i was looking for distractions.
i for one work on a trading floor for upwards of 60- hours a week so would be hard pressed to find someone to tell me i am working "sedentary jobs and have sedentary lifestyles which only compounds the problem of not being able to focus". in fact quite the opposite, no?
i would love to agree with your idea that pharma is creating the disease but your heavy handed approach makes it hard to agree with anything you say... someone is asking for help and input on improving playing/practicing.
we can offer insights and be helpfull. no?

[olivier]

btw i actually dont much tv since i dont have time (sometimes i watch a bit when i am practicing though). i do think certain relaxation techniques , mesieres, feldenkreis can help with focus. when i started taking lessons from joe allard, i was so nervous, he would have me lay on the floor in the practive room and breath before even starting the lesson. then we would do long tones (no tv then ;>)
even getting exercise i have found helps since it can reduce stress.
being focused is very important when needed, but practicing has several dimensions to it. there is a repetitive physical side to it. there can be wonderful visualisation of patterns (no tv then since it is more like math )

[Doug Lange]

Heath-

The most interesting research in ADHD was conducted in Europe with radio-active materials injected into the bloodstream of subjects (obviously done quite a few years ago). It made a believer of me as to the "realness" of ADD/ADHD as a neulogical reality. Brainscans told the story. Subjects with ADD/ADHD had the central region of their brain "asleep" while the back region was over-active. (Umong other things, the central region controls inabition, while the back region of the brain is the vision center. Those with ADD/ADHD therefore, tend to be implusive, lack focus and seek visual stimulus.) Stimulants increased activity in the central region, reducing ADD/ADHD symptoms.

A newer drug, Strattera, is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. While norepinephrine is great to have in your brain, being one of the big players along with serotonin and dopamine, Stattera seems to keep the neurotransmitters content with just the right balance of norepinephrine.

Unike the stimulants, a little more Strattera than you need won't have any positive affects, unless you like drinking gallons of water, being constipated and hoping the next email is SPAM offering drugs designed for older men.

ADD/ADHD is real. It is not part of a pharma-spiracy. Meditation and exercise will help and are necessary. (Especially funny, since many with ADD/ADHD are too busy doing many things at once to meditate or exercise) Some will choose drug interventions, while others will not, just as some choose to take a pain reliever for a headache, while others do not.

Finally, what I enjoy most about this forum is the exchange of ideas and opinions in a manner that allows for differences without being inflammatory. Offer your opinions as a gift to the community, not as an inalienable right to freedom of speech.

[Harri Rautiainen]

Um, you signed up and bumped a three year-old thread to post this?

Are you going to recommend a nutritional supplement next?Thanks for your observation, bari_sax_diva.

It was a one-time post, nothing sax-related before it nor after it.
Although there was no product advertised, the post came from an IP address in India which is on several spam block lists. I deleted the account.

This thread is now closed.