7 useful tips to manage ADHD naturally.
How to treat ADHD without drugs.
Can you treat ADHD without drugs? Is it possible? Is it useful and effective?
We spoke to a mother of an ADHD child who described their horrifying life with ADHD issues as well as the side effects caused by ADHD drugs and she told us about a method that helped her son overcome ADHD, freeing him from ADHD pills.
‘Walking on broken glass, fearing the next violent act wrecking our lovely home, not knowing when my son would burst again. It drove me to desperation…
Medication followed, to keep my son under control. But, apart from the angry episodes powered by intense frustration, my son was a happy boy with a bubbly personality. The medication worked, but it changed him. He confided in me one morning that because of the medication he no longer felt the same… ‘Mum I feel like I have lost the best bits of my personality’. I’d studied psychology and deep down I knew he was right. My son had become a ghost of his former lively self…’
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a group of symptoms that includes inability to pay sustained attention to tasks, impulsiveness and disorganized work habits. Those diagnosed with ADHD are at greater risk of developing depression or anxiety, drug abuse and behavioral problems.
Medications are the go-to method for the medical institution to treat ADHD and they are considered to be highly effective. These can help a lot, but they also come with the potential price of developing side effects including constipation, headaches, difficulty breathing or swallowing, dizziness, drowsiness, moodiness, fast or irregular heartbeat, fever, seizures, sleeping issues or weight gain. Some people feel fine with the medication, whilst others cannot cope or function on it.
In recent years, the number of children being treated with prescription medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has grown dramatically. This trend has led to concern among some doctors, parents and child advocates that many children are taking ADHD medication unnecessarily. Most of those who are taking medication for ADHD could do as well or better with alternative treatments, including dietary and behavioral therapies that have fewer or no side effects.
Michele Blatchford specializes in hypnotherapy and teaches people how to move their energy blocks by meditation in order to calm the mind, balance the emotions and bring their physical bodies into balance. She decided to move away from traditional medicine due to her personal experience with medications. She wanted to try a more alternative and holistic approach. It was also her mother, a cancer sufferer, who sparked her interest into researching natural methods to treat diseases.
Michele’s son, Devlin, was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 12. Before being diagnosed, the family suffered from his uncontrollable outbursts of violence and disruptive behavior day by day for at least four years. ‘We had problems controlling him,’ said Michele. ‘He destroyed lots of things at home. It started from small issues and ended in smashing up things, breaking windows, kicking doors and worse. There was absolutely nothing we could do to bring him out once he got into that state. It was really awful for him too, as he didn’t have control over his own behavior and felt really bad after. When my son was out of control, to see him being like that and knowing there was nothing I could do made me feel terrible and [it was] scary’. Michelle was terrified and paralyzed with fear.
Doctors prescribed medications that were supposed to help with concentration, anxiety and anger management. After four weeks of taking these pills, his behavior changed. Prescribed medications made him incredibly sleepy, causing side effects that both Michele and Devlin were hoping to avoid. From the moment he started taking the pills he was constantly tired and didn’t have the energy he’d had before. He didn’t do well in school or at home, he couldn’t concentrate on tasks. Although his behavior was tempered by medications, the energetic 12 year old boy changed into sleepy and tired child. ‘We couldn’t recognize him anymore’, said Michele, ‘It wasn’t our happy, energetic Devlin anymore. It was a sad and extremely quiet child.’
Six months after he started taking ADHD medication, Devlin became a shadow of his former self.
One day he decided to stop taking these drugs. The side effects were too much for him and the effectiveness of the medications were far from his expectations. ‘I remember Devlin came to me one sunny afternoon when I was cooking the dinner,’ said Michele. ‘He told me the words I would never forget; “Mom, these medications are taking away the bits of me I am most proud of. I don’t want my best bits to be taken away with medications.” These heartbreaking words made me to stop instantly giving him these meditations. I was shaken and scared. I held my son and said that we will not use them and I will do my best to find a better solution.’ Michele immediately looked for an alternative health therapy for her son because the moment he stopped taking the pills, the violent behavior and all the problems they’d had before returned. Family life was hell again.
Then, finally, ‘I was introduced to therapy music by chance’, said Michele. ‘It was a Silence of Peace Alphamusic recording that my friend gave me hoping it would help me during these emotional moments I was going through. It appeared this recording changed our life completely. At first I just wanted to try it and test this for few days. However, it ended up being with us for over ten years. We had amazing results from playing this track. Devlin’s concentration improved drastically. He wasn’t able to sit still and concentrate in the past. He was always angry and frustrated. His anxiety level was very high. Once this brainwaves music has been played in the background during homework or exam revisions, he could concentrate on tasks, consume the knowledge and did pretty well in the classes. Brainwaves changing Alphamusic played in the background allowed him to focus and improved his concentration, at first from 5 minutes to 20 minutes and then to an hour and more. The more we played it, the more he could concentrate. It transformed everything really. He calmed down and managed to control his anger. We succeeded in freeing him from medications that caused him bad moods and side effects. Devlin is now 23, has passed his exams with high grades and found a good job. He hasn’t got any concentration problems, anger problems and he has had no medications since. His energy that was taken away with the medications came back.
Once the music was played in the background it also helped me as a mother. It was scary to see my son behaving so violently and smashing things. Alphamusic helped me with feeling powerless and it also calmed me down, so I didn’t take this so personally or fall into depression. I would really encourage parents to try natural methods first to help children dealing with hyperactivity or ADHD issues. Although medications can work short term, the sides effects they can cause to children may change their lives and have negative impact on their future.’
Dr Richard Gallagher, a clinical psychologist and director of the Parenting Institute at the New York University (NYU) Child Study Center, encourages parents to try other methods while they look into the risks and benefits of medications.
Watch Full video testimonial from Michele Blatchford:
