Can anyone tell me how to treat my Inattentive Attention Deficit Disorder without medication?

I take Vitamin B and Calcium-Magnesium to treat another issue that has some symptoms in common with ADD, and it has helped.

Also chocolate and tea.

You have a hard time attending to your Attention Deficit Disorder?

@sliceswiththings Thanks, that’s easy enough to try. :)
@SeventhSense Ummm, is that a serious question? Sorry, a little confused by your answer.

When my son doesn’t have his Concerta, a coke full of caffeine helps. Perhaps one of the energy drinks would help, also. The caffeine apparently does a similar job to Ritalin.

A friend of mine in college treated his without meds by studying for a while and then exercising. This site suggests a twenty-minute walk, although my friend would run for twenty minutes.

An ADD co-worker used to break her day’s tasks down into short sections, make a list of them all and then pick one, do it, and check it off. Then she would pick another one. Each segment took between 5 and 15 minutes to accomplish. She was the most productive worker in the department.

It is also recommended that you avoid sugar, preservatives and food additives, make sure you get plenty of omega-3s, and make sure to get the right amount of sleep.

Good luck!

@Darwin Thanks a bunch! :)

I also have inattention type ADD and was diagnosed in my 20s.
Regular exercise has worked wonders, and so has massive amounts of caffeine.
I also do the same thing @Darwin‘s friend does. Breaking down tasks into their smallest elements helps a lot. Even if it’s something that other people would consider simple, like tidying my room- First the magazines. Take a quick break. Then the clothes on the floor. Quick break. It makes me feel like I’m accomplishing stuff, and makes big tasks seem more managable.

I’ve found that caffeine will help, or make me think that it helps.
Other coping mechanisms that I’ve found useful are to take notes. Write up plans, set up routines. And you may be able to teach yourself to catch yourself.
Well wishes!

We found daily swimming and a balanced diet, with 6 – 8 glasses of water or juice, and plenty of sleep was a big help for my son.

Exercise, and a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Vitamin B’s and Omega 3’s.

An iPhone helps too. If you use the calendar and the reminders to keep track of your schedule. They used to tell you to keep a planner, but my problem was I would always loose my planner. I don’t loose my phone as often so If I am diligent about getting my appointments and tasks in the phone I have a better success rate for completing them.

Diet can play a role in supplying the proper nutrition and chemical balance of the body. Too much or too little of what our bodies need can certainly cause imbalances and all sorts of issues. Sugar, alcohol and caffeine are three big offenders at affecting the body negatively.

Anyway, I also advocate exercise and meditation minimally to help provide your mind and body support in maintain physical and mental health. My youngest son is not ADD but similarly affected by ultra sensitivity to his surrounds and regular yoga practice for him has done wonders to help him feel calm and more relaxed in his mind and body! Tapes or CD’s from your library is a good way to get started and it’s free!

@Judi – I don’t have an iPhone, just a regular old-fashioned, cheapo flip-up cell phone. However, I take full advantage of both the alarm and calendar functions. My phone is my brain, and I lose my mind a lot more often than I lose my phone.

@Darwin ; You would LOVE an iPhone then!

@Judi – My daughter has one. I don’t love it. It does too much.

@Darwin ; I can see how it mingt be distracting.

@bennett
I was a little confused by your question. Isn’t it just ADD? I thought the Inattentive would be redundant. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

@SeventhSense There are six types of ADD
1. Classic ADD: Marked inattentiveness at work, home, social occasions, etc; easily distracted from routine tasks; an extremely disorganized life style; and restlessness hyperactivity or impulsivity at work, home, social occasions, etc.

2. Inattentive ADD: On going sluggish or apathetic behavior at home, work, social occasions, etc. along with inattentiveness, distractibility and disorganization, but without the restlessness, hyperactivity and impulsivity in Classic ADD.

3. Over-Focused ADD: Excessive worrying and a tendency to be argumentative, erratic or compulsive with frequent negative or oppositional thinking. Often confused with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

4. Temporal Lobe ADD: A tendency toward quick temper, rage, generalized anxiety, panic and paranoia. Sometimes confused with Organic Mental Disorders and Paranoid Personality Disorder.

5. Limbic ADD: Moodiness, low energy, emotional isolation and feelings of hopelessness. Includes many of the symptoms of moderate to severe depression.

6. Ring of Fire ADD: Angry, mean, unpredictable behavior; sensitivity to noise, light, clothing, touch and grandiose thinking. Often confused with Manic Depressive or Bi-Polar Disorder.

*Described by Daniel G. Amen, M.D., in: Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program that Allows you to See and Heal the 6 Different Types of ADD, Berkley Books, New York (2002).

@bennett
Thanks.

That Ring of Fire ADD sounds like it might be difficult for parties.
“I don’t know, he tapped him and the next thing I know there was a headless waiter with a birthday cake and he was singing Sinatra’s ‘My Way’”

@bennett Interesting! I’d only learned about ADD and ADHD, aka ADD and inattention-type ADD.

Yeah. Realize you are trying to treat an ailment that doesn’t exist.

@Blondesjon
I have a friend that has ADHD and takes Ritalin and it calms him down. If I were to take it I would be hyper. Is that, among the countless other examples a coincidence?

@Blondesjon I usually agree with you, but I think you’re completely wrong. I agree that it is incredibly obverdiagnosed, but it does exist.

I spent 18 months on Ritalin as a youth and it didn’t do anything for me except make me pretend to take it and sell it to my friends.

Pot on the other hand, well, that both calmed me down and focused me in ways I thought were impossible in my circumstances.

then i found alcohol and everything is still trying to find an even keel. . .

@Blondesjon
I surprised at you violating the rule of logic like that- If it didn’t apply for me it can’t be true you may be still searching for your diagnosis hence the need to self medicate

@SeventhSense . . . No. I’m just a hypocrite who partakes in drugs and alcohol. duh.

Ok but back to the subject. If you are hyperactive and take Ritalin it has the opposite effect on you as it has for someone without the condition.

very speedy. that’s how i got money for it.

See then it wasn’t your condition. My friend could fall asleep on it.

@SeventhSense Some people with ADD fall asleep on cocaine while their non-ADD-afflicted friends are up all night. Chemicals have a different effect on brains with ADD than on some other brains.

@Likeradar
Exactly

not speedy for me chumly. . .speedy for the dupes that shelled out $15 apiece for my Mom’s Prozac.

one dose doesn’t do shit . . .

Make up your effin’ mind snarky snarklepuss.

Thanks for listening.

@Blondesjon
give me some of that Ritalin

@seventhsense that’s what I need! Seriously!

@bennett
You need to find a means whether it be public assistance or a clinic, but you shouldn’t be without medication.