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so I did a TikTok about this recently but not a thread. Are y'all familiar with the machinations of the Default Mode Network (DMN) and the Task Positive Network (TPN) with the #ADHD brain and how it affects us? Let's talk about it!
so the DMN is the network of brain areas that lights up when you are NOT actively engaged in a task - it's responsible for imaginative thought, rumination, daydreaming, etc. The TPN is active when you ARE engaged in a task (hence, 'task positive').
The DMN and TPN are supposed to act like a lightswitch kinda - when one goes on, other goes off. Except with ADHD, its a lot more like a dimmer switch. When the TPN is active, the DMN is often NOT turned off like it's supposed to be. The result? distracting, intrusive thoughts
The DMN also LOVES to ruminate. Negative thoughts and emotions are more stimulating to the ADHD Brain than positive thoughts and emotions.
some ADHD experts recommend that to break rumination, you activate the TPN. Just start doing SOMETHING. Anything. it may not turn your DMN completely OFF but it will help to turn the volume DOWN.
At the CHADD virtual conference this year I attended a really interesting seminar about "focus exercises" by Jeff Copper. He talks about engaging in short focus exercises, including meditation, as a way to "work out" the brain and increase the brain's ability to switch into TPN
(that's my wording/understanding of it). He gave the example of asking a person to focus on an object for 30 seconds. So pick anything you can see, set a timer, and just focus on THAT.
When the 30 seconds are up, notice how many times you caught your attention wandering from the object? How many times you noticed yourself going "oops im supposed to be focusing on this thing" - so, that's actually good. That's you PRACTICING focus.
That's all meditation is - it's practicing noticing your thoughts and guiding yourself back to the present moment. If you were to do that 30 second focus exercise multiple times a day every day, at first you might notice your focus wandering like 10 times in 30 seconds.
The idea is that over time and with repetition, eventually 30 seconds wouldn't be so hard. And then 60 second. And then maybe 5 minutes (of meditation). It takes a long time get to a place where you can be present with meditation even just for 5 minutes.
But the goal isn't to GET GOOD at meditation - the work itself is really good for the ADHD brain. It helps us slow the mind down and even after a couple minutes of mindfulness and being present we can check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.
It can also help our brains learn to quiet the DMN and start to cultivate self-awareness so that when the DMN is shouting in the background as we are engaging in a task, that we actually notice that instead of just zoning out for half an hour. Neat, huh?
