this information is best viewed on a computer. if you're on a phone, you may have a better experience following the information on the PDF linked below (which is also printable)
ADD ROUTINE
ATTENTION DEFICIT
scatter brain, anxiety, decision fatigue & other obnoxious consequences of ADD
ADD pushes and pulls on your energy, focus and mood. at its core, dopamine dysregulation makes progress difficult because our habits, routines and motivations are strongly tied to dopamine.
STAGES OF ADD
excitement & dopamine chasing.
the ADD brain is usually a high performance brain that likes to chase new ideas and hyper focus on novelty. new and exciting ideas, projects, career opportunities, relationships, etc provide an uptick in dopamine. the ADD brain strongly prefers dopamine tasks over others that may be more important, but offer less excitement / stress. this makes it difficult to stay focused and follow through with routine. when working through something ordinary or tedious, the ADD brain will wonder anywhere else but the task at hand. boredom feels legitimately uncomfortable for the ADD brain, so it will seek stimulation through procrastination, tinkering or getting ahead of itself with a new project. consistency and discipline are a real obstacles to overall performance and wellbeing.
scatter brain & decreased productivity.
the ADD brain grapples with impulsivity. the “next thing” seems more exciting than completing the current task or line of thought. scatter brain makes it difficult to build momentum towards goals and responsibilities. you may feel busy, but results are not consistently aligned with your priorities. if the high performance brain runs away, it may open “100 tabs” at once which can overwhelm the mind and make presence difficult to maintain. instead, the mind gets lost worrying about the future or ruminating on the past. because the mind is running so many processes at once, mental clarity is a major challenge. instead, the ADD brain is “all over the place”, jumping from one thought to the next. productivity suffers without focus and consistency.
anxiety, frustration & low confidence
the ADD brain described above puts pressure on the nervous system that can keep the mind-body in chronic state of anxiety. this pressure gives authority to the lower brain which lands on pathways of worry, uncertainty and frustration. as a pattern of lower productivity and incomplete projects stack up over time, confidence declines. the high performance brain becomes riddled with doubt and sometimes regret about starting so many things without being able to follow thorough.
mental and environmental disorganization created by the ADD mind adds fuel to the anxiety fire.
fatigue & apathy
high anxiety is very energy intensive. as nervous system pressure burns through mind-body energy, the capacity to process new information continues to decline. as you cycle between scatter brain and anxiety described above, you may notice more frequent and longer periods of fatigue and lack of excitement towards daily life.
burnout & depression.
the cycles above cause a lot of wear and tear on the mind-body and will eventually lead to burnout. this is a bad place to be and is very difficult to crawl out of. getting ahead of burnout depression is critical, but many people don't start taking their journey seriously until they overcome burnout for the first time.
THE ADD CYCLE
ADD isn’t linear and the cycle looks a little different for everyone. As you move down the cycles, you may relate to them in a different combination and / or sequence. that being said, we have seen these cycles play out over and over again with surprising similarities.
excitement &
dopamine chasing
- impulsive
- lots of energy
- talks alot
- thinks big
- sucked into cheap doamine
- can be unreliable
cycling between dopamine chasing and scatter brain is the textbook description of ADD and is typically more dominant in early experiences with ADD. jumping into things and giving it a lot of upfront energy and enthusiasm can be an ADD super power if you can maintain good organization and prioritization around your goals and responsibilities. that being said, it can also cause a lot of problems as unfinished project stack up and overwhelm the mind.
scatter brain &
decreased productivity
- forgetful
- procrastination
- avoiding decisions
- over-committing
- difficulty focusing
- "all over the place"
most people with ADD are high functioning and can manage a moderate pace of life without any organization. however, the wheels can fall off pretty quickly when responsibilities stack up or things don’t go as planned. if life becomes more demanding, scatter brain can quickly lead to high anxiety and frustration. the more you cycle between scatter brain and anxiety, the more pressure builds in your nervous system. over time, increasing nervous system pressure will push baseline anxiety higher and higher. increasing baseline anxiety chokes bandwidth and executive functioning.
anxiety &
frustration
- sensory overload
- decreased patience
- reactive / "short wick"
- pressure in the chest
- wavering confidence
- can be self sabotaging
this is the most frustrating and least productive cycle of ADD to be stuck in. this cycle is more typical as ADD has progressed and chronic pressure on your nervous has fatigued dopamine and cortisol pathways. this is also a common cycle for people on stimulant medication to get stuck in. stimulants do get the brain kicked into gear, but they press hard on nervous system, causing more anxiety and burning through organic energy. stimulants can be amazing for people who are aware of the consequences and actively work to offset the downsides.
fatigue & apathy
- heavy brain fog
- low motivation
- social withdrawl
- low confidence
- low energy
- poor self care
THE ADD CYCLE: CYCLE (1) ROUTINE
Early / Mild ADD (mild high tension)
ATTN: these routines are recommended starting points. continue these routines for 2 weeks before assessing progress. if you’re not experiencing notable progress at the 2 week mark, please send an email or schedule a meeting (no cost) so we can dial in a tailored recommendation.
ADULTS
the goal here is to nudge neurochemisty to promote better focus and increase energy without putting additional pressure on the nervous system. this calms the impulse to chase quick dopamine, low productivity habits / behaviors while strengthening stress resilience.
in this cycle, the anxiety tincture is optional, but very helpful if sleep is a challenge from a restless mind and can be kept “on call” for days / weeks when anxiety / impulsiveness escalates.
(A) morning:
+ 1.5 tablespoon adaptive cacao
+ 1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg)
(B) lunch (optional):
+ 1.5 tablespoon adaptive cacao
+ 1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg)
(C) evening (optional):
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture 1 hour before bed.
KIDS
early add for kids looks alot different than early add for adults. kids are much more prone to the “outbursts” and random craziness that people associate with hyperactive ADD. like putting an inexperienced driver into a race car.
our goal is to promote a healthy brain with lions mane and calm nervous system a little with holy basil for a nudge in the right direction. no need to get serious with elaborate routines at this stage. just a little help keeping the hands on the steering wheel.
(A) morning:
1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg) 1ml holy basil tincture
(B) early afternoon (optional):
+ 1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg)
+ 1ml holy basil tincture
(C) evening (optional).
+ 1ml holy basil tincture. 1 hr before bed.
THE ADD CYCLE: CYCLE (2) ROUTINE
Escalating ADD (elevated high tension)
ATTN: these routines are recommended starting points. continue these routines for 2 weeks before assessing progress. if you’re not experiencing notable progress at the 2 week mark, please send an email or schedule a meeting (no cost) so we can dial in a tailored recommendation.
ADULTS
at this point, the goal is bringing down tension that is already built up in the nervous system. built up anxiety gives more authority to the lower brain, dampens executive functioning and interferes with problem solving skills.
slowing things down a little and calming the nervous system gives more authority to the thinking brain (front brain). lowering tension also stabilizes energy and mood to smooth out the ups and downs. calming stress pathways helps maintain front brain control that is necessary for impulse and emotional control.
the amount of anxiety tincture (2ml-4ml) should be assessed by
(A) morning:
+ 1.5 tablespoon adaptive cacao
+ 1 teaspoon lions mane (2,000mg)
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture
(B) lunch (recommended):
+ 1.5 tablespoon adaptive cacao
+ 1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg)
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture (optional)
(C) evening (optional).
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture 1 hr before bed.
KIDS
kids lack the front brain development to consistently reason through struggle and intercept their own emotions before they escalate. anxiety is dramatic at this cycle and emotions are big. lots of meltdowns and tantrums. we never want to numb a kid and rob them of the opportunity to experience struggle. holy basil tincture just turns down the sensitivity of fight or flight and calms nervous system as mentioned above to keep everything more stable and manageable.
(A) morning:
+ 1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg)
+ 2ml holy basil tincture
(B) afternoon (recommended)
+ 1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg)
+ 2ml holy basil tincture
(C) evening (optional).
+ 2ml holy basil tincture. 1 hr before bed.
THE ADD CYCLE: CYCLE (3) ROUTINE
Degrading ADD (approaching burn out)
ATTN: these routines are recommended starting points. continue these routines for 2 weeks before assessing progress. if you’re not experiencing notable progress at the 2 week mark, please send an email or schedule a meeting (no cost) so we can dial in a tailored recommendation.
ADULTS
this routine is intended for people who cycle pretty consistently between these two experiences. if fatigue and apathy are not a regular obstacle, you should probably stick with cycle (2) routine. the goal here is to level out the ups and downs that make this cycle so unproductive. Leveling high anxiety while supporting adrenal function can help bring nervous system to a more manageable curve. this routine has a higher emphasis on increasing smooth energy to help prevent deeper dips into fatigue.
ATTN! people someone who mostly struggle with fatigue and apathy without the high tension anxiety should not include the anxiety tincture at point (a) or point (b). this applies to adults and kids
(A) morning:
+ 1.5 tablespoon adaptive cacao
+ 1 teaspoon element blend (2,000mg)
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture
(B) lunch (recommended):
+ 1.5 tablespoon adaptive cacao
+ 1 teaspoon element blend (2,000mg)
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture
(C) evening (optional).
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture 1 hr before bed.
KIDS
we hate seeing kids get to this cycle, but it happens. this is usually a situation where school life is pretty rough. maybe bullying is an ongoing problem, or some social contagion has grabbed a hold of them, or deep insecurity has wore the nervous system out. the approach here is similar to adults. smooth our the roller coaster and work towards a balanced neurochemistry.
(A) morning:
+ 1 teaspoon element blend (2,000mg)
+ 2ml holy basil tincture
(B) lunch (recommended):
+ 1/2 teaspoon element blend (1,000mg)
+ 2ml holy basil tincture
(C) evening (optional).
+ 2ml holy basil tincture 1 hr before bed.
MANAGING HIGHER STRESS ON STIMULANTS
importance of stabalizing nervous system tension to maintain productivity, wellbeing and longevity
stimulants can feel life changing. stimulants can get your brain firing on more cylinders and kick up dopamine levels, but they almost always put additional pressure on your nervous system. this additional pressure can increase anxiety and other feelings of uneasiness. if this is not managed, more authority will be given to the lower brain where decisions are made reactively, emotional control declines and focus is not effectively aligned with your priorities and goals.
stimulant driven high tension is not sustainable and will lead to burnout if not managed properly. additionally, high power stimulants have a down-regulating effect on non-medicated baseline dopamine which can further degrade your motivation, energy and sense of wellbeing. if your goal ts to remain on stimulant medication, you should consider supplementing with product that can help offset the negative consequences of high tension stress. this routine will help calm nervous system, protect adrenal function, strengthen executive functioning and help direct focus and make stimulant energy easier to “steer”. however, this routine will not help offset negative dopamine feedback loops. this is the inevitable biological debt that accumulates from stimulant and aggressive neuromodulating medication.
ADULTS
(A) morning:
+ 1 teaspoon lions mane (2,000mg)
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture
(B) lunch
+ 1 teaspoon lions mane (2,000mg)
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture
(C) evening
+ 2ml-4ml anxiety tincture 1 hr before bed.
KIDS
(A) morning:
+ 1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg)
+ 2ml-4ml holy basil tincture
(B) lunch
+ 1/2 teaspoon lions mane (1,000mg)
+ 2ml-4ml holy basil tincture
(C) evening
+ 2ml-4ml holy basil tincture 1 hr before bed.
