Translator's Preface
Recommendation
Acknowledgements
Introduction
To the readers

Part 1 Mindfulness
Part 2: Mindfulness for ADHD

Frequently Asked Questions
ADHD Symptom Checklist
List of Mindfulness Trainings
References
Search

Where is my attention now?

Everyone feels absentminded, restless, or forgetful at times, but adults with ADHD struggle with these feelings most of the time. People with ADHD experience numerous problems due to uncontrollable attention spans, restlessness, impulsivity, and outbursts of intense emotion. This can hinder their ability to perform at school, work, and in relationships, and can hinder them from achieving their goals.
These experiences accumulate and eventually lead to chronic distrust of oneself.

So what about ordinary people? Let's think about mornings.
I open my eyes to the sound of my phone alarm and check the time.
Although it's not too late, I wake up impatiently, wash my face, get dressed, and when the time comes, I eat while listening to the news.
Then I put on my earphones and get on the subway with music playing.
On the subway, I check the news on my smartphone to see if anything happened overnight and to check the news of people I've never met before.


When I arrive at work, I find work that I finished yesterday and new work waiting for me.
On top of that, with the phone calls coming in from all over the place and the emails piling up... ... . While they may not suffer from chronic attention or emotional problems like those with ADHD, ordinary people often live their lives 'as usual', oblivious to where their attention is flowing.
When you lose the power to direct yourself, whether it's your attention or emotions, it can get out of hand and you'll have trouble concentrating and getting things done all day long.
Ultimately, ADHD suffers from difficulties in self-regulation, such as difficulty concentrating, distraction, and emotional balance, in an environment where there are many opportunities to distract attention, just like non-ADHD sufferers.


Mindfulness has emerged as a powerful tool for solving psychological problems.

This book explores mindfulness as a way to understand and manage ADHD symptoms (or general self-regulation difficulties).
Mindfulness is a form of psychological training derived from meditation practice, and is gaining attention today as a powerful problem-solving tool in various fields.
It has been successfully used to treat physical and psychological issues such as chronic pain, stress, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addiction. Years of research at academic centers around the world have shown that eight weeks of mindfulness training improves mental health and well-being in people ranging from medical students to those with depression to elementary school students.
Furthermore, research in neuroscience has shown that mental training, such as mindfulness, can enhance brain circuits involved in attention and emotional regulation. In a TED MED talk, psychiatrist Judson Brewer demonstrated that mindfulness is more than twice as effective in smoking cessation as standard treatment.

Author Dr. Lydia Zyloska is convinced of this effectiveness and has introduced mindfulness to ADHD and other self-regulation issues in adults.
The author, a psychiatrist specializing in adult ADHD and co-founder of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Institute, has combined his clinical experience with the results of programs he developed for adults and adolescents with attention disorders to create an easily implementable eight-step program for the general public.


8-Step Program to Change Your Life

This book is essential not only for those who suffer from ADHD, but also for all of us who struggle to focus in our multitasking work and home environments, stress, anxiety, and depression.
Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of what you are doing in the present moment, as opposed to being distracted, lost in thought, or daydreaming.
It is about following our experience moment by moment to see clearly and simply what it is, without automatically or unconsciously judging it.
That is, this book helps you intentionally bring your attention to the 'present moment' with an open mind and curiosity.

Part 1 of the book provides an overview of what mindfulness is and how this approach can help people with ADHD.
Part 2, which takes up two-thirds of the book, details an eight-step, practical mindfulness training program that can be completed in eight weeks and how to use mindfulness in everyday life with ADHD.

The book's rich case studies, based on stories of patients the author personally met, illustrate the various symptoms of ADHD and how they were overcome. The eight-step mindfulness program introduces specific, practical training methods, such as mindful breathing, body scans, loving-kindness meditation, and mindful walking, allowing readers to easily practice mindfulness training.
The attached meditation guide CD allows you to practice on your own without a book.

The author says that our lives are determined by where we place our attention.
It may not be as simple as it sounds, but when you put yourself in the driver's seat of your own attention through this eight-step program and direct it where you want it to go, your life will become more peaceful, more efficient, and more fulfilling than it is now.