Hyperfocus: ADHD, addiction, recovery — a yogi’s story

If you have ADHD, the science says you’re much more likely to have a substance use disorder in your life than someone who’s neurotypical. 

ADHD brains often lack dopamine. Drugs and alcohol can provide a hit of dopamine, albeit a temporary one. That’s why it’s so common for people with untreated ADHD to self-medicate. 

Elaine O’Brien used to fit that ADHD archetype to a tee. Eventually, though, she entered recovery and also started practicing Ashtanga yoga, a style that she describes as “very rigorous and very codified.”

She fell for the physicality of the practice and the routine it demands. “It got me in my body and I started to feel good,” she says. “I really started to feel good.”

For years, Elaine had struggled with substance issues and untreated ADHD. She’s been in recovery for almost two decades but recently began to wonder if the ADHD diagnosis she’d rejected in high school might actually be right.

How did her journey take this path? Listen to this week’s Hyperfocus episode to find out. 

Related resources

• Elaine’s studio: Second Story Pilates and Yoga
• Study: Medication reduces risk of drug abuse for people with ADHD
• ADHD and addiction: Knowledge is power
• Does exercise help ADHD?

Timestamps

(3:04) Elaine’s diagnosis story

(7:09) ADHD and substance use

(13:52) Exercise and sobriety

(19:28) “Isn’t your job to help people calm down?”

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the Hyperfocus podcast page at Understood.org

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give