Ikigai is a Japanese term that loosely translates to "the reason for being." According to Japanese culture, every person has their ikigai, which must be discovered from within to nurture and cultivate. Now, let's discuss ikigai and how it can be applied in managing ADHD.
The Lessons of Ikigai
When someone identifies their values and lives in alignment with them, their emotional well-being improves. While this may seem easy enough, it’s not an easy feat to achieve. But when it's attained, identifying and prioritizing activities that keep your ikigai top of mind can help ease psychological stressors, such as a lack of motivation for daily life, low self-esteem, and the prevalence of some anxieties.
The challenge lies in daring to find the inner essence that guides one's motivations and then acting accordingly. That's why ikigai is not fixed; rather, it depends on the individual and can evolve with age, becoming something different over time.
Ikigai and ADHD
Given these insights, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by difficulty maintaining attention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity to varying degrees. As a result, people with ADHD can face various challenges in different aspects of their lives, including organization, self-esteem for decision-making, and task paralysis.
Ikigai can be applied in controlling ADHD to help individuals with the disorder find their purpose and motivation in life, under the conviction that this can contribute significantly to their overall well-being and the management of the different symptoms of the disorder.
There are several ways in which ikigai can be applied in cases of ADHD, and we'll cover the most salient ones for you.
5 Ways to Apply Ikigai to ADHD
1. Self-Awareness
Ikigai can help individuals identify their values, interests, and strengths, which can assist them in finding different areas of interest and activities where they can excel and feel good about themselves.
2. Strengths-Focused
With ikigai, people can focus on their strengths, preferences, and abilities rather than constantly thinking about the difficulties associated with ADHD. This helps build self-esteem and self-confidence.
3. Goal-Setting
Ikigai helps people set meaningful and realistic goals. Having a clear purpose can increase perseverance and motivation.
4. Routines
Related to the above, ikigai helps people establish routines and habits that can support the achievement of their goals while also providing a structure to organize their daily lives. Although routines are important for everyone, they help manage impulsivity and distractibility in ADHD cases.
5. Resilience
Finally, ikigai helps people with ADHD develop skills to overcome obstacles and adapt to challenges that may arise in achieving their goals.
In short, ikigai can be tremendously valuable in the well-being of neurodivergent folks who want to improve their quality of life. At The Zunzún, we help promote self-knowledge and self-acceptance – book a no-obligation discovery call today!