Savoring

What is savoring – and why is it helpful for women with ADHD?

Savoring is a valuable intervention for women with ADHD that can help defuse negativity bias, something we all struggle with.

Savoring is the capacity to notice, appreciate, and intensify positive experiences. As an intervention, savoring means focusing with intention on positives that occur naturally. Does this sound frivolous? Actually, this simple activity addresses working memory issues in ADHD that amplify negativity bias. 

Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist who studies the science of resilience, has described the brain as "Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for the positive." This vividly explains a tendency in all humans called Negativity Bias, and is rooted in our ancient survival instinct. 

As humans, we have evolved to:

· Remember difficult or traumatic experiences more than happy ones.

· Recall criticism better than praise.

· React more to negative stimuli than positive ones.

· Think about negative things more frequently than positive ones.

· Respond more strongly to adverse events than to equally positive ones.

Examples of Negativity Bias

Negativity bias can play out in various ways in our lives. Do any of these situations and events sound familiar?

· You received compliments in your annual review at work, but you keep dwelling on the one piece of feedback that wasn't glowing.

· You have a hard time focusing on good things with your spouse and focusing instead on problems and what is going wrong.

· Your ideas are not immediately embraced with enthusiasm, so you stop sharing them.

· Your focus on mistakes and criticisms prevents you from trying again for fear of further disappointment. 

Where Negativity Bias Comes From

It was once necessary and adaptive for our brains to focus primarily on threats to our safety- the dangers. The fears of the unknown. Only through such vigilance did one survive. But why is negativity bias worse for those who have ADHD? Research shows that ADHDers have accumulated more criticism and negative experiences than neurotypicals.

Additionally, because ADHD involves deficits in working memory, positive experiences are often not recorded. For those experiences to register, they need to be held in working memory, picked up by short-term memory, and recorded in long-term memory. This may also help explain why ADHDers are four times more likely to get depressed than neurotypicals.

However, we don't need to stay stuck in this negativity cycle. A vast amount of research into neuroplasticity tells us that we can rewire our brains to focus on the positives over the negatives. This has important implications for ADHDers and can help to combat negativity bias.

Why Savoring Helps

Savoring can be used to increase positive emotions and reduce stress. Rick Hanson refers to savoring as "taking in the good." According to neuroscientists, this practice will rewire your brain, making you more resilient to stress. It can help you feel safer, rebound quicker from frustration, and result in a more optimistic outlook. Over time, you will become happier and less prone to negative emotions. Plus, you can do it anywhere! 

How to Begin to Practice Savoring

You can practice savoring anything good, including:

· Something that tastes or smells good

· Petting your favorite four-legged friend

· Enjoying flowers in the Spring or the brilliant Fall foliage

· A soothing sensation like taking a bath

· Enjoying a poem

Steps to Savoring

1. Notice something pleasant and notice the sensation of feeling good about it. SAVOR it!  

2. Gradually build up to doing this about 4-6 times daily. Remember, this is fun (and soothing) and may give you a dopamine rush and yield excellent results once you get going. It's natural at first to have barriers to this, so keep trying the things that work for you and build on those.

3. Try to focus on feeling good for 5-30 seconds. The more you allow yourself to enjoy it, the more you rewire your brain to focus on the good. The stronger your memory for good things will be. This is neuroplasticity at work! Try to feel this experience in your body and use all your senses to magnify the pleasure if necessary.

4. Rick Hanson says you can use imagery, metaphors, and language to help magnify the sensations and even write about it if you like. This may seem awkward initially, but language is very powerful, so it's worth trying. Some examples are:

· This feels like a cup of hot cocoa warming me up on a snowy day.

· I can feel the autumn leaves covering me with a golden light.

· This is soothing - like waves gently washing away feelings of loss or pain.

5. Remember, each time you do this activity, you are rewiring your brain to focus on the positive, allowing yourself more happiness and building resilience. By increasing your sensitivity and capacity for recognizing good things, you will become more resistant to difficulties, so keep it up!