How to Beat Isolation Boredom and Increase Happiness with Drumming

People of all ages with ADHD tend to be way more susceptible to boredom than others. But being in self-isolation or lock down doesn’t mean all hope is lost!

In these uncertain times many people, both with and without ADHD, are certainly feeling disrupted and experiencing heightened levels of anxiety, stress, loneliness, depression and fear.

Our extroverted friends in particular are taking a lot of strain being stuck at home.  However, sticking to your routine and embracing creativity and music during this time, can all help to alleviate some of the despondency linked to self-isolation.

Keep your routines

Keep up your routines! You’ve worked so hard to build the rhythm of the fundamentals, do your best not to lose it now! Get up the same time as usual and go to sleep the same time as normal, try to do as many of your usual daily activities as possible. Of course, we have the opportunity to adapt existing and integrate new routines for home life to maximise productivity and ensure good mental and physical health while we wait it out.

Your Creativity & Expression Zone

Why not use this time more productively by making the most of the fact your drum kit is nearby! 

Think of the drum kit as your “Creativity and Expression Zone.” For those home-schooling, take 3-5 minutes between each subject, class or activity to head over to your Creativity Zone and let loose behind the drums!    Experiment, jam, play fast, express yourself through your movements and sound creations, have fun and make some noise! 

For those older drummers working from home, spend a few minutes at the top of each hour taking a break from emails and spreadsheets to let rip in the same way!

DIY Drums

Don’t have any instruments at home to do this? Try making your own with stuff you find lying around the house! A bunch of different sized textbooks lined up next to each other and a wooden spoon can produce a surprisingly melodic percussion-type sound; or grab a few different sized pillows and two sticks and Go Mad. You’re only limited by your imagination… and maybe Mum or the neighbours!

How Drumming Makes You Happier

Go Mad Music makes the most of specifically timed short bursts of drumming to promote focus and attention, which have immediate short-term effects. This helps with the theory and technical aspects in between the lesson, which are also designed to maximise outcomes. These effects can show in other aspects of life and begin to last longer – if a good practise routine is kept up.

• • By getting rid of excess energy, as well as the releasing of endorphins by being physically active, we create a sense of well-being throughout our bodies which keeps us feeling happier and healthier. 

• • The coordination and motor skills involved in rhythmic activities and playing the drums keeps the brain stimulated in a positive way too. This a key player in improving attention and focus.

• • And to add to that, just simply listening to music increases our dopamine and serotonin levels which again make us happier!

The combination of all this makes for a triple whammy of happiness and joy, a sense of being more connected by the brain being stimulated in a way unlike any other, and a general feeling of well-being!  That is most certainly welcomed in these strange times we’re currently facing! For the first time now, you can actually incorporate this method, feel these benefits, and have the short term attentional effects transfer between regular school subjects, or work calls and emails!

You can read more about the benefits of drumming for ADHD here.

Suggested Apps

There are also a large number of music apps available. Something like GarageBand on Apple products or Walk Band for Android lets you virtually interact and play around with various instruments by tapping or running fingers across the screen, and you can even create your own music!

Online Drumming Lessons

Even better Go Mad Music now offers online drum classes! 

After its first week of online classes the feedback from parents and students alike was terrific!  It allowed for a dedicated time to make music and have that be the main focus, which increases the neurological functions that lift our mood.  Additionally, it allowed both teacher and student to have a social interaction for the duration of the session. No more isolation blues! 

We’re only trying to physically distance ourselves after-all, not socially cut ourselves off. 

Now location is not a barrier, and lessons don’t have to be confined to the Northern Beaches/North Shore, everyone who wants to have a go at the drums can do just that!

Hopefully you’ll find these few tips helpful – stay healthy & happy! 

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29499311

https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression#1

The author, Lee Havenga, is head tutor and founder of Go Mad Music

Go Mad Music offers speciality ADHD drum lessons for all ages in and around the Northern Beaches of Sydney and now also ONLINE.  Established in 2013 as part of a Bachelors of Music degree, the Go Mad Drumming method has continually been growing over the years with Lee, the head tutor and founder. Lee then went on to complete a Masters in Applied Psychology with a focus on ADHD to further his knowledge and expand the course material.

Find out more about Lee, Go Mad Music and online drumming lessons here.