The medicine of rhythm: My journey between drumming and ADHD medication

Introduction

When I received my ADHD diagnosis at 53, it wasn’t a surprise but rather a confirmation of something my hyperfocused research had already revealed. Unlike many who experience conflicting emotions upon diagnosis, I only felt empowered – finally understanding why certain environments dysregulated me, why focus sometimes flowed and other times vanished completely, and why my brain seemed to operate so differently from others. 

What I didn’t expect was how my deepening relationship with drumming would become not just a passion or spiritual practice, but essential medicine for my neurodivergent mind. The delay in my ADHD medication journey opened an unexpected doorway, leading me to discover how drumming could offer my brain the regulation, focus and calm that pharmaceutical interventions couldn’t meet sustainably. This is the story of how my drum became my teacher and healer on my midlife neurodivergent journey.

Diagnosis as empowerment

2 years ago, aged 53, I was diagnosed with ADHD. This wasn’t a surprise as I had already done some hyperfocus on the subject, after my youngest child had been diagnosed with autism the previous year.

I’ve heard a lot of people say they struggled with a lot of conflicting feelings when they got their diagnosis. Not me. I had already done the work after struggling with my child’s diagnosis, because there is still so much negative stigma attached to being neurodivergent, and because I had so much to learn about what being neurodivergent meant.

For me, being diagnosed was empowering, and empowering only. It meant that I stopped beating myself up with stuff that I found hard to do. It meant that I finally got support for my business in the form of an Access to Work grant. It meant that I started to understand what dysregulate me (hello noises and changes in temperature) when I didn’t before and got to put supportive measures in place (noise cancelling headphones, earplugs, a fan…). And it meant that I got to try ADHD medication.

I first tried ADHD medication once 2 years before I got diagnosed as it was recommended as a sure way to establish whether I had ADHD or not. The experience was very positive and you can read about that here. I also tried antidepressants, and microdosing mushrooms. I hated the antidepressants, and the mushrooms helped me a lot in uncovering unhelpful thought patterns I had.

Having had such a positive experience with the ADHD medication, I was keen to get prescribed the drugs, so after my diagnosis I applied to start titration (a process of trying different drugs at different doses to establish what’s right for you) with the right to choose company that had diagnosed me, psychiatry UK.

The unexpected medication delay: a blessing in disguise

I was told it could take 7 months of waiting. In the end, due to a communication mistake (I wasn’t told I needed an ECG and my GP did not take action), I ended up waiting more than a year. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

As I was busy writing my book about women and drumming, and desperately needing better focus to write effectively, I came across Jeff Strong’s book, Different Drummer. Jeff is a drummer and clinical researcher with ADHD, who has been using drumming to change brain states since the 1990s. In his book Jeff explained how you could use some rhythms to change your brain waves, including to help focus. I found Jeff’s on demand drumming website, Brain Stim Audio. I signed up for his free 2 weeks trial (no payment methods are required to try it). I started using his focus tracks and was amazed to notice a similar sensation in my brain as when I had taken ADHD drugs. When my free trial ran out, I bought a monthly subscription (which only costs $10 a month). I started using the tracks every day, to great effects on my ability to focus and write my book.

The medication experience: benefits and warning signs

A few months later, psychiatry UK told me they were ready to start my ADHD medication titration. This was a bumpy journey. I told the nurse that I was very sensitive to medication and asked to start on the lowest dose possible, lower than what was normally recommended. The first medication I tried (Ritalin), really did not agree with me. I just could not sleep whilst on it, and was getting more and more wired each day. I only took it for 3 days before stopping. After a break, I started on the lowest dose possible of Elvanse (lisdexamfetamine), at 20mg. With hindsight this was still too high.

On this drug I was able to focus really well, in fact too well. For example I could stay seated at my desk and write for 4h solid without a break, sometimes not even stopping to drink water. I have to admit I loved it. I also experienced an elevated mood. This helped me immensely to help finish my new book on time. However, even from the start there were concerning side effects, in particular a slightly elevated heart rate. When the prescriber suggested I try a higher dose of 30mg, my heart rate went up to 115 beats per minute. I stayed on the 20mg despite the slight rise in my heart rate, for the duration of the titration, and the few months after. I also loved that, whilst taking this drug I was never tired. I could go all day. I had no desire or need to nap in the afternoon during our holiday, despite the heat (my parents live in the South of France). My mother mentioned this whilst we were on holiday, she found it concerning, she said I wasn’t my normal self. One day, I forgot to take the meds, and I felt completely exhausted by mid morning, like a crash. The drug also made me lose weight. When I look back there were many red flags right from the start, but the positive effects made me ignore them.

One of the other positive side effects was that titration required giving up alcohol. After a few weeks, I noticed that not drinking was actually good for me, and I haven’t drank any alcohol since.

Back from holidays in September, even whilst I loved the hyper productivity the drug afforded me, I started getting a niggling sense that this wasn’t sustainable. That same month, I started getting serious side effects from the HRT medication I was taking (constant bleeding). I went on HRT a year prior against everything I normally believe in, to heal from a chronic stress situation I was in- you can read about this here. Looking back now, I believe that this was the first sign that my body gave me to tell me that the ADHD medication wasn’t good for me. During the Autumn, I stopped the medication during the weekend to give my body a break but this led to an unpleasant energy and mood crash on the first day I stopped. I must admit the way the meds make me feel was quite addictive.

When my body said “enough”

A couple of months later, I started getting very severe gastrointestinal side effects, eventually leading to a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. I refused to take the anti-inflammatory drugs and oral steroids that I got prescribed because they would not treat the root cause, but just put a lid on the symptoms. Instead, I meditated on what my gut was trying to tell me: you need to slow down, it replied very clearly. I was worried about how I would feel if I stopped the ADHD meds but the side effects I was now experiencing worried me more. I joined several patient groups, and did some research and  found evidence of stimulants causing such gut symptoms. This led me to stop the ADHD meds. I also saw my homeopath and started taking healing herbs (slippery elm and aloe). And I slowed right down. I nearly stopped working for 6 weeks, doing only the bare minimum. After the Christmas holiday, I tried to get back to work but my body wouldn’t let me, so I kept the slower pace for a bit longer (this was hard-despite having worked deeply on the ability to rest without guilt for many years, I still experience some level of resistance). Within a couple of weeks, symptoms were much reduced, and I was symptom free within 6 weeks. Tests later on would prove that a particular gut inflammation marker had gone below detectable levels (it had been extremely high before), something unheard of happening so quickly.

Rediscovering my natural rhythm

When I eventually got back to work, I had to re-learn to work with my natural ebb and flow ADHD energy-one that has two modes: either full throttle, do a week’s work in 2h hyperfocus, or nearly catatonic. That was hard. And yet, deep down I kind of knew that was healthier and would allow me to do some healing work. It’s not been easy or plain sailing. Interestingly, I’m also almost entirely convinced that I’m done with my cycle now, though I will not know for sure until I haven’t bled for a year.

The perimenopause process, which I have been undergoing for 13 years now, has felt on many levels like puberty, with a complete change of identity. Perimenopause is also what brought my ADHD symptoms to light, and led to my diagnosis.

The drum as daily medicine

Taking the ADHD meds somewhat disconnected me to my regular drumming practice because I felt so focused and positive on them I did not really need it. I still kept my weekly drumming practice in the woods with my drum sisters, and led my monthly drum circle, and drummed occasionally on top of that, but it wasn’t a regular occurrence. 

Since I stopped the meds I’ve reconnected with it for myself, and supported others to do the same, in fact I led a couple of workshops using the drum (one about overcoming procrastination with the drum, and the other a drum microdosing workshop, followed by a month long drum microdosing circle).

I’ve also resumed using Brain Stim Audio’s focusing drum tracks on a daily basis.

In my upcoming book (prelaunch is next month!) about how drumming supports women’s wellbeing and power, there is an entire chapter dedicated to how drumming can support people who are neurodivergent. I wrote it because of the work I was doing with the drum, discovering Jeff Strong, taking his course and interviewing him, and using his tracks to fuel my focus.  If my medication journey hadn’t been delayed, this chapter might not have existed.

Jeff Strong has even done some research that shows that drumming is more effective than ritalin.:

• Adult ADHD Study: A comparison between Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention (REI) drumming and Ritalin showed that drumming produced better results on the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.). While 10mg of Ritalin improved the subject’s score from -12.74 to -6.60 and 20mg improved it to -3.47, listening to REI drumming tracks achieved a near-normal score of -1.87— almost 50% better than the medication.
• Elementary School Study: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 100 children, those listening to REI drumming scored significantly higher (68) on attention tests compared to silence (23) or placebo music (31).
• Brain Shift Radio’s Continuous Performance Test: Large-scale testing with thousands of participants showed drumming reduced error rates by an average of 36.73% across multiple attention metrics. Specifically, detection errors decreased by 30%, commission errors by 46.5%, and omission errors by 33.7%. Response times also improved with drumming.

I’ve discovered both from personal experience and research that drumming offers unique support for ADHD and autism. As a woman diagnosed with ADHD at 53, while navigating perimenopause, I’ve found that drumming provides effortless nervous system regulation that meditation alone cannot match. Drumming increases dopamine, provides an outlet for emotions and energy, and creates a beautiful stillness in overactive minds through what I call “a massage in your brain.” Research by Friedman, Strong, and others confirms drumming’s benefits: improved focus, reduced anxiety and enhanced social connection. 

For me personally, drumming has become an essential tool for managing ADHD symptoms, helping me find calm amidst overwhelm through daily practice, listening to entrainment tracks while working, and connecting with others through my drum circles. Unlike other pursuits I’ve quickly abandoned, drumming has remained and grown in my life for eleven years, testifying to its profound power to support neurodivergent minds.

Conclusion

The dance between my ADHD diagnosis, medication experience, and deepening drumming practice continues to evolve as I move through the end of perimenopause. What began as a spiritual practice has revealed itself as medicine for my neurodivergent brain – a way to find focus without the toll of stimulant medications, and to regulate my nervous system. 

The drum speaks a language my brain and spirit intrinsically understands: rhythm, presence, and the permission to both flow with intense energy and find stillness within rhythm. While trying ADHD medication offered a window into what focused attention could feel like, drumming has become my sustainable path toward the same clarity – honouring my natural ebb and flow rather than overriding it. 

As I continue leading circles, teaching workshops, and using rhythmic entrainment in my daily work, I am deeply grateful for this ancient technology that serves my modern neurodivergent needs. The drum has taught me that sometimes the most powerful medicines aren’t found in prescriptions, but in practices that have supported human brains and hearts for thousands of years.

If you’re intrigued by how drumming might support your own neurodivergent brain, I invite you to join me for my upcoming workshop “Beat Distraction: Drumming for ADHD” on Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 at 4pm UK time. No musical experience or drum required—just bring your curiosity and openness to experience how rhythm can regulate your nervous system and enhance your focus.

During this workshop, you’ll:

• Experience firsthand how specific drumming rhythms can shift your brain state
• Learn simple techniques you can incorporate into your daily routine
• Discover how to use rhythm to transition between hyperfocus and rest states
• Connect with others exploring drumming as medication-free ADHD support