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pH now that I think about it, I did used to listen to music a lot when I was younger when I was trying to go to sleep, and I didn't have nearly as many problems sleeping then as I do now. The difference now is that I can't do that because my wife can't fall asleep if there is any noise at all, so I usually have to be pretty worn out mentally before I go to bed otherwise it will take me a good hour or so to fall asleep.
Posts: 232 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
It's a fallacy that ADDers can't stay focused on anything. In fact, no one focuses better than an ADDer.
I ruled out ADD for myself when I considered that I read constantly, and have no trouble finishing a book.
That's actually pretty common, whether it be computers, books, video games, whatever - most adults with ADD have found something they can hyper-focus on and use it to calm their minds.
The problem comes when that habit is itself destructive, like spending so much time on the computer that your housework doesn't get done, as in my case. My several month hiatus from hatrack helped in that regard, I broke the addictive habit of sitting on computer forums all day and night. NOw, I keep it to a reasonable amount. (mostly )
posted
Belle is right about hyper-focusing in ADHD.
And Chaz, the impulsitivity and such that they had thought was hypomania was actually the ADHD symptoms. So I'm not bipolar, but I do have ADHD co-morbid with atypical depression.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
Mack, I am SO happy for you!!! Not that you have ADHD, but that you know what it is that was making you so miserable. The last time I was around, you were having such a hard time.
The offer of the Holyoke Range is still, and always, open. I can drop you off and pick you up wherever you want. Then (see Exercise thread) I will watch someone else exercise on tv while you are run-hiking.
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ADD is not a disability. ADD is not a crutch. ADD is not an excuse for being late, for needing extra help, or whatever. ADD is just a personality trait.
Dont just jump at my throat. I was diagnosed to the full extent of the tests at the time as a poster child for ADD. I was hyper, i couldn't sit still, and i couldn't concentrate on a single task for very long. In came the Drug. The Drug was pretty helpful, it helped me keep on task a little more than normal, but it gave me something else: it gave me a label and a skapegoat. "Why is Ken so weird?" "Oh he has ADD" No one tried to see past those three little letters that had been tacked onto my name. I was Ken Fales, A.D.D. Lucky me. I started doing better in school, and at home; i could keep on a single task for as long as I wanted to put my mind to it. I could sit (relatively) still when needed, and was pretty much a "Great Student!". Every so many months at the doctor I'd be asked 'Do you think the Ritalin helps?' and of course I answered yes. That's the answer looked for, wasn't it? Isn't that what school is all about? Giving the answer thats being looked for? Isn't that the reason I'm doing well in school? About halfway through highschool I decided to try not taking Ritalin. Actually, I just decided I didn't want to be drugged anymore. Doesn't make sense, but most decisions in highschool don't. And wowie! The next day I still did good in school. The next day? The ame. Next week? Hmm.. this is interesting. I had learned, Personally, how to deal with who I am. Admittedly, the medication helped, especially in the beginning. but it wasn't everything. Medication, or diet, or whatever the new trend is not an answer, or a solution. For it to be an answer, what was the question? how can i be normal? You can't be normal. You are you. Learn to like it, because short of Vulcan mind-meld, you're stuck. Is it a solution then... that must mean there was a problem. Is there a problem being You, the person You were born as? I don't see why. Instead of looking for a solution (or whatever the magic term is) you need to start thinking about yourself. Who are You, and what can You do to make Yourself a better person. Learn to deal with the fidgets, to cope with distraction. Cooping skills (also refered to as: learning to deal with life) is hard. I know it is. Sometimes you try as hard as you can, and you still fall short of expectations. Thats when things like medication can be helpful. Ritalin, for me as a child, helped take the edge off the struggle to keep myself 'in line'. Now, I'll be the first to tell you that I am a very hyper person. I bounce alot, I fidget. Hi, thats me, not a diagnosis. Hyper is a good thing; it keeps me happy and can be helpful for sports (i fence. Fear my hyper bouncing attacks! )
... wow quite a rant for me. Sorry if i've bludgeoned anyone's ideas, or contradicted and what not. I just feel that people who use ADD as a label have it all wrong. Remember:
quote: Its not a disorder. Its a personality trait.
This last year i went back and tried medication again. Went on Adderall for about 4 weeks. I saw no change, my family saw no change, my friends saw no change. So I stopped. I have trouble remembering to do things; my palm pilot is a god send for remembering dates and times and assignments and errands. Make it beep, and its an extra section of brain helping me say "oh! do this". Do you find yourself often disorganized? Others use dayplanners, Post-it's, emails, etc. Find something that works for you.
WELL! Enough endless babble. I get like this on certain topics. My apologies. Returning to my normal self of hyper and happy. Heading to bed now.. tired . This has been a public service... errrr.. a rant from the mind of Ken. Nothing to see here, folks; keep moving. Posts: 271 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
And to address the "play video games for hours but not sit still in school"
Hyper-focusing. Often children diagnosed with ADD do either one of two things during an activity: 1) spacy, not on task, wandering mind. 2) intent, focused, mind not thinking anything but the task.
I can sit at a TV or computer monitor and play video games for hours upon hours. I can sit down with a book, wordy books such as those in LOTR, and read the entire book in mostly one sitting. Could i stop reading or playing video games? Sure! now.. do i want to... nah.
posted
About the hyper-focusing... when I was little, I would read book for hours on end, not doing anything else, even eating. I couldn't even hear much going around me (Mom would actually have to physically touch me before I would look up from a book). I can also do that on the Internet (like Belle). That's more normal though.
Posts: 274 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I agree with most of what you are saying... even if your approach is a little rough. Addressing things first by saying:
quote: ADD is not a disability. ADD is not a crutch. ADD is not an excuse for being late, for needing extra help, or whatever. ADD is just a personality trait.
tends to make it look like you are pointing a finger at people and treating them like children, although I don't believe this was your intention.
While I do agree with some of what you said, I disagree with you that ADHD is not a disability, especially when you run across severe cases like Mack's.
And you have to remember, that you did change your actions to become more "normal", you took the meds and you learned how to cope. At some level whether you or your parents decided to, someone recognized a deficiency in your behavior and helped you overcome it.
I guess I am just trying to say your post confuses me, because you tend to deny that ADHD is a problem, but at the same time you explain how your life is better once you "dealt" with it...
I am however very glad that were strong enough to deal with your issues, and I hope I can acheive results like yours.
Posts: 232 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Most studies show about 4-6% of the the population of the US has ADHD.
And about half of the people diagnosed as a child still have trouble with it as an adult. (the other half usually has coping strategies and meds to help them later on in life, so they show less symptoms)
Posts: 232 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
The odd thing about ADHD to me is that we spend years squelching movement and off-taskedness in children, then we expect our adults to have a job, raise kids, teach Sunday school, make healthy meals, etc in a very frenetic pattern.
I work with kids who are diagnosed with ADD and/or ADHD. Some of them are classic cases, and are helped by medication or the structure and high interest level of our classroom. Others are clearly NOT ADD. Sometimes, they have a severe learning disability, or are depressed.(depression in kids can somethimes "look like" ADHD)
So, I have always had questions about how much our society creates(or rather, exacerbates) ADHD symptoms in the public school setting.
Also, the US and Australia have the highest number of folks with ADHD. Is this because we recognize it as a disorder, or is it because the US and Australia were colonized by adventurous people?
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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quote:About the hyper-focusing... when I was little, I would read book for hours on end, not doing anything else, even eating. I couldn't even hear much going around me (Mom would actually have to physically touch me before I would look up from a book).
I am like this also - when I am reading, I don't hear anything. It really annoys my husband when he is trying to talk to me while I am reading, even though he knows I don't hear him when I am reading. A psychologist once told me it has to do with the way my brain is, and he told my husband I can't help it that I don't hear when I'm reading. But I don't have ADD or ADHD or anything like that.
Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
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It will pop up the window every 15 minutes to ask me what I have been working on, to make sure I don't get off task for too long on one thing (like hatrack )
I am thinking of adding in a wav file of my boss saying "WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?!?!?!" everytime the window pops up
EDIT: I still need to fix the time display to add in extra zeros on the minute field
quote:Often children diagnosed with ADD do either one of two things during an activity: 1) spacy, not on task, wandering mind. 2) intent, focused, mind not thinking anything but the task.
That's exactly me. This happened to both me and my brother, and my dad used to call it BDO [noun]. "Brain dead on books/computer/television." We also did miserably in school, but things worked out anyway. I kind of wish I had known all this when I was a kid, but it was okay.
My boss at work has come to recognize it, and that's how I get away with a lot. I actually slightly dissaprove of how much license being labeled as "creative" can get me.
I was in a meeting with him and some of the other higher-ups a few days ago, and was doodling madly on a notepad while someone was talking. Of course it wasn't related to the topic, so I had it sort of hidden. One of the higher-ups asked what I was doing, and my boss said, "She's multi-tasking, but she's hearing every word."
At work, I'm almost always surfing on Hatrack, listening to music, drawing in Photoshop, and doing my work all at the same time, and it's not an issue because everything gets done that needs to be done. I really like that about my job.
A friend was asking me recently, "How do you do it all?" We both have three kids, I also have a part time job ( as director of my church nursery) and do crafting ( I make soaps and bath stuff, and chocolate truffles), and homeschool. She stays at home and can't seem to get back into crafting. I have no answer really, except that I am "ADHD" and she isn't.
I reaaly enjoy being hyper Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004
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For some people who do not have ADHD, but have some of the traits, then yes, it's a personality trait. You can be prone to hyperfocusing, you can be prone to disorganization and a hazy memory, you can have trouble concentrating at tasks you don't enjoy - and you can NOT have ADD.
No one is saying everyone who has those symptoms have ADD.
What is a fact though, is that some people are helped by medication, and others are not. Remember that ADDers react atypically to stimulants. The drugs don't work the same on people with ADD as they do on people without it. That suggests a difference in the brain chemistry.
Changes in the way my mind chemically works is not a personality trait. It's a disorder, because it means my brain does not function like the majority of the population and that this difference in function affects my quality of life.
Is it a crutch? No. I can't sit here and let my house fall apart around me and say "WEll, I have ADD so I'm not good at housework and I can't stay on task so I should just let the house fall apart and who cares if the kids have clean clothes to wear and clean linens on their beds?"
No, I have to get up and clean my house and care for my kids. In order to do that, I need help with medication and behavior therapy. I have to develop coping skills, things like setting timers, keeping to a set schedule during the day (in 30 minutes I have to fix lunch for the kids and then clean the kitchen and start a load of laundry. That should be finished by 1:30, at which time I need to go upstairs and make up the beds) so that I don't forget the essential tasks.
ADD is more than a personality trait with me. It seriously hinders my ability to do my job. And if it affects my quality of life (and that of my family) to the point that I need professional treatment, then guess what? I call that a disorder. So does my psychiatrist and my therapist.
[ March 16, 2004, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: Belle ]
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I was diagnosed to the full extent of the tests at the time as a poster child for ADD. I was hyper, i couldn't sit still, and i couldn't concentrate on a single task for very long.![[Confused]](confused.gif)
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Learn to like it, because short of Vulcan mind-meld, you're stuck. Is it a solution then... that must mean there was a problem. Is there a problem being You, the person You were born as? I don't see why. ![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
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Thats when things like medication can be helpful. Ritalin, for me as a child, helped take the edge off the struggle to keep myself 'in line'. Now, I'll be the first to tell you that I am a very hyper person. I bounce alot, I fidget. Hi, thats me, not a diagnosis. Hyper is a good thing; it keeps me happy and can be helpful for sports (i fence. Fear my hyper bouncing attacks! ![[Evil Laugh]](graemlins/evillaugh.gif)
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. This has been a public service... errrr.. a rant from the mind of Ken. Nothing to see here, folks; keep moving.![[Hat]](graemlins/hat.gif)
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But I don't have ADD or ADHD or anything like that.
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