Adult Attention Deficit Disorder
"I Have Adult ADD" By Dr. Ed Hallowell
Maybe your brain seems like it's here one minute and gone the next.
Maybe you can' follow directions that include more than one or two
steps. Maybe you lose track of time, or maybe you chronically
procrastinate. Maybe you think you're depressed and try to make
yourself feel better with alcohol. Or maybe you need many cups of
coffee to stay on track all day.
Maybe you're an impulsive overspender. Maybe you liven up everyone
you meet, but deep down inside you feel lonely and sad. Maybe you have
lots of creative ideas, but you just don't know how to organize them
and put them into action.
Well, just maybe you have attention deficit disorder (ADD). Many
people have ADD without knowing it because most people still think it^s
a condition found only in children, particularly boys. So whenever they
find themselves wandering from one task to another, they never think it
might be ADD.
I Have ADD
I know about ADD. I have it myself, and as a child and adult
psychiatrist, I have been diagnosing and treating it for the past 20
years. I thought I'd take this chance to fill you in on some things
that could change your life for the better - dramatically and soon.
First of all, having ADD does not mean that you can't pay
attention. Just the opposite. People with ADD can often be extremely
focused and pay attention better than anyone else at certain times.
Second, having ADD does not necessarily mean that you are
hyperactive, or that you were as a child. In fact, many children and
adults who have ADD are the opposite of hyperactive; they are quiet and
serene.
Third, having ADD does not mean that you are "slow" or got bad grades
in school, or can't excel in various arenas. Many people with ADD are
extraordinarily talented, successful, and quick.
A Fast-Tracking Mind
So what does it mean to have ADD? The core symptom of the condition is
a frequent, involuntary wandering of attention. You're reading a book,
and the next thing you know, you're thinking about what one of your
son's teachers said to you that morning. And even though you are still
scanning the words in the book, you no longer comprehend them because
your attention is now totally focused on the teacher's words. You do
not have a deficit of attention--you are paying very close attention to
the teacher's words--but your attention has wandered from the task at
hand. Everyone does this some of the time. What differentiates the
person who has ADD from the person who does not is how often the person
does it and how much it gets in their way.
Are You Different?
Other than a wandering attention, what other tendencies might be a
tip-off that you have undiagnosed ADD? Maybe you^re extremely well
focused doing the most stimulating tasks at work, but in the boring
parts of work and at home, you are near the brink of disaster all the
time due to disorganization and lack of focus. Sometimes the
high-intensity part of the job "treats" your ADD and allows you to
focus. Or maybe you are highly creative and have always wished you
could take up painting or write a novel, but you hold back, believing
you lack discipline, or feeling that you lack motivation, words you
used to hear in school. In addition, maybe your doctor has told you
that you might be suffering from mild depression. Guess what? The
underlying problem still might be ADD. Often people with ADD are highly
creative, but they don^t develop their gifts because the symptoms of
ADD get in the way. And that makes them feel a bit depressed.
Run with It!
Maybe you've always thought you were different. You've done your best
for as long as you can remember to stifle your different side and
appear as normal as you possibly can. You^ve spent decades trying to
hide your true self from the rest of the world because you feared that
you would be found out as crazy, weird, inept, or just bad. Well, you,
too, might have ADD. ADD people typically think differently from other
people and experience life in a unique way.
If this is true for you, the only way to flourish and grow is to
come out of hiding. We're all a little strange, we humans. Often the
best of us, the most creative and interesting and fun, are the
strangest of all. Rather than hide, go see a good specialist who can
help you understand in what ways you are different and show you how to
take advantage of your strengths and talents. Then, instead of hiding,
you can use your true self to fly high in your life, exulting in who
you are and being free. Like me.
Edward M. "Ned" Hallowell, MD, is a child and adult psychiatrist
and the founder of The Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional
Health in Concord, MA. He is also the author of
Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood.
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