Many people who have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD find it challenging to make peace with the diagnosis. Fear of "labeling" by society, fear of a life of pharmaceutical drugs, and fear of how the ADD/ADHD diagnosis might hinder one's life after diagnosis are just of a few of the stumbling blocks along the road to finding peace with ADD/ADHD. There are, however, multiple options for managing ADD and ADHD in ways that lead to an incredibly fun, fulfilling, and successful life! In this 3-part series, I will review some of the signs and symptoms that may accompany ADD/ADHD, debunk some of the myths about the ADD/ADHD child or adult, and review some of the pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical options for managing ADD/ADHD symptoms in a way that is healthy and effective for the patient as well as their loved ones.
ADD/ADHD can be a highly misunderstood condition. For starters, many people think that a child must be hyperactive to have ADD/ADHD.
However, more than half of people who have been diagnosed with ADD do not have the hyperactivity component of ADD.
For this reason, I prefer to use the term ADD for all forms of ADD, whether the hyperactivity component is present or not. There are a number of symptoms of ADD that have nothing whatsoever to do with hyperactivity. The hallmark symptoms of ADD include distractibility, short attention span, disorganization, procrastination, a poor sense of internal supervision, and impulsivity. Any of these signs can be present with or without physical hyperactivity.
People who have ADD do tend to be easily distractible. Most people who sit down to read a book, for example, can tune out the outside noise; the TV, the radio, the children playing outside, the cars passing by on the street. But for those who have ADD, all of those noises and moving things offer endless distractions, and prevent them from focusing on their book long enough to get any reading done. People who have ADD also tend to be very distracted by physical sensations. If their clothes cause them to itch, or if their tag isn't lying just right in their clothing, they find themselves getting quite upset and distracted. They are also often distracted by noises, as they can tend to hear every little noise. People with ADD often find it difficult to sleep at night without some form of "white noise." Otherwise, they hear every little creak in the house, and find it incredibly difficult to sleep.
The short attention span of a person with ADD can be a deceiving one. ADDers do not tend to have a short attention span for everything. They typically only have a short attention span for the repetitive, mundane tasks of life, such as housework, paying bills, sitting through weekly meetings with the same staff as the week before, and listening to their children talk about the same things that they talked about yesterday after school. As long as a task or event is novel and interesting, or even frightening, people with ADD are able to focus perfectly well.
This is part of why people with ADD also tend to be thrill-seekers, conflict-seekers (in relationships), and can enjoy a lot of change in their lives.
This is also part of why some health care providers who don't have a lot of experience with ADD can misinterpret this symptom. They see that the person can focus on something they really enjoy, so they think it can't be ADD.
Disorganization in ADD can include physical as well as mental and emotional disorganization. The cars, desks, and backpacks of people with ADD tend to be messy. And they can have difficulty with organizing a plan or a timetable in their minds. They are also often late to activities because they find it difficult to organize in their minds how long it will take them to accomplish a task. However, people with ADD are not dumb. On the contrary, many children and adults with ADD are exceptionally bright and talented, but they often find it difficult to project this talent and intellect in a way that is acceptable to society's "norms."
They can have trouble with setting and achieving long-term goals, because they can find it difficult to live anywhere but in this moment, at this very time.
They can have difficulty motivating themselves to set and maintain a schedule. They can also tend to lack tact in dealing with people. They often speak impulsively, before they think about how their statements may be perceived by others. They can tend to lead their lives "by the seat of their pants", with little planning or scheduling involved.
People who have ADD will often behave impulsively. Because people who have ADD have what can seem like a million thoughts going through their heads at once, it is perfectly normal for them to be thinking about the beach one moment, and sitting down at the computer to attempt to book a trip to the beach in the next moment. Of course, as long as this is not a destructive pattern (they can actually afford to pay for a trip to the beach, and they can take time off work for a beach vacation), this can be a manageable symptom of ADD. However, it can be very destructive when the person with ADD also has trouble holding down a job and managing money.
In Part 2 of this 3-part series, I will talk more about some of the common myths about ADD, about people who have ADD, and about treatment of ADD.
