Anyone (other than me) Have "ADD" or ADHD?"...

[dEMOK]

For those who don't have it (and/or don't believe it exists) -- believe me ...it's an extremely challenging/real disorder.

Imagine having 5 discs in your DVD player, and they switch at random as you watch.


The upside -- you grow a keenly insightful overview of life!
The downside -- you grow away from the focus needed to consistently maintain your own life.

IMO We all have a disorder of some type (otherwise we wouldn't need to be on this planet).

...But for now, here's to the family of ADD & ADHD folks here! :toast:

edit for beer

[Phentex]

1. I consider myself more of an iPod on shuffle

random stuff constantly.

It's almost painful sometimes.

[bedpanartist]

2. I use it as an advantage

most people don't realize that ADHD folks can concentrate - it's called hyperfocusing - far more intensely than most too.

Embrace your ADD. It's a creative blessing. I would be nowhere without it.

[Red State Rebel]

5. Bingo! You Are So Right!!

Because of my ADD I have learned how to do more things than most people would ever contemplate from knitting and sewing to refinishing furniture and making my own soap. Yes, I lose interest quickly, but I will always have that knowledge!

Once you accept it and learn to work with it you can see it as a blessing. I can hyperfocus when I read - almost to the point of a catatonic state but not on much else.

Sometimes I hate my mind going in so many different directions, but mostly I accept and work around it.

[Random_Australian]

3. Just so's you know,

this DU group will always extend to you a warm welcome:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=276

The DU Mental Health Support Group. :)

It's possibly also the best place to find the people who don't see this Lounge announcement.

And for the record, no, I've not got ADD or ADHD, just posting the linkie. :)

[lizziegrace]

4. ADD

Anyone who's ever met me knows I'm not hyper...

I think it's more like a pinball game with thoughts bouncing off the paddles. Lelapin says I concentrate well until I see something shiny. Charming child. ;)

I can go in the living room to vacuum and spend the afternoon sorting old photos I found. My parents used to think I was ditzy and it was just who I was. 25 years later and many failures later, I have a diagnosis. With medication, I now have more control over what I can accomplish. Sleeping is still a problem. My mind never stops. Sigh...

[Taverner]

9. I couldn't sleep when they put me on Strattera

That stuff may have worked, but sleep was just impossible.

[MsKandice01]

10. Sounds exactly like me...

I saw a doctor who diagnosed me with ADD, then saw a psychologist who diagnosed me with depression, which is manifesting itself with ADD symptoms. She said that since I was able to pay attention in class as a youngster and not have to study to get good grades that it wasn't ADD??

[lizziegrace]

13. I got good grades too

all through HS. Graduated a year early. I was an auditory learner and remember most everything someone tells me. Got to college and almost flunked out.

I was treated for depression, anxiety and even bi-polar II. None of the meds slowed my brain down unless you count the bi-polar meds that put me in a stupor. :(

I finally got help at 45 after years of feeling stupid, lazy and basically worthless. :(

[raccoon]

6. I wonder sometimes if I have ADD. nt

[Breeze54]

7. Famous People and Attention Deficit Disorder

http://www.adhdrelief.com/famous.html">Famous People and Attention Deficit Disorder


Top Row (left to right): President Eisenhower, Beethoven, Stevie Wonder,
Mariette Hartley, President Lincoln, "Magic" Johnson
Second Row: Benjamin Franklin, William Butler Yeats, President Kennedy,
George Burns, Milton Hershey, Galileo
Third Row: Prince Charles, General Patton, Mozart, Greg Louganis,
Henry Winkler, Socrates
Bottom Row: Eleanor Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Harry Andersen, Jim Carey,
Sir Winston Churchill, Jason Kidd

---------

Albert Einstein — (1879-1955) — Physicist
(Famous Tongue Sticking Out Picture)
(Einstein was four years old before he could speak,
and seven before he could read)

[Orrex]

11. How many of those deceased figures were diagnosed during life?

If they were not, and/or if no hard data is available re: their neurochemistry, then they shouldn't be on the list. Their inclusion amounts to wishful thinking.

They may have had ADD or ADHD, but without a solid contemporary evaluation (or without the means to perform a solid evaluation in the present) then it's nothing but irresponsible post mortem retro-diagnosis.

[Breeze54]

14. I have no idea! Ask the creator of of the list!

:hi:

[Taverner]

8. Me

On Ritalin at 6

Fun fun...

[AggieGal]

12. I have ADD

It takes a lot for me to stay on track for the task at hand. However, I can learn fast and can access that information quickly.

My husband hates to watch TV with me. I do not like to sit thru commercials, so I flip between channels. Usually, watching two shows at once. I know what is going on with each show. My husband gets lost and tells me to stop. He calls me "flipper" when I have the remote. I know the last/previous button on remotes had to be invented by person with ADD.

[Ekirh]

15. ADHD . . .

I was diagnosed young....real young.. granted I was misdiagnosed everything else beforehand.. Was on Ritalin for about twelve years.. hated being medicated.. .

I'm unmedicated now

but the grow away from focus.. that's been a huge challenge for me.. and sadly.. I've failed it so far.. which is why I'm probably living with family still with an unsatisfying job.

[KitchenWitch]

16. ADD here!

[av8rdave]

17. I never gave it much creedence...until my daughter was diagnosed with it

following an extensive evaluation. It is very real. Fortunately, she has no hyperactivity, but the ADD is no joke. It took a long time to find the right combination of medication and strategies to cope with it.

She's doing very, very well. How are you making out with it?