Sometimes I look back over my life and can't help but think that I "intuitively knew" that I had ADD, long before I knew or understood or considered that I might actually have it.
Cryptic? OK, stay with me, here...
I look at some of the ways I've "arranged" my life and my interests... and the way they follow and resemble a number of generally accepted "coping tools" for people with ADD. And yet? I came up with these tools on my own, without ever really having read a description of the condition.
On some level, taking these steps "just made sense."
I am especially aware of the way I have created a work life that seems to "fit" my temperament. And that's it, right there: Until just a couple of years ago, my interpretation of the situation was simply that I had a "scattered temperament" and a relatively poor short term memory.
Humans are amazingly adaptable.
Give just how adaptable we are, it sometimes often distresses me that so much effort is being put into medicalizing perfectly normal parts of the human existence.
I managed to get to where I am through years of treating ADD as a bit of a joke: Around our house we'd regularly say things like "Yeah, you're ADD-ish as frak!" but it was mostly said in jest...
Showing posts with label Background info. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Background info. Show all posts
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
I am not an Expert on Inattentive ADD-- but then again, I AM
What makes someone an "expert?"
It depends on who you ask. Some people would argue that you can't be an "expert" on something unless you spent 12 years in university studying the problem, and now how have a bunch of "initials" after your name.
By that measure, I am NOT an "expert" on Inattentive ADD/ADHD.
On the other hand, as of this writing I am 52 years old and have lived with the condition all my life. So you can argue that I have "52 years experience in the field." And that certainly accounts for something. Would you listen to someone who's been avidly gardening for 50+ years if-- however-- they did not have a Ph.D. in Horticulture?
Two important things to keep in mind about this site:
1. I am not pretending to be an "expert" on anything, I am merely sharing my personal experience. These are not "how to" columns, rather they are my stories of "I did this, as a consequence of which that happened." I'm not saying it's gonna work for you, merely that it worked for me (or not!).
2. I am not pretending that this site is an "advice column" or a place that "prescribes" a specific healing methodology. I am not a doctor or a mental health professional. Again, I am merely sharing my personal experience, from living, breathing and eating "this thing," every single day of my life.
"Expert" is a bit of a nebulous term, in my experience. Somebody with a Harvard doctorate in business management will bring something different to the table than somebody who's been running a business for 30 years. Neither is necessarily "right" or "wrong." They are just different.
It depends on who you ask. Some people would argue that you can't be an "expert" on something unless you spent 12 years in university studying the problem, and now how have a bunch of "initials" after your name.
By that measure, I am NOT an "expert" on Inattentive ADD/ADHD.
On the other hand, as of this writing I am 52 years old and have lived with the condition all my life. So you can argue that I have "52 years experience in the field." And that certainly accounts for something. Would you listen to someone who's been avidly gardening for 50+ years if-- however-- they did not have a Ph.D. in Horticulture?
Two important things to keep in mind about this site:
1. I am not pretending to be an "expert" on anything, I am merely sharing my personal experience. These are not "how to" columns, rather they are my stories of "I did this, as a consequence of which that happened." I'm not saying it's gonna work for you, merely that it worked for me (or not!).
2. I am not pretending that this site is an "advice column" or a place that "prescribes" a specific healing methodology. I am not a doctor or a mental health professional. Again, I am merely sharing my personal experience, from living, breathing and eating "this thing," every single day of my life.
"Expert" is a bit of a nebulous term, in my experience. Somebody with a Harvard doctorate in business management will bring something different to the table than somebody who's been running a business for 30 years. Neither is necessarily "right" or "wrong." They are just different.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
An Explanation, of Sorts...
I need another blog, about as much as I need another hole in my head.
Ironically, my decision to start this one serves as a beautiful illustration of the condition I live with: I am an adult with the "Inattentive" version of ADHD. Or, rather "ADD." Because there is nothing "hyperactive" about me...
Even though I already have a dozen-odd "perfectly good" blogs, I have gotten sidetracked into taking on another one. "Sidetracking" is pretty much my middle name, as well as the bane of my existence.
There's a lot of information about ADD/ADHD on the web... but the vast majority seems to be about the "hyperactive" variant.
I'm not really sure what I am hoping to accomplish here.
Perhaps this is just going to be a "sanity journal," of sorts. Or it might end up being where I store useful information I find, insights and ideas. Then again, maybe it will turn into some kind of "social tool," through which I connect with others in the same boat as I.
I really wanted to use the name "Letters from La La Land," but that name (and the corresponding web domain) was already taken. So I nabbed this one, instead.
So what exactly IS "La La Land?"
It's the strange "brain fog" inattentive ADD sufferers live with. It's really hard to describe briefly, and by looking directly at... but in the months and years ahead, I shall endeavor to share experiences that might at least hint at what I am talking about.
Ironically, my decision to start this one serves as a beautiful illustration of the condition I live with: I am an adult with the "Inattentive" version of ADHD. Or, rather "ADD." Because there is nothing "hyperactive" about me...
Even though I already have a dozen-odd "perfectly good" blogs, I have gotten sidetracked into taking on another one. "Sidetracking" is pretty much my middle name, as well as the bane of my existence.
There's a lot of information about ADD/ADHD on the web... but the vast majority seems to be about the "hyperactive" variant.
I'm not really sure what I am hoping to accomplish here.
Perhaps this is just going to be a "sanity journal," of sorts. Or it might end up being where I store useful information I find, insights and ideas. Then again, maybe it will turn into some kind of "social tool," through which I connect with others in the same boat as I.
I really wanted to use the name "Letters from La La Land," but that name (and the corresponding web domain) was already taken. So I nabbed this one, instead.
So what exactly IS "La La Land?"
It's the strange "brain fog" inattentive ADD sufferers live with. It's really hard to describe briefly, and by looking directly at... but in the months and years ahead, I shall endeavor to share experiences that might at least hint at what I am talking about.
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