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Does this accurately describe ADHD?
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:22 am
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:22 am
Stolen from Reddit
quote:
ADHD is about having broken filters on your perception.
Normal people have a sort of mental secretary that takes the 99% of irrelevant crap that crosses their mind, and simply deletes it before they become consciously aware of it. As such, their mental workspace is like a huge clean whiteboard, ready to hold and organize useful information.
ADHD people... have no such luxury. Every single thing that comes in the front door gets written directly on the whiteboard in bold, underlined red letters, no matter what it is, and no matter what has to be erased in order for it to fit.
As such, if we're in the middle of some particularly important mental task, and our eye should happen to light upon... a doorknob, for instance, it's like someone burst into the room, clad in pink feathers and heralded by trumpets, screaming HEY LOOK EVERYONE, IT'S A DOORKNOB! LOOK AT IT! LOOK! IT OPENS THE DOOR IF YOU TURN IT! ISN'T THAT NEAT? I WONDER HOW THAT ACTUALLY WORKS DO YOU SUPPOSE THERE'S A CAM OR WHAT? MAYBE ITS SOME KIND OF SPRING WINCH AFFAIR ALTHOUGH THAT SEEMS KIND OF UNWORKABLE.
It's like living in a soft rain of post-it notes.
This happens every single waking moment, and we have to manually examine each thought, check for relevance, and try desperately to remember what the thing was we were thinking before it came along, if not. Most often we forget, and if we aren't caught up in the intricacies of doorknob engineering, we cast wildly about for context, trying to guess what the frick we were up to from the clues available.
Perhaps you're getting an idea of why we have the task-management skills of a five-year-old - and why we tend to have an "oh frick" expression on our face whenever you interrupt us in the middle of something.
On the other hand, we're extremely good at working out the context of random remarks, as we're effectively doing that all the time anyway. I've lost count of the times my wife has said "Hang on... how the hell did you know what I was talking about?"
We rely heavily on routine, and 90% of the time get by on autopilot. You can't get distracted from a sufficiently ingrained habit, no matter what useless crap is going on inside your head... unless someone goes and actually disrupts your routine. I've actually been distracted out of taking my lunch to work, on several occasions, by my wife reminding me to take my lunch to work. What the? Who? Oh, yeah, will do. Where was I? um... briefcase! Got it. Now keys.. okay, see you honey!
Quite often, if there's too much input, we can get kind of overwhelmed, like a new puppy surrounded by excited children. It's a flustery, unpleasant state to be in, halfway between excitement and anxiety, with no emotional component either way, but all the pacing and twitchiness of both.
Also, there's a diminishing-returns thing going on when trying to concentrate on what you might call a non-interactive task. Entering a big block of numbers into a spreadsheet, for instance. Keeping focused on the task takes exponentially more effort each minute, for less and less result. If you've ever held a brick out at arm's length for an extended period, you'll know the feeling. That's why reddit, for instance, is like crack to us - it's a non-stop influx of constantly-new things, so we can flick from one to the next after only seconds. It's better/worse than pistachios.
The exception to this is a thing we get called hyperfocus. Occasionally, when something just clicks with us, we can get ridiculously deeply drawn into it, and NOTHING can distract us. We've locked our metaphorical office door, and we're not coming out for anything short of a tornado. I've sat reading a book on a deathly-quiet country train platform, and not noticed a honking great train pull in about a foot from my nose, until someone tapped me on the shoulder. The same can happen with certain video games - what the frick, it was light, now it's 4am.
Medication - ritalin, in my case, takes the edge off. It reduces the input, it tones down the fluster, it makes it easier to ignore trivial stuff, and it increases the maximum focus-time. Imagine steadicam for your skull.
It also happens to make my vision go a little weird and loomy occasionally, and can reduce appetite a bit.
Ritalin (non-SR) is in and out of your system within 4 hours - it comes on in half an hour or so, and fades out fairly slowly.
Is this of any help?
EDIT: Holy crap, so many awesome responses, and holy crap, 8 gilds, and in general... holy crap!
A couple of common responses:
Pomodoro technique for productivity, google it.
High-stimulation, reactive tasks (Quake 3 is perfect) to relax. What you need is not less input, as you just bounce off all your inner thoughts, but to stop trying to filter.
Personal whiteboard, in reach of your chair, for task management. Nobody else to touch.
Don't overload the short-term memory of an ADDer. Give them a string of tasks, and they'll forget all but the last one. Give them a list, and ask for their full attention when they can give it, instead of asking them to pause for your request.
If we are managing to be productive, don't for god's sake interrupt us unless it's urgent. You can totally derail us for five times as long as the interruption/break itself. We'll get coffee later, but many thanks for the offer.
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:23 am to Mr Gardoki
I got 1/3 of the way through but I'm way too ADD to read all that shite
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:24 am to Mr Gardoki
Anyone with ADHD couldn't read that long arse post. Tl;dr
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:25 am to Mr Gardoki
TL;D...wanna go ride bikes?
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:27 am to Mr Gardoki
ADHD isn't real. It's invented by the drug companies and over diagnosed by doctors in order to sell pills
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:37 am to Mr Gardoki
I stopped after the door knob and went to look at one of my own.
But shite that's a long arse read.
But shite that's a long arse read.
This post was edited on 10/18/14 at 11:38 am
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:44 am to Mr Gardoki
most people who are diagnosed adhd aren't adhd.
people seek their doctors for adhd meds and get them, and do better in school or work because stimulants have that positive work/ study effect on all.
it also has the effect of potentiating dormant mental disease, like schizophrenia.
people seek their doctors for adhd meds and get them, and do better in school or work because stimulants have that positive work/ study effect on all.
it also has the effect of potentiating dormant mental disease, like schizophrenia.
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:53 am to Mr Gardoki
adhd is a first world privileged disease. Every student at an elite private school should be a genius. If they aren't, adhd is an excuse.
Posted on 10/18/14 at 11:59 am to Mr Gardoki
got add... did not read. want some coffee? let me know who won the game tonight. brb, going to .. one sec... wait, what? lick the book.
Posted on 10/18/14 at 12:43 pm to Mr Gardoki
I think he's way overblowing it but yea that's kind of the way it is
Posted on 10/18/14 at 12:52 pm to Mr Gardoki
ADHD/ADD is a function of there being significantly fewer smokers in this country and by law even more so significantly reduced second hand smoke affecting the mass population.
The majority of the population (especially children) were constantly stimulated due to the high prevalence of nicotine basically everywhere. That is until the lawsuits against the tobacco companies hit and laws began being passed to limit second hand smoke in various public places like the workplace, restaurants, etc.
Once the full court press was put on about the dangers of smoking and links to cancers and other diseases, quitting smoking in this country gained momentum.
As a result, the stimulation of children and adults alike that had been a way of life and not really understood was suddenly abandoned. The ADHD/ADD symptoms that always had potential to surface were simply held in check until recent years for this reason.
So the ADD meds are simply replacing what nicotine had provided for hundreds of years unbeknownst to anyone. It was always there...it was just being inadvertently controlled by a bad smoking habit.
Ok...tin foil hat removed. :)
The majority of the population (especially children) were constantly stimulated due to the high prevalence of nicotine basically everywhere. That is until the lawsuits against the tobacco companies hit and laws began being passed to limit second hand smoke in various public places like the workplace, restaurants, etc.
Once the full court press was put on about the dangers of smoking and links to cancers and other diseases, quitting smoking in this country gained momentum.
As a result, the stimulation of children and adults alike that had been a way of life and not really understood was suddenly abandoned. The ADHD/ADD symptoms that always had potential to surface were simply held in check until recent years for this reason.
So the ADD meds are simply replacing what nicotine had provided for hundreds of years unbeknownst to anyone. It was always there...it was just being inadvertently controlled by a bad smoking habit.
Ok...tin foil hat removed. :)
Posted on 10/18/14 at 1:23 pm to Mr Gardoki
quote:
Normal people have a sort of mental secretary that takes the 99% of irrelevant crap that crosses their mind, and simply deletes it before they become consciously aware of it. As such, their mental workspace is like a huge clean whiteboard, ready to hold and organize useful information.
Baseless assertion
quote:
ADHD people... have no such luxury. Every single thing that comes in the front door gets written directly on the whiteboard in bold, underlined red letters, no matter what it is, and no matter what has to be erased in order for it to fit.
Not at all believable. Sounds like the kind of thing you would say if you wanted to justify ADHD diagnoses. The whole thing reads that way.
Bunch of hippy dippy baloney.
Posted on 10/18/14 at 1:25 pm to Mr Gardoki
Not reading this thread but how many OTers have claimed to have ADD when in reality they aren't even close?
Sort of like when people claim they are OCD because they like shite organized and clean like every other normal adult.
Sort of like when people claim they are OCD because they like shite organized and clean like every other normal adult.
Posted on 10/18/14 at 1:41 pm to Mr Gardoki
I couldn't read it all, I must have 80HD
Posted on 10/18/14 at 1:57 pm to Mr Gardoki
My oldest kid was diagnosed with ADD around 4th grade. Doing homework with him was hell. Put him on Ritalin and it was like night and day. His teachers noticed the change instantly. Eventually it affected his diet too much, we switched to other meds, and he never really tolerated those. Downhill from there. Barely made it through high school.
Posted on 10/18/14 at 3:58 pm to Mr Gardoki
Pretty good description.
Here is an example; if I am taking a test in the computer lab and someone comes to sit next to me, my test is all but over. All I can think about is everything that person is doing and nothing of what I'm supposed to be doing. Then, I can hear someone writing, focus on that. Then, someone typing on their calculator, focus on that, and it just keeps going on until my test time is almost over and I'm scrambling to finish.
Any simple small thing will distract me and I cannot get back on topic.
Here is an example; if I am taking a test in the computer lab and someone comes to sit next to me, my test is all but over. All I can think about is everything that person is doing and nothing of what I'm supposed to be doing. Then, I can hear someone writing, focus on that. Then, someone typing on their calculator, focus on that, and it just keeps going on until my test time is almost over and I'm scrambling to finish.
Any simple small thing will distract me and I cannot get back on topic.
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