The Up Side of ADHD?
I haven’t written about my ADD on this blog in a while. I think it’s probably became more sensitive about it upon realizing that the people work with read my blog. But then again, it’s right there in the categories on my sidebar, so anyone who wants to read about it can. Besides, this blog was one of the first places I began working out my issues around my ADD. The short story is that I was diagnosed with it a few years ago. I’ve had it all my life, but it went undiagnosed for 33 years or so. I managed to compensate for it all the way through school, until I got to college. Then I hit the wall. I hit it again when I entered the workforce. Treatment, in the form of medication and coaching, has helped alleviate the worst of it—that is to say, the most debilitating symptoms. So, I function much better than I used to, but it’s still with me, worse on some days than others.
So what inspired this post? Well, when I came home today, my husband told me about this Newsweek article entitled “The Gift of ADHD.” Gift? There’s an upside to this? Funny, that. For the most part it’s just been a pain in my ass. Anyway, I figured I’d better sit down for this one, because there’s gotta be some serious reframing going on.
Reframing is exactly what’s going on. What’s interesting to me is that it’s being done by the authors of the definitive book on adult ADD/ADHD.
For struggling parents, ADHD—which affects roughly 3 to 7 percent of Americans—may not seem like the key to anything other than frustration. But two new books, “Delivered From Distraction” by Dr. Edward Hallowell and Dr. John Ratey and “The Gift of ADHD” by Lara Honos-Webb, advance the controversial notion that distractibility, poor impulse control and emotional sensitivity have flip sides that are actually strengths—namely creativity, energy and intuition. “A huge proportion of criminals have ADHD,” says Hallowell. “So do a lot of successful artists and CEOs. It’s how you manage it that determines whether it becomes a gift or a curse.”
Creativity, energy, and intuition. Sounds good right? And I guess it is if one learns how to harness those things. But the reality, at least to me, is that the down side doesn’t ever entirely go away. My experience is that we live in a society with pretty low tolerance for the downside of ADD/ADHD—forgetfulness, poor attention to detail, etc.1—which never completely goes away. So, reframing ADD/ADHD is fine, but I’m not sure what good comes out of it unless there’s some sort of broad buy-in on that reframing. But I guess that the reframing has to start in order to get the ball rolling on societal buy-in. Until such a time, the only benefit is to those who are very good at using the “gifts” of their ADD/ADHD to their advantage, to the point where their accomplishments outweigh the effect of the downside of their ADD/ADHD (because, believe me, it’s still there). Not so great for those that don’t necessarily reach that level of functioning.
But Hallowell and Ratey insist that the difficulties can be overcome with a broad treatment program (including medications such as Ritalin) that helps patients learn to capitalize on strengths and compensate for weaknesses. They should know…they both have ADHD themselves—and both ended up as Harvard psychiatrists.
It’s the word “overcome” that sticks in my throat a little, because to me overcoming something means that it’s no longer a problem or an issue. But my experience with ADD/ADHD is that the downside doesn’t go away. The difficulties remain, and you can learn to manage them better, but they’re still there, and occasionally manifest despite the best efforts at management. The other thing that bothers me abou the article is how it seems to buy into the tradition idea of “success” (i.e. that success is being a CEO, a Harvard psychiatrist, etc.), almost unquestioningly.
Still, it’s hard to tell from the article just what the two books really have to say, so I’ll probably read them. But I’m taking it all with a grain or two of salt.
March 11th, 2005 at 10:49 am
i actually found your blog by searching for adhd and driving (a drivers ed topic)
i read that article in newsweek too, i subscribe to newsweek, and i get what you mean, people with adhd do tend to be creative and all, but we also tend to be scatter brained, disorganized, w/e, all that stuff that people consider “controllable” attributes, not stuff you’re born with
it really isnt that way though (i would be less forgetful, if i knew how……) and i think you havea good view on that,
-megan
rainbow052389@aol.com
June 13th, 2005 at 1:47 am
ADHD is portal; it is a door you step through to a greater intellectual consciousness. Focus on your gifts.
June 26th, 2005 at 2:41 am
I have thought about the upsides to ADHD alot. Years ago, doctors diceded it was a good idea to put me on a whole tune of ridalin and prozac to help and to calm me down. The problem now is with this “fixed” I am always tired, and get less done then before. The energy that comes with ADHD is an amazing thing, and should be looked at for good. you have more energy then most people, and your mind is more creative. I miss these parts of life.
There is also an extreme symtom that can come from having ADHD, and that is halusanating. I have found many people with ADHD have halusanated through most of there lives. Now I have never seen a Doc say this is related, but I strongly think it is. For thouse who have this extreme, like I do, this is somthing they should be focusing on to cure.
If it is to much to have the hyperness and not be able to pay attention, docs need to find a new way to “fix” this, becouse if you get loaded with piles, you will most likley end up like me, always tired, and going no where in life just becouse you cant wake up.
September 12th, 2005 at 10:43 am
I just read an article by Marilyn Lewis about ADHD. I have had ADD all my life. I wasn’t diagnosed with it until 1997. I was 43 years old at the time. I knew years earlier that I had it when I saw a Liza Gibbons show about ADD. I realized that my younger son also had ADD. At the time there wasn’t any testing done on adults in Maine. I didn’t put him on Ritalin until he was a freshman in high school, because I had heard the stories that it can cause sterility and that it would make him a zomby. I was wrong on both counts. When he really started having problems with his school work and was very depressed, I had the doctor put him on Ritalin. It worked wonders for him accademically and socially. I have been on Ritalin since 1997. We both have problems with inattention, distracability, forgetfulness, boring easily and task completion. I am in the business world and need the Ritalin to be able to concentrate. I only take 20 Milligrams a day, but the results are amazing. It bothers me when I see TV shows that show people on Ritalin as being zoned out. Now in this article, they tried to put people into categories. They put people into four different categories. There are only two categories really. Those who are hyperactive and those who are not. It is only a matter of which medication and the dosage. I tried Stratera last year and it didn’t work for me. It made me tired. I thought it would help because you only have to take it once a day instead of twice, so there is no down time. Apparently, this drug doesn’t come in small doses. Another reason I decided to try Stratera, is because it is so hard to get Ritalin. The hoops you have to go through to get it. You have to get a new prescription every month. It has to be on special paper and if it isn’t, you have to go back to the doctor’s office so they can get it right. I realize that this is a narcotic, but shouldn’t there be a way to verify who the drug is going to so we don’t have to do so much running around to get it. As far as the creative side is concerned. I discovered last year after my sister Bonnie died of Lung Cancer, that I can paint. Bonnie was a landscape artist, and I inherited her painting supplies after her death. I painted a portrait of her for my mother and I have painted portraits of my granddaughters. I probably need a few lessons on shading. Bonnie and I worked on a picture of a bowl of fruit together before she died for my dining room. ADD is a complex problem for those of us that have it, but with the right medication it is managable.
September 28th, 2005 at 6:05 pm
Some excellent points. Its nice to know that others share so many perceptions. I guess great and afflicted minds think alike.
My experience on the Meds was just the opposite of Sherry’s, Strattera is the only thing that seems to work for me, the phychostimulants were helpful, but not to the degree that Strattera is. (And it has to be, or I would not put up with the side effects.)
I like Megan’s observation on the “stuff that people consider “controllable” attributes”. Kind of like a comment Tom Smothers once made about the difficulty of a task being so quickly and ‘objectively’ judged by those who never have to do it.
Robert
November 2nd, 2005 at 11:49 am
My son was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago. He is 6 years old. But, I knew when he was about a year and a half that there was something going on with him. He is such a bright child, but, misses a lot of small details. Before he could say regular words, he could repeat and memorize the names of most dinosaurs known to man. That is how I knew he was bright. But, ordinary things bore him to tears. Dealing with his hyperactivity and emotional episodes are very trying and at times, hard to deal with. But, so many times, I look at him and watch him and see myself in him. He is so much like me it is scary. I have never been officially diagnosed with ADD/ADHD but, do believe I may very well have it. Since he has been diagnosed, I have been trying to learn as much as possible about what we are dealing with. They recommend strict structure for ADHD kids, but, my son has tremendous difficulty with strict structure. And I am constantly worried about his success in life because he struggles with monotony and restraint and structure.
February 16th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
i don’t know about you guys but i have adhd bad, and i am in the middle of a school project on it. you are all being serious and stuff, talking all technically, i am going to be real, adhd sucks 90% of the time, really sucks 8% of the time (like get me into trouble and alot of it), and is great 2% of the time (like when i’m playing ddr). the truth is my parents don’t have it so they are really hard on me, i have a 3.6 and i still can’t play sports because i forgot something, i get yelled at by teachers for it, on doctors office stuff they treat me differantly because i have to put it in the paper work, i don’t eat because of the medication so i am under weight and that sucks in football, the only good thing is i make friends fast and i can read people and tell them what they want to hear. it’s hard to believe but i am proud of it though. and one last thing it took me a long time to read that stupid type.