Would you know if you have ADD?
I’m thinking the answer to this is: you might not, and I use myself as an example in this discussion.
ADD, or ADHD, (Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is probably both over-diagnosed and under-diagnosed. Some people are told they have it when they probably do not, and many people have it without being told they have it. It is a hard condition to diagnose.
ADD rarely crossed my mind until I was in a bookstore a while back and noticed a book entitled Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder
- Extreme impatience (me for sure)
- Excessive distractability (me … I have way too many interests)
- Impulsivity (me, when it comes to buying stuff I want)
- Doesn’t read books all the way through (Whoa! That’s me, for sure.)
So, I bought the book and have picked up some good tips that I am putting to use. I discuss those below, along with a few more eye-opening questions the authors (two medical doctors) ask. Before getting into those points, it is important to note that:
- ADD, attention deficit disorder, should probably be named ASD, attention surplus disorder - there is no deficit of attention at all: rather there is attention on many, many things at once.
- People with ADD can be successful; in fact, very successful. The authors discuss some who are. So, ADD can be a frustrating condition, but not necessarily a crippling one.
- When I discussed this with an associate, he stated (only half in jest) that most of the professionals we know probably had ADD. This makes me wonder if the pressures on modern professionals actually cause many ADD-like symptoms. Hence, I thought it would make a good topic for discussion.
The authors discuss several things that one can do to overcome the downsides of ADD. A few of those are:
- Reduce TV and electronics.
- Get adequate protein, Omega 3, and antioxidants.
- Do what you’re good at, not what you’re bad at: delegate what you’re bad at as much as you can.
- Get well-enough organized to achieve your goals. The authors emphasize “well-enough.” That doesn’t mean becoming another David Allen or Steven Covey or some other time management guru … just good enough to achieve your goals.
A few of the “test questions” the authors pose (they pose a huge number of them) are:
- Are you more tenacious and persistent than the average person?
- Do you perceive patterns where other people don’t see them?
- Do you feel that you are underachieving in your life, even though you may have achieved a great deal so far?
- Have you missed many opportunities due to procrastination?
So How Does One Deal With This?
For me, one of the things the author’s solutions translates into is that I am starting to use a paper planner! Yes, me of all people. I still use my new T-Mobile Dash Smartphone, and still keep key appointments on it and all major tasks. But, I am using a paper planner to layout my week in more detail, and to keep it “in front of my eyes.” I used a paper planner very effectively for years, and have also use one in conjunction with a PDA at times, but I am trying to put this in place as a fixture for me. Electronic devices, as much as I love them, probably do distract me too much: I’m always tweaking the blasted things. And there are times when I feel like a servant to them, instead of vice versa. So, it’s time to put a stop to that.
As far as my “paper planner” goes, I’m using printouts from the free templates provided at DIYplanner. I use the letter size and printout a week’s worth of Day Keeper sheets at a time and carry those in one of the many portfolio binders I’ve been given over the years. Doing this, instead of buying a full set of planning materials, helps me address one of my other problems: the impulse to buy whatever strikes my fancy at the time. So far this is working well.
I’ve also have been taking Omega 3 supplements for a month and a half or so, and I do think they are helpful (although I have no quantitative support for that).
I only know a couple of people who have been formally diagnosed with ADD, but I suspect that there are several who have it that have not been diagnosed (myself included). Hence, I thought posting on it might be helpful to others.
Update:
In a private email, a friend who has been diagnosed with ADD relayed the following points to me:
- A dopamine defect appears to be a cause (or contributor to) ADD, as discussed in this ScienceDaily article.
- There are a lot of slight variations with ADD symptoms, so diagnosis is not straightforward.
- As my friend stated: “One thing common with ADD is “hyperfocusing” - where you can put an incredible amount of attention/focus on a topic for a period of time.”
- The fact that my symptoms have surfaced only in the last few years does not jive with classic ADD, which is in play all of one’s life. However, there is some evidence that life-changing events (the loss of my wife) can alter body chemistry. I know it’s altered my weight: I’ve lost 26 pounds and was never heavy to begin with.
I am still uncertain as to whether I have ADD. But, these additional facts seemed worthwhile to point out.
Do you have thoughts to add to this?
Other articles that may interest you are:
- Keeping Your Brain In Shape
- What Do You Want to Accomplish by Friday?
- Questions to Ask Yourself Periodically
- Is Technology Holding Your Back?
- Keeping a Daily Record
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
this provides great insight, thanks!
Glad you liked it, Ashley. Thank you for the feedback!
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Is there more questions you can perhaps post on how to diagnose ADD. I feel I get distracted easily from conversations and have bad memory for somethings while very agile memory for others, what are other ways one may notice if one has ADD.
Hi David,
Getting distracted in conversations is pretty natural, because our minds think so much quicker than people talk … hence the tendency for them to wander while folks are talking. This is why it is so hard to find a “really good listener” … it takes a lot of effort to really tune into a person’s talking without the mind wandering. It is probably worse for ADD’ers but it affects everyone.
I could list some more questions out of the book that I cited but at some point I feel like I would be violating their copyright. If you are not inclined to get the book, I do suggest just stopping a local Barnes and Nobel and just browsing through the questions section.
The authors will tell you, though, that ADD can be very hard to diagnose. What I suggest is to do like I have done: take an Omega 3 supplement, increase the fruit and veggie intake, and cut back on the electronics … especially cut back on the electronics, as they can be a huge, huge distraction to ADD’ers.
This article was yet another insight delivered by Bruce Keener right into my life, like a fresh waking wind. Although being a qualified psychiatrist, I have never thought about having ADD myself, but the signs appear to be undeniable now. Amazing irony, isn’t it? In Russia (where I am from) we used to diagnose ADD widely in children, and almost never in adults, which may explain an overlook on my part to a certain extent.
What I would really like to add to the topic, is that all the biochemical mumbo jumbo about inborn dopamine deficit or about lack of unsaturated fatty acids is probably talking about the effect, not the cause. Most of the countless traps of ever-developing human civilization have the same roots - disrespect or blindness to the laws of our nature. Big cities produce everyday vibration and noise sensory overload. Just think about a subway or those traffic jams, let alone that poisoned air and polluted water. Demanding societies raise narcissistic persons, rushing to the top ranks with below-zero emptiness inside and insatiable greed, too. No love allowed. Honorable and stable relationship is out of fashion, as ridiculous as it sounds, still true. Technologies are developing towards hypodynamia lifestyle, like, “yay, take Your comfort of a new sofa with built-in Internet access”, and all that crap. Tons of useless information rains upon us from every screen and speaker, causing data overload and loss of priorities. Disorientation and dismay, loss of keen life sense. More of that, natural learning patterns based on positive and negative reinforcements lead only to addictions in unnatural civilization environment we have to live in. Just think about it, any ancient or contemporary narcological problem deals with artificial drugs, created and industrially manufactured by human civilization itself, be they chemical (alcohol, heroine) or not (Internet, shopping, gambling). Natural “go to pleasure and run from pain” principle is compromised by rapid (a couple of centuries is no time for evolution) change of evolutionary conditions it was initially developed for (talking about tech civilization vs wild nature here). Our brand-new artificial pleasures are killing us, as opposite to the natural ones. It’s like a huge in vivo experiment with a so-called “progressive mankind” starring as rats in a cage. Well, this is what we observe in a hostile environment like this: depressions, perversions and obsessive behaviour are slowly becoming a new norm. Telling You that with full responsibility as a doctor, it’s going to get even worse, just give it a time. You may check out WHO prognosis data and learn statistically approved tendencies for Yourself, though. Success on the outside, pain on the inside - that’s a usual story of a contemporary human being. Instead of spiritual evolution we’ve chosen a technical one.
But that’s enough, I bet You can see my point by now. So let’s get back to our beloved biochemistry. For example, in most of the figures I invoked before we’ve been talking about dopamine motivation system disfunction and probably endorphins deficit, too. Now, where it leads us? Getting more dopamine, ( serotonin, noradrenalin, whatever) synthesized in our brains, some doctors say. Nonsense, I whisper (can’t say that loud to scientists of pharmaceutical lobbies, You know). One can’t violate and misuse evolutionary developed mechanisms hundreds of thousand years old, and then just rectify everything with some pills. A peace of mind is a real goal, and a proper living style with sane life priorities is what it takes. Instead of conclusion, I would say that anyone who cares about his mental health should guard himself from our technical civilization stress factors. I’m not selling You on WWF or calling upon crashing Your car and computer, running to the forest or something. I’m just trying to tell that focusing on inner priorities like love, live, growth and spiritual devotion is what it’s all about. In most mental disorders, pills give us crutches, while live feelings and thoughts give us wings.
I guess my post is too long to provide comfortable reading for ADDers. Just a joke, no offense. And I am an ADDer, too. By the way, sorry for possible misuse of English as it isn’t my native language. And the most important thing, let me express sincere gratitude for Your blog, Bruce. I can feel it gave me a new perspective, maybe even more than I know right now. I also admire Your courage and serenity at the face of latter loss. And Your “Keen PDA” guide happened to become a book of great practical use for me, too. Thanks a lot.
Alex,
Thank you for your very insightful comments! You raise such important points that I am going to write an article about your comments. I suspect a lot of folks, me included, can benefit from a thoughtful reflection on your advice.
Thank you also for the kind words!
[...] But tonight, Alex, a doctor from Russia, made a comment on my post Would You Know if You have ADD, and this comment just jumped out at me and said: Bruce, you need to share this with folks, son. So, I am doing so: Alex’s comment on ADD. [...]
Great comment and a good read. I generally agree with what you’ve said here, Alex. I’ve learned most of it the hard way, but sometimes I think that’s the only way we really learn things.
Lance, You have a good point about how we learn the hard way (or not at all). Applies to too much of my life.
[...] I am not certain: I personally have difficulty implementing the techniques. Chalk it up to my ADD-like personality, perhaps, or to a lack of practice, or to some other cause. I only know that my latest [...]
hi, sorry for your loss.
i have read your book in one night , it is a mazing and help full.
i just want to tell you that the afterlife is a fact in my religion (Islam).
and as u asked : ” why the life has this all evil things ? ”
and i add , why lovely kind full people ? this is all because there is another better life than this we live.
this one is the afterlife ,where we live forever in peace in the heaven.
where we can see our God , talk with Him and ask Him for what we want.
do u know that the least one and the last one to enter heaven takes from God as much as what ten great kings in that life may have.
thanks alot for this great book and the help you offer for everyone.
God bless you and merciful be upon your wife.
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am glad my book has been helpful to you. May God also bless you. Thank you.
Bruce, let me tell you - I’m a computer geek and GTD/time management guy, I’ve been living with all these things for years. Organizing, overusing computer(s) etc.
And I had come to the same conclusion lately - I have almost every typical ADD symptom described in articles found on the Internet. That shocked me - I was well organized, had excellent factual and number memory, was always the best student, was solid and calm.
But slowly some things began to dawn on me:
- I get bored with “stupid” job/tasks incredibly quickly (5 minutes max)
- I’m WAY faster at speaking, thinking and seeing than most people around me, but that makes me so impatient and upset
- I’m very easily distracted from whatever I do, also when I’m speaking
- I have very poor memory when it comes to something that originated outside my own mind, like sb asks me to do sth or sb asks me to tell sb else about sth - I almost always forget
- I feel a pressure to respond to questions / casual chat immediately. It’s like a habit - I just must respond in less than 1 second. That makes me say stupid things, speak unclearly etc. Weird.
- I give up very easily
- I heat up easily (to do sth cool), but I lose interest just as quickly
- impulsiveness - well you name it, I do it…. shopping, food etc.
It was actually pretty hard at first. I understood this makes me so bad at some important things in my life. But I don’t know what to do about it, really, no clue.
One interesting thing — I wasn’t like this 10 years ago (I’m 25 now), or I don’t remember. It started around the age of 20.
For instance, through primary and secondary school I used to listen to the music while doing homework, playing computer games, writing texts, programming etc.
But for the past 5 years I was unable to do it again, which I hate. I’m completely UNABLE to focus with almost any kind of music. This is totally different from what I experienced when I was a teenager. But this goes eve n further — noise in general is a problem, and I have trouble getting rid of it.
Some of these symptoms are related to my general personality perhaps, but perhaps I could confirm adult-ADD symptoms at the doctor’s or something… you think they might give me good hints about what to do?
(things you mentioned are either already undergoing, or can’t be applied right now)
Jakub,
I would say a visit to an appropriate doctor would be worthwhile. This is one of the most researched areas in the world, so surely a doctor can provide advice that I am not aware of. Also, medication could be in order. That could help you get control of your life at all levels … sounds like you are in great control in the major areas, but that things like impulsiveness need control. Sounds like we have some similarities in where we have control (managing time) and where we could do better (feeling the need to chime in, distracted by music/noise, etc.) Best wishes with it.
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