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, and started flipping through it. As I did, I noticed things like:
- 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, some of the best advice came in getting me to use paper more in my project management activities. I used a paper planner very effectively for years, but I started using Pocket PCs and other gadgets. 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, going back to using paper more is helping me a lot. By the way, if you are interested in doing this, a lot of people are now using David Allen’s paper coordinators. There are also a lot of other fine paper products you can use, including free forms available on the web. A friend of mine who was formally diagnosed with ADHD, and crippled by it for years, has found that going to paper planners has been a huge help for him. (Like me, he was heavy into electronic planners, to the point that they distracted him more than helped him.)
Speaking of using time management, you’ll need to establish whether David Allen’s or Covey’s techniques (or a combination) work better for you. If you haven’t already done so, you should read both of their books:
Some ADD sufferers have told me that GTD saved their lives, while others have said the same about Covey’s techniques. I’ve always been blessed at managing time well, but still learned a lot from both books, and I use techniques from both.
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 suspect that there are several who have ADD/ADHD but 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:
- He read an article that said that a dopamine defect appears to be a cause (or contributor to) ADD.
- 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. And, it’s important to note again that you want to get well-enough organized to achieve your goals. Don’t spend time trying to become a ninja at these techniques … just use them well enough to serve you.
Do you have thoughts to add to this?
Other articles I’ve written that may help those with ADD::
- What Do You Want to Accomplish by Friday?
- Questions to Ask Yourself Periodically
- Keeping a Daily Record
- Keeping Your Brain In Shape
- Is Technology Holding Your Back?
A good book on ADD is: Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder
[Photo courtesy of J Thompson via Flickr]
this provides great insight, thanks!
Glad you liked it, Ashley. Thank you for the feedback!
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!
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.
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.
I was wondering what drugs you should be taking for add? Do they help and which is least powerful?
Hi Roger,
Not having visited a doctor for this myself, I couldn’t say. Perhaps a fellow reader who is taking medication can help out with this.
One thing I do know, for sure, from all of the prescription drugs my late wife took over the years: every drug has side effects, often as bad as what they are attempting to cure (sometimes worse), and if you can find a diet that helps (along with reducing electronics and other distraction-inducers), that might be the route to go, at least initially. If they do not bring sufficient help, then a visit to a doctor would certainly be appropriate.
There is an interesting article in the “Atlantic” magazine July/August 2208 entitiled “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains”
Although in my 50’s I can also say that I was not like many of these ADD symptoms when I was younger i.e. I had a magnificent memory, could read music at 4, was interested in most things, loved reading anything, good in school. Most of this has now gone by the wayside.
One thing to note, my husband is probably severely ADHD and an math wiz. After all these years with him and his crazy making behaviors I almost have a hard time talking with people who I sense aren’t ADD. They just make too much sense and there’s no reason to debate or argue anything. They just talk plain talk with no cosmic reasoning or language.
Our kids are now manifesting acting out behaviors as they find dealing with their parents conversations are killing their souls.
Interesting article you mentioned, Mary. I also wonder if the internet is making us stupid, or rather if our use of it is doing so.
My best wishes to you and yours.
I feel like I just figured out a long, long problem in my mind.. I actually heard the *ding* haha. I never would have thought I had ADD, for whatever reason I have been misdiagnosed my whole life, I’ve had my “symptoms” treated (ie anxiety, depression) but not the source. What I knew in my mind to be “ADD” is so different from who and what I am, or so I thought. Finally I began researching what I feel, which btw is a hard thing to do when you don’t even know your “symptoms”, that’s just regular old LIFE to me, but as it turns out it’s not so regular after all. What you wrote makes total sense and I’ve made an appt. first thing tomorrow to see if this is *finally* IT. That.. that.. thing I always knew was there, but could never put my finger on it.
Good luck, Dawn!
hey i have a question.
I dont feel the need to get checked for any of these but do you think i might have adhd?
I’m over all a hyper person always happy jumping around. I can’t sit down for a long period of time and if i do i’m bouncing in my own seat. When people talk to me I zone out and think about turtles or something super random..
I also can’t read for a long time. I get HORRIBLE headaches, which causes me not to keep reading, besides nothing keeps me entertained long enough anyway.. not even tv. or videogames.
just thought I’d ask. thanks so much.
another thing (sorry)
i’m an anxioius person. I’m always waiting for the next day
always SUPER EXCITED for something NOT EXCITING to anyone else.
and I also worry about EVERY LITTLE THING. maybe i’m crazy ;D
@allison I don’t think anyone can give you a diagnosis remotely. My recommendation is to see a doctor if you feel the need for diagnosis. My purpose in writing this article was not to help anyone diagnose themselves, completely, but to give signs to compare against and to suggest that there are some treatment methods that do not involve medication. However, I am not a doctor, and would not want to suggest that medication would never be appropriate. I think it probably is appropriate for people with significant ADHD. I also think we live in an over-medicated society and wanted to emphasize that getting away from some electronics was helpful to me. I do not even know for sure that I have ADHD … I certainly have some of the symptoms, but not “all” of them.
Anyway, if you feel a need for help, then I suggest that you seek help from a true professional. Good luck.
Hi,
Thanks. Do you think is there any exact medic way to prove for an ADD or is it more just guessing? Thanks a lot.
I think the specialists are good at diagnosing, from what I’ve read. But apparently it takes special training, because some of the symptoms can be associated with other things, too.
The book I read on it (mentioned above in the article) was written by two specialists, though, so reading that material can help you do some quantitative judgment on it. They had another book, an earlier one, that supposedly got even more into diagnosis, while this one deals with dealing with ADHD.
dude, i totally think i have ADD. but like when i try to explain it, or anything at that, i just cant do it, and i end up talking about something totally different. and i noticed that i can just keep going on about nothing but inside my mind it means alot. and people laugh at me when i say something out of the ordinary or off topic! but like, in most of my band practices, my brother will be trying to explain something to me…but i will be totally in my own world, then ill come up with a great drum rift on the drums and start playing it softly, then gradually getting louder and louder untill i notice my brother sitting there stareing at me then im like…oh. my bad. what was you saying?? well, this pretty much proves my point about how i can go on and on about nothing. lol. im am what i like to call RANDOM
random people make the world go round!!
I have been researching ADD/ADHD for a few weeks now, and I think that I very well could have it. Things that I’ve always assumed to be personality quirks now surprisingly sound like symptoms for ADD. I have been easily distracted and organized for my whole life. I am constantly daydreaming, spacing out and losing focus. Not only am I horrible at managing time, but I’m also easily distressed by my morning schedule, something I perform almost every day, and can’t explain why. I have extremely high anxiety. I am constantly misplacing things, and people tell me that “my head is stuck in the clouds.” I have always gotten decent grades, but I have never really had to put forth any effort into my work- I’ve always just sort of known it enough to get by. I am very gifted in the arts (and writing), but I don’t necessarily accell in anything else. I am an 18 year old senior in high school, and I am leaving for art school in the fall. I worry that my work ethic-or lack thereof, will greatly affect me in college.
What are the chances that this is something biochemical? I am an athlele who exercises almost every day, and I eat fairly well. I have a regular sleep schedule, but it is impossible for me to fall asleep at night, and even more impossible for me to wake up in the morning.
My mind feels like a pinball machine that never shuts off, with my thoughts constantly and consistantly spinning in a thousand different directions. Sometimes my mind feels so overloaded that I just crash from exhaustion and sleep for hours, usually on a friday afternoon after a long week.
Could this just be senioritis, or could I have ADD?
Alexia,
Thank you for the comment.
Since it’s been 42 years since I was 18, I don’t recall what “senioritis” felt like. I know a lot of things ran through my head at that time, as it was a matter of leaving one life behind and entering into another (in a way). But, did it mimic the symptoms of ADD/ADHD? I can’t say. That would take a professional’s diagnosis, and I would suggest a visit to a well-qualified doctor to get his/her insights. Some of your symptoms do sound ADD-like, but I suppose it could be the time of life you are in, too. I am not qualified to say.
Good luck.
I’m going to go ahead and say these “suggestions” won’t work for everyone… I see the benefit, but I’m a computer engineering student, and I think if I, or the majority of my peers, reduced our use of electronics, my GPA would plummet. So it’s not really economical for everyone.
I think you are very right, Andrew: not everyone can, or should, “do away with electronics” in their lives. At the same time, nobody should be “possessed by” gadgets, either. With ADD/ADHD (and even without it), it’s so easy to get into a mode of tweaking the systems and trying out different apps all the time, and generally messing around with the system, to the point that it is almost counterproductive. When it gets like that, something has to change. If a person can force the change by going to paper (a drastic shift), that definitely helps break the tinkering habit. If a person has to stick with “the gadgetry,” the obsession with tweaking can be overcome, but it takes being able to do it in the face of temptation.
Anyway, I appreciate your comment.
I know I never had depression because this always happened to me all the time my whole life.
Okay so I procrastinate,I can’t focus in school(very boring I try to but I lose my focus),I have these weird mood swings,I get upset pretty quickly,I don’t think before I talk,I say things to people I later regret,I can never finish my homework unless I am multi tasking or it is very easy like 2-10 questions,I say wrong things at the wrong times,I get bored easily,I day dream a lot at school(without even noticing it sometimes) or think of things,I get distracted easily,I am very disorganized,I like music but when ever I play gutair I get bored of it too quickly then I just start daydreaming even when I am playing,I am very forgetful.I might miss some things but when I told my parents about A.D.D all they did was just laugh and say I don’t have it and they just tell me i’m lazy very sad really.I went to a therapist and I told everything about it and wrote it on a sheet of paper so I wouldn’t forget to say things to him and hes the only one that believes I have it.He also noticed when he said things to me I was daydreaming.The only thing that cought my eye on A.D.D was because of my best friend having it.He just found out just 2 months ago and he is 18 really sucks because he could of had a high school diploma.I’ve always had bad grades and one year I had honor roll but it was because my mom helped me that year.Now i’m in high school and I am depressed now because of stress and constant worry about my grades.It sucks because I have a real trouble in focusing I catch my self all the time daydreaming but then I start daydreaming again XD.Well i’m 15 and going to be 16 tomarrow May 22.What do you think? I don’t know if my parents are right and its just laziness.Oh yeah I also read about people with A.D.D and they become depressed when they get more responsiblity like high school.
I play video games to but I barely play anymore and I realize when I play it looks like I am focusing on it but I am not.Very confusing.I can still play it but I don’t respond to things like getting shot at.In the begginning of the game I am focusing but then I lose it in about an half hour or less and I start to suck.I have good motor skills but having the focus problem makes me look like I have slow motor skills.
Hi Mark,
As much as I’d like to help you solve the problems you are having, there is no way I can offer an online diagnosis. I’m not a physician anyway, so I could not offer a diagnosis even if I sat and worked with you.
It sounds to me like some more time with the therapist you saw earlier would be helpful. Perhaps have the therapist talk with one or both of your parents. And perhaps try again to let your parents know you truly are concerned that you might have a condition that could benefit from some therapy and possibly medication. If you have made a lot of exaggerated claims to them before, of course they may continue to not believe you.
At any rate, my best wishes to you.
Yes I know you can’t and also yes I did make a lot of exagerated claims because I was depressed and confused at the time because even though this was happening it helped me realized that I might have a condition.Now I am 100% sure I have it but I am going to see a psychologist soon.There are a few things I have missed about my life like how I am usually the last person at the dinner table eating and it is actually because I am day dreaming all the time,how when I am doing a chore I am struggling to even complete it,and I even struggle to even eat breakfast,lunch,and dinner and could even just not even eat the whole day.I am very impatient of course and wish you could diagnose me but you can’t so
.I have been suffering with this my whole life and I just can’t take it anymore.
-Mark
P.S today I was cleaning my room and the laundry is right next to me to put my cloths in there and went to the garbage and was about to throw my cloths away XD it never gets old.
Glad you’re going to see someone about it, Mark. I recommend you not beat yourself up so bad over this … it may be frustrating, but there are a lot worse things in life. And, as I noted in the write-up above, a lot of people with ADD become very successful, even before they were aware they had it (and some probably never became aware they had it). A good friend of mine was diagnosed with ADD, yet he has done well in his work, and is about to retire with lots of money in the bank.
You’ll work your through this and live with it, one way or another.
Take care.
I really like this post.
Also, do you know why these problems get worse or only show up when you are an adult?
When I was in high school one of my teachers said I got easily distracted. For the most part I did good in high school. However, I noticed that while at university I had problems focusing on what the prof said. I will start to day dream. The classes that kept me interested were the math ones. The ones where the prof and the class were working on problems. I also noticed to that if I was not interested in the material or the material in itself was difficult to understand I will day dream but I will go home and try to figure the stuff out. Which was a pain because the work became twice as hard. I graduated with honors but I want to do my masters and I am concerned that this may be a really serious issue. I am not a fan of medication so I would like to be directed to books or activities that help.
Also, I talk to myself a lot( not crazy- I know that it is not real). I just find it comforting to talk -sometimes out loudly- to myself. My friends laugh at me when I do it. But now I am beginning to think that this is really not healthy or socially acceptable behaviour. Maybe you could advise me on what book to read that can help me deal with this.
MBLee, Thank you for the comment.
Not sure why my “problem” only became noticeable with age.
Your examples sound like examples of just being human … we are far from the completely rational beings we like to believe we are. We are an evolved species, as are all others, and there is a lot of evolutionary baggage in our thought processes.
However, if you are concerned about it, the book that I mentioned above is a good one. One of the reasons I decided to read it instead of the others that surrounded it, was that it was written by two doctors who have ADD themselves and who treat the condition professionally. It is a simple book to read (not simple-minded, but easy-to-read) and has a lot of information and good checklists to let you diagnose yourself (to a degree).
It’s an inexpensive book, so I would highly advise reading it.