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I also wonder how Americans talk about ADHD as if it is something bad. Last regular go-to-the-office job I had there was no end to the number of people who wou
by jamesbritt 15y ago
I also wonder how Americans talk about ADHD as if it is something bad.
Last regular go-to-the-office job I had there was no end to the number of people who would proudly declare how ADD they were. I think it was a roundabout (and ironically commonplace) way to say, "Look at me! I'm so creative."
I finally decide that the way to tell if someone really did have ADD was to note how often they seemed so cheerful about it.
Prescribe meds against it, even.
Have you ever been driving on the highway, and found yourself struggling, I mean really struggling, to pay attention to the damned road, because it was too boring and your brain kept deciding to redirect your attention to everything else on the off chance it was more interesting? Knowing that if you don't pay attention you could die, yet having to fight to look out the windshield?
ADD is not about a lack of attention, it's about inappropriate attention. Sometimes that's a wonderful thing. Sometimes, though, you really do have to pay attention to something even when your brain has other plans.
BTW, schizophrenia and major clinical depression might also be considered "a vital part of [the] self" but not everything you're born with is a 100% good thing.
People taking brain drugs need to weigh the pros and cons.
If you're happy with whatever chemical soup is naturally in your skull, more power to you. Other folks might need some seasoning.
- guard-of-terra 15y agoI don't drive car much and when I do it's interesting enough to be able to focus. But I am unable to watch movies without company because I will immediately switch tasks, either physically on my PC or mentally, focusing on something else. And I annoy everybody who I watch movies with by commenting things we see because this switch helps to flush temporary boredom.
- jakeonthemove 15y agoSo how do you work like that? I'm having real trouble working, since my brain just jumps from one idea to another and I have to always keep the task at hand in my mind, which is pretty damn hard...
- guard-of-terra 15y agoI usually have a zillion of small tasks and I switch between them real fast, and at the end of day most of those are done. Version control systems and command line histories help greatly. When I need to write a sizable chunk of code: I might spend a hour or two surfing the web, but when I finally push myself in I get into the zone that Joel described without much problems. Bonus points: Being ADHD, I'm able to switch tasks and spend a few minutes doing another task without leaving the zone! Resuming without productivity loss. And I absolutely neverming talking, I can talk and be in the zone at the same time.
- jamesbritt 15y agoThe list of symptoms you read, did it include hating yourself and thinking yourself a loser because you failed to complete (or even start) important tasks, lost jobs, failed in school, even when you knew how important it was to pay attention, stay on task, and get shit done?
- guard-of-terra 15y agoYes it did. I failed in school a lot. Ditto for failed to complete or even start important tasks. I didn't lose jobs because I happen to be fairly fit to those.