From Distracted to Distinguished

Life for an individual (of any age) with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) can be a challenge for both them, and those that love this unique human being.

It can sometimes be difficult for those without this life-changing issue to understand others like myself (with ADHD). Below, in an article that I’ve adapted from author, Marissa McCormick, the veil of secrecy has been lifted on this sometimes confusing subject so that it can be clearly viewed for the struggle it can often be.

As I’m writing this, I can feel my concentration slipping. Noises have become enticing, I feel distanced from my phone, and every time someone walks by me in the library, I turn around seeing if it’s someone I know…My brain is starting to relax back to its natural state. My ADD is climbing out from underneath the blanket of focus I had for [ten] hours today.

ADD is not all that it’s cracked up to be… Let me put this in context for you…When you’re at the library, and there’s…one really, really loud girl talking on the phone. The girl that, for some reason, thinks it’s okay to have a full-fledged conversation with her mom about her boyfriend in the middle of the quiet section.

The girl that’s talking so loud that it’s all you can think about, occupying all of your focus. Well, that’s what every single person in the room is like when you have ADD.

Distractions that are easy to ignore to someone without ADD are intensified and, instead of focusing on the task at hand, I’m listening to the girl three seats down from me eat… barbecue kettle chips.

When you have ADD, it’s not just schoolwork you can’t focus on. You can’t focus on anything. I tried to watch a foreign film one time without my medicine, and I forgot to pay attention to the subtitles. I realized about halfway through the movie that I had no idea what was going on.

What almost everyone….doesn’t understand is that I take [medicine] to focus [like] you would normally. When you take my [medicine] you feel like you can solve the world’s problems. You can bang out an entire project in one night. You can cram for an entire exam fueled by this surge of motivation that seems super-hero-like.

You…ask me, “Is this how you feel all the time?” And, unfortunately, my answer is no. I’ll never feel like a limitless mastermind. I become a normal human being. I can finish a normal amount of work, in a normal amount of time.

My brain works in two modes: on… and off [mode]. On [medicine], I’m attentive, motivated and energetic. Off [them], I can barely get up the motivation and focus to clean my room or send an e-mail. And it’s frustrating. I’m frustrated with my lack of drive.

I’m frustrated that this is how my brain operates. [I’m] scattered, spastic and very, very unorganized. There’s nothing desirable about not being able to finish a sentence because you lost thought mid-way through.

The worst thing that you can say to anyone with ADD is, “I think I should start taking [medicine].” Having ADD isn’t a free pass to get super-pills… I take [medicine] because I have a disability, and it wasn’t a choice I had a say in. I was tested for ADD my freshman year of college.

My parents were skeptical because they didn’t know exactly what ADD was. To them, the kids with ADD were the bad kids in school that caused a scene and were constantly sent out of class. Not an above average student in her first year at a university.

I went to a counselor and, after I was diagnosed with ADD, told me with a straight mouth, “Marissa, this is something you’re going to have to take for the rest of your life.”

When the late night assignments and cramming for the tests are over, and we’re all out in the real world, I’m still going to be taking [medicine]. When I’m raising a family and have to take the right kid to the right place for soccer practice. I’m still going be taking [medicine]. And when I’m trying to remember the numbers they just said for bingo at my nursing home, I’m still going to be taking [medicine].

I’m jealous that you can drink a cup a coffee and motivate yourself once you lose focus. I’m jealous that the success of your day doesn’t depend on whether or not you took a pill that morning. The idea of waking up and performing a full day without my medicine is foreign to me.

My brain works in two modes, and I don’t know which one is the right one. I don’t know which mode is the one the big man upstairs wants me to operate in…Ask yourself if you need and want to [function like I do]. Ask yourself if you want to rely on a medicine to make your entire life work. If I had a choice, I would choose coffee like the rest of the world.

In the above article this writer does a fabulous job in describing some of the more negative aspects of ADD and ADHD. In their entirety, they include the following traits:

1.  Distractible

2.  Impulsive

3.  Hyperactive

4.  Restless

5.  Intrusive

6.  Unfocused

7.  Forgetful

8.  Disorganized

9.  Stubborn

10.     Inconsistent

11.     Moody

Be encouraged. From adulthood to childhood, I’ve discovered many positive benefits to ADHD/ADD that others only wish they had. (My ability to clearly express myself in blogging is one of them.) Counseling and the proper medication have made an unforgettable personality (in a good way).

This challenge is by no means a sentence to failure in life. With help any individual blessed with the above can lead a full and rewarding life.

The helpful side of this permanent personality trait includes:

1.  Curious

2.  Creative

3.  Energetic

4.  Eager

5.  Makes connections others miss

6.  Focused on a purpose

7.  Spontaneous

8.  Persistent (not give up)

9.  Displays moments (bursts) of excellence (brilliance)

10.     Sensitive

11.     Excellent verbal (or written) communication skills

No matter what your challenges are in life it is always important to focus on consistent goal setting, and then to accomplish all of them (with God’s help). My closing thoughts for you are taken from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3: 12-14 (MSG).

“I’m not saying that I have all this together, that I have made it. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward to Jesus-I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”