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ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood
A revolutionary new approach to ADD/ADHD featuring cutting-edge research and strategies to help readers thrive, by the bestselling authors of the seminal books Driven to Distraction and Delivered from Distraction
"An inspired road map for living with a distractible brain . . . If you or your child suffer from ADHD, this book should be on your shelf. It will give you courage and hope."--Michael Thompson, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling co-author of Raising Cain
World-renowned authors Dr. Edward M. Hallowell and Dr. John J. Ratey literally "wrote the book" on ADD/ADHD more than two decades ago. Their bestseller, Driven to Distraction, largely introduced this diagnosis to the public and sold more than a million copies along the way.
Now, most people have heard of ADHD and know someone who may have it. But lost in the discussion of both childhood and adult diagnosis of ADHD is the potential upside: Many hugely successful entrepreneurs and highly creative people attribute their achievements to ADHD. Also unknown to most are the recent research developments, including innovations that give a clearer understanding of the ADHD brain in action. In ADHD 2.0, Drs. Hallowell and Ratey, both of whom have this "variable attention trait," draw on the latest science to provide both parents and adults with ADHD a plan for minimizing the downside and maximizing the benefits of ADHD at any age. They offer an arsenal of new strategies and lifestyle hacks for thriving with ADHD, including
- Find the right kind of difficult. Use these behavior assessments to discover the work, activity, or creative outlet best suited to an individual's unique strengths.
- Reimagine environment. What specific elements to look for--at home, at school, or in the workplace--to enhance the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit inherent in the ADHD mind.
- Embrace innate neurological tendencies. Take advantage of new findings about the brain's default mode network and cerebellum, which confer major benefits for people with ADHD.
- Tap into the healing power of connection. Tips for establishing and maintaining positive connection "the other Vitamind C" and the best antidote to the negativity that plagues so many people with ADHD.
- Consider medication. Gets the facts about the underlying chemistry, side effects, and proven benefits of all the pharmaceutical options.
As inspiring as it is practical, 'ADHD 2.0' will help you tap into the power of this mercurial condition and find the key that unlocks potential.
RUNNING TIME => 7hrs.
©2021 Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (P)2021 Random House Audio
"An inspired road map for living with a distractible brain . . . If you or your child suffer from ADHD, this book should be on your shelf. It will give you courage and hope."--Michael Thompson, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling co-author of Raising Cain
World-renowned authors Dr. Edward M. Hallowell and Dr. John J. Ratey literally "wrote the book" on ADD/ADHD more than two decades ago. Their bestseller, Driven to Distraction, largely introduced this diagnosis to the public and sold more than a million copies along the way.
Now, most people have heard of ADHD and know someone who may have it. But lost in the discussion of both childhood and adult diagnosis of ADHD is the potential upside: Many hugely successful entrepreneurs and highly creative people attribute their achievements to ADHD. Also unknown to most are the recent research developments, including innovations that give a clearer understanding of the ADHD brain in action. In ADHD 2.0, Drs. Hallowell and Ratey, both of whom have this "variable attention trait," draw on the latest science to provide both parents and adults with ADHD a plan for minimizing the downside and maximizing the benefits of ADHD at any age. They offer an arsenal of new strategies and lifestyle hacks for thriving with ADHD, including
- Find the right kind of difficult. Use these behavior assessments to discover the work, activity, or creative outlet best suited to an individual's unique strengths.
- Reimagine environment. What specific elements to look for--at home, at school, or in the workplace--to enhance the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit inherent in the ADHD mind.
- Embrace innate neurological tendencies. Take advantage of new findings about the brain's default mode network and cerebellum, which confer major benefits for people with ADHD.
- Tap into the healing power of connection. Tips for establishing and maintaining positive connection "the other Vitamind C" and the best antidote to the negativity that plagues so many people with ADHD.
- Consider medication. Gets the facts about the underlying chemistry, side effects, and proven benefits of all the pharmaceutical options.
As inspiring as it is practical, 'ADHD 2.0' will help you tap into the power of this mercurial condition and find the key that unlocks potential.
RUNNING TIME => 7hrs.
©2021 Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (P)2021 Random House Audio
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2021
3831 people are currently reading
21115 people want to read
About the author
Edward M. Hallowell
43 books636 followersEdward (Ned) Hallowell, M.D., is a child and adult psychiatrist, a NY Times bestselling author, a world-renowned speaker and a leading authority in the field of ADHD. He has authored twenty books including the 1994 ground-breaking New York Times best-seller on ADHD, Driven to Distraction. In aggregate, Dr. Hallowell's books have sold more than 2 million copies on various psychological topics including how to: raise children into happy adults, manage worry, develop focus, forgiveness, connecting on a deeper level and how to inspire the best from employees. His most recent book was his Memoir, Because I Come From A Crazy Family The Making Of A Psychiatrist. His next book, ADHD 2.0 releases on January 12, 2021. Pre-order your copy today.
He is the host of “Distraction,” a weekly podcast that offers insights, strategies and tactics for coping and thriving in this crazy-busy, 24/7 over-connected modern world.
He is the host of “Distraction,” a weekly podcast that offers insights, strategies and tactics for coping and thriving in this crazy-busy, 24/7 over-connected modern world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,190 reviews
January 18, 2021
A long-awaited but ultimately disappointing follow on to the seminal Driven to Distraction, ADHD 2.0 reads like little more than a collection of blog posts heavily laden with affiliate links. Here, the authors hawk everything from balance boards and CBD oil to genetic testing services they acknowledge don’t quite deliver the goods.
As an adult with ADHD who has read nearly a dozen books on the disorder in the past 18 months, many of them originally published at least a decade ago, I was hoping to learn something new from ADHD 2.0. But with the exception of a short section on the task positive network and default mode network, and a welcome handful of pages on rejection sensitivity dysphoria, the authors broke little new ground here. The book is a scant 132 pages plus 55 pages of end notes, reenforcing the impression that this is more a collection of repurposed blog articles than a major new entry in the ADHD literature.
The short chapter on medications was especially disappointing. Extremely thin, with nothing here you can’t readily find on thE ADDitude or CHAAD websites.
If you are new to ADHD 2.0, this could be a decent place to start. It’s a short, up-to-date overview of the disorder and available treatments. But if you’re already well versed in ADHD, there are better books out there. Among the best I’ve read is Gabor Maté’s Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It.
As an adult with ADHD who has read nearly a dozen books on the disorder in the past 18 months, many of them originally published at least a decade ago, I was hoping to learn something new from ADHD 2.0. But with the exception of a short section on the task positive network and default mode network, and a welcome handful of pages on rejection sensitivity dysphoria, the authors broke little new ground here. The book is a scant 132 pages plus 55 pages of end notes, reenforcing the impression that this is more a collection of repurposed blog articles than a major new entry in the ADHD literature.
The short chapter on medications was especially disappointing. Extremely thin, with nothing here you can’t readily find on thE ADDitude or CHAAD websites.
If you are new to ADHD 2.0, this could be a decent place to start. It’s a short, up-to-date overview of the disorder and available treatments. But if you’re already well versed in ADHD, there are better books out there. Among the best I’ve read is Gabor Maté’s Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It.
December 11, 2020
I spent 30 years of my life unaware that people don’t vacillate wildly between chaos and order from the moment they wake up until they go to bed. And then I got diagnosed with ADHD - which has been the most healing aspect of my current health and wellness thus far because of books like this. (Side note: this diagnosis is still new so the amount of “AH-HA moments” and times I literally uttered “wow same” in this book was both illuminating and also daunting)
The second chapter alone on “connectomes”, TPN, DMN, etc. is such a valuable explanation of something I have always experienced but could never articulate how it felt. For me it always felt like I could define a concept or idea by what it wasn’t instead of just remembering what it was. It’s a wildly chaotic process in my brain to maneuver but it’s also served to make so many connections and relationships between things. These dualities and paradoxes exist concurrently and now we can identify how to toggle between them. (It’s actually easier than we think)
It also of course helps explain how even neuro typical individuals to identify the behaviors and associated thought processes that are involved in productivity, motivation, creativity, and more.
I could go on about how incredible all this science is but the most important thing I got out of this book is the reassurance that I’m not alone and that there are therapies, behavioral shifts, and medications to help us break free of the dissonance within the many brain symphonies we conduct at once and finally find some agency and empowerment in how wildly wonderful our brains are.
The second chapter alone on “connectomes”, TPN, DMN, etc. is such a valuable explanation of something I have always experienced but could never articulate how it felt. For me it always felt like I could define a concept or idea by what it wasn’t instead of just remembering what it was. It’s a wildly chaotic process in my brain to maneuver but it’s also served to make so many connections and relationships between things. These dualities and paradoxes exist concurrently and now we can identify how to toggle between them. (It’s actually easier than we think)
It also of course helps explain how even neuro typical individuals to identify the behaviors and associated thought processes that are involved in productivity, motivation, creativity, and more.
I could go on about how incredible all this science is but the most important thing I got out of this book is the reassurance that I’m not alone and that there are therapies, behavioral shifts, and medications to help us break free of the dissonance within the many brain symphonies we conduct at once and finally find some agency and empowerment in how wildly wonderful our brains are.
August 14, 2023
In my pursuit for further information about strategies for managing symptoms of ADHD, I had to read roughly 75% of the book before finding out that the author speaks positively about Applied Behavioral Analysis. ABA is a torturous system used to punish autistic people for performing behaviors or mannerisms that could mark them as being neurodivergent.
ABA has been likened to conversion therapy, which has long been used against queer kids. It is now illegal many places because its recognized as inhumane.
Harm against fellow disabled and queer people goes completely against my beliefs. So with this casual mention of ABA as a system to emulate, the author lost me. I finished the book in hopes of clarification or a correction of some sort, but it predictably did not provide anything.
I can’t recommend the book because of this, and even if some of the strategies are good ones I guess I won’t necessarily know.
ABA has been likened to conversion therapy, which has long been used against queer kids. It is now illegal many places because its recognized as inhumane.
Harm against fellow disabled and queer people goes completely against my beliefs. So with this casual mention of ABA as a system to emulate, the author lost me. I finished the book in hopes of clarification or a correction of some sort, but it predictably did not provide anything.
I can’t recommend the book because of this, and even if some of the strategies are good ones I guess I won’t necessarily know.
April 30, 2022
This book is deeply useless, full of dubious claims, and seems written only for cis white men with an extremely specific, textbook presentation of ADHD.
I have adult-diagnosed ADHD (combined), which comes with an attendant heap of superficially effective but life-ruining coping mechanisms and boatloads of trauma. Most of my experiences and struggles are not reflected in or acknowledged by this book, and many of the things it blithely assumes of me are wrong.
I find the book upsetting, off-putting, and unhelpful. It makes countless dubious, poorly supported claims ("New Science" in the title is misleading), and it is upsetting on multiple levels.
Some Reasons to like this book:
There is a veeery brief and vague but interesting section at the beginning, about default mode and task mode networks in the brain.
It acknowledges that ADHD continues into adulthood, is real and has a tremendous impact on our lives.
It takes a positive tone towards patient outlook.
Honestly I think most of the 'positives' are just that so many other ADHD-related books are worse because they're either "ADHD iSn'T rEaL" or "what to do if your child has ADHD". There are few aimed at adults with ADHD.
Everything else in here is awful, or dubious at best. Examples Include:
Hallowell endorses Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy - an antiquated, inhumane, but still practiced 'treatment' for Autism that attempts to force neurotypical behavior on Autistic children by putting them through a gauntlet of punishments and rewards. This 'therapy' is roundly denounced by Autistic adults as abuse.
Hallowell suggests in passing that cell phone signals could contribute to/cause ADHD. "Stay tuned" he says. This is... an extremely pseudosciency thing to say.
Hallowell references a study by a "trained chiropractor", as if this were a legitimate medical profession. Again, too much pseudoscience in my 'science' book.
Hallowell refers to "self-made" billionaires unironically. Then proceeds to talk about how ADHD can be a superpower... by sharing stories exclusively about well-off white men and boys being entrepreneurs^TM. One 14-year old boy started his own carpet washing business! Amazing! No mention is made of the invisible and unpaid labor of his caregivers (e.g. his mother), any allowance money he had to help him start out, the fact that he was able to have free time and be taken seriously, etc. Nope. Self-made, only self-made. >.> I'm all for seeing and celebrating the potential advantages in ADHD, but Hallowell's examples just show the advantages of being ADHD *if and only if* you are white and cis male and have a solid support from family or others. Where're the inspirational ADHD superpower stories for everyone else? Or for the people who *gasp* don't want to be entrepreneurs? Nowhere, apparently. He talks like he's talking to everybody and cheering for everyone with ADHD, but he's leaving most out in the cold.
Hallowell talks prescriptively about the best way to raise kids with ADHD. He says, for instance, that the parent must impose rigid structure. And let me tell you, as someone who was a kid with ADHD and who had my parent strictly impose rigid structure, immutable rules, arbitrary schedules, it was absolute hell for me... and it taught me zero lasting skills. Once I escaped, I had a long-lasting hatred of the very idea of schedules and planners and to-do lists, and a delight in doing all the things I'd not been allowed to do and in not doing the things I'd been required to do. It'd have been so, so much more helpful to have a parent accept and respect me as I was, meet me where I was, and try to help me learn to work with my own brain to accomplish my goals and build my own structure for myself, even if my goals and priorities were atypical or the methods that worked were 'weird'. Having someone else's idea of structure forced on me didn't teach me to make structure for myself, it just made me hate structure.
There are a lot of sections in which Hallowell tells an anecdote that mainly just seems to aggrandize himself, including one where he talks about helping a boy in China. He describes giving a speech in China, and oh my goodness will the Chinese understand his speech (I did get an uncomfy racist undertone from this story), and oh look how their faces changed during the speech and they were persuaded and the great Dr. Hallowell has changed lives! Ugh.
The book promotes several poorly researched, fringe products and ideas, such as an expensive balance exercise class. He mentions a doctor who prescribed motion sickness medication and Benadryl for ADHD. He says he has no evidence for any of those medications being useful for ADHD, but praises the doctor anyway for sticking to his guns despite receiving criticism for this extremely fringe practice because his patients, to paraphrase, "wouldn't come back if it weren't working".
Any of the many who've spent years in useless therapy for anxiety or depression or bipolar, who've maybe been labeled 'treatment resistant', who've tried countless useless medications.... only to find it was ADHD the entire time, know how bogus that argument is. People trust doctors. People are desperate and want help and will try thing after thing after thing to maybe finally stop hurting. To say that the mere fact that people keep going to a doctor proves the doctor's treatment works is ludicrous in the extreme.
TL;DR:
Skip this, you deserve better. The little content in this book that's worthwhile can be found easily and better-presented elsewhere.
I recommend watching the entirety of the How to ADHD youtube channel, for example (I am no affiliated - that channel is just a huge help to me).
I have adult-diagnosed ADHD (combined), which comes with an attendant heap of superficially effective but life-ruining coping mechanisms and boatloads of trauma. Most of my experiences and struggles are not reflected in or acknowledged by this book, and many of the things it blithely assumes of me are wrong.
I find the book upsetting, off-putting, and unhelpful. It makes countless dubious, poorly supported claims ("New Science" in the title is misleading), and it is upsetting on multiple levels.
Some Reasons to like this book:
There is a veeery brief and vague but interesting section at the beginning, about default mode and task mode networks in the brain.
It acknowledges that ADHD continues into adulthood, is real and has a tremendous impact on our lives.
It takes a positive tone towards patient outlook.
Honestly I think most of the 'positives' are just that so many other ADHD-related books are worse because they're either "ADHD iSn'T rEaL" or "what to do if your child has ADHD". There are few aimed at adults with ADHD.
Everything else in here is awful, or dubious at best. Examples Include:
Hallowell endorses Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy - an antiquated, inhumane, but still practiced 'treatment' for Autism that attempts to force neurotypical behavior on Autistic children by putting them through a gauntlet of punishments and rewards. This 'therapy' is roundly denounced by Autistic adults as abuse.
Hallowell suggests in passing that cell phone signals could contribute to/cause ADHD. "Stay tuned" he says. This is... an extremely pseudosciency thing to say.
Hallowell references a study by a "trained chiropractor", as if this were a legitimate medical profession. Again, too much pseudoscience in my 'science' book.
Hallowell refers to "self-made" billionaires unironically. Then proceeds to talk about how ADHD can be a superpower... by sharing stories exclusively about well-off white men and boys being entrepreneurs^TM. One 14-year old boy started his own carpet washing business! Amazing! No mention is made of the invisible and unpaid labor of his caregivers (e.g. his mother), any allowance money he had to help him start out, the fact that he was able to have free time and be taken seriously, etc. Nope. Self-made, only self-made. >.> I'm all for seeing and celebrating the potential advantages in ADHD, but Hallowell's examples just show the advantages of being ADHD *if and only if* you are white and cis male and have a solid support from family or others. Where're the inspirational ADHD superpower stories for everyone else? Or for the people who *gasp* don't want to be entrepreneurs? Nowhere, apparently. He talks like he's talking to everybody and cheering for everyone with ADHD, but he's leaving most out in the cold.
Hallowell talks prescriptively about the best way to raise kids with ADHD. He says, for instance, that the parent must impose rigid structure. And let me tell you, as someone who was a kid with ADHD and who had my parent strictly impose rigid structure, immutable rules, arbitrary schedules, it was absolute hell for me... and it taught me zero lasting skills. Once I escaped, I had a long-lasting hatred of the very idea of schedules and planners and to-do lists, and a delight in doing all the things I'd not been allowed to do and in not doing the things I'd been required to do. It'd have been so, so much more helpful to have a parent accept and respect me as I was, meet me where I was, and try to help me learn to work with my own brain to accomplish my goals and build my own structure for myself, even if my goals and priorities were atypical or the methods that worked were 'weird'. Having someone else's idea of structure forced on me didn't teach me to make structure for myself, it just made me hate structure.
There are a lot of sections in which Hallowell tells an anecdote that mainly just seems to aggrandize himself, including one where he talks about helping a boy in China. He describes giving a speech in China, and oh my goodness will the Chinese understand his speech (I did get an uncomfy racist undertone from this story), and oh look how their faces changed during the speech and they were persuaded and the great Dr. Hallowell has changed lives! Ugh.
The book promotes several poorly researched, fringe products and ideas, such as an expensive balance exercise class. He mentions a doctor who prescribed motion sickness medication and Benadryl for ADHD. He says he has no evidence for any of those medications being useful for ADHD, but praises the doctor anyway for sticking to his guns despite receiving criticism for this extremely fringe practice because his patients, to paraphrase, "wouldn't come back if it weren't working".
Any of the many who've spent years in useless therapy for anxiety or depression or bipolar, who've maybe been labeled 'treatment resistant', who've tried countless useless medications.... only to find it was ADHD the entire time, know how bogus that argument is. People trust doctors. People are desperate and want help and will try thing after thing after thing to maybe finally stop hurting. To say that the mere fact that people keep going to a doctor proves the doctor's treatment works is ludicrous in the extreme.
TL;DR:
Skip this, you deserve better. The little content in this book that's worthwhile can be found easily and better-presented elsewhere.
I recommend watching the entirety of the How to ADHD youtube channel, for example (I am no affiliated - that channel is just a huge help to me).
January 22, 2025
I am glad that I read this book. It’s pretty great and I don’t see many things wrong with it. I disagree about it being a super power but they do not deny the negatives. There is a lot more that I agree with them than I disagree. They aren’t trying to rebrand ADHD, VAST is a trait not a diagnosis.
This is a pretty basic easy to digest book. The only issue is that it does not really offer any new information besides VAST. It’s a good starter book.
- Paddy, 1/25
ADHD 2.0
By Edward Hallowell & John Ratey
- [ ] The second book about ADHD this year
- [ ] Race car brain with bicycle brakes - the more I think about that, the more it hits home. I am going so fast but also so slow. My brain hits the brakes right after I have done something dumb
- [ ] ADHD is a public health concern. It leads to lower life spans, more frequent injuries, and often jail time. People with ADHD on average have a shorter life span by 13 years and as high as 21 years
- [ ] ADHD is serious, harmful, and painful. It causes hardship and stress. It is treatable and the most treatable mental health disorder. It responds better to medication than any other disorder
- [ ] I will reading this as I read Barack Obama’s book. I want to make sure that I devote full attention to this book and I take extensive notes
Chapter 1
- [ ] We are the unfulfilled potential, the inventors, the criminals, the artists, the bankrupt, the lawyers, the doctors, and everything in between. We are the success stories and the failures. We are not crazy, lazy, and stupid but it often appears that way.
- [ ] I think about my unfulfilled potential and wasted life. All of the years that I have wasted. I feel like such a loser. Geez I am about to cry
- [ ] We have to learn how to make ADHD work for us, we can harness it for success
- [ ] ADHD can be treated when professionally addressed
- [ ] He goes through the symptoms and signs of ADHD; time management, impulsivity, inattention, etc
- [ ] Lightening rod - we are the only person that gets in trouble, the one that causes the disruption. If everyone else is doing something wrong, we are the one that will get in trouble. Geez I relate to this so deeply
- [ ] Impulsive speech and poor social skills - this follows us into adulthood. Another symptom that I deeply relate to
- [ ] Seeking stimulation and boredom - the ADHD mind craves stimulation and despises boredom. We jump from one thing to the next constantly seeking stimulation. This is a symptom that I forget about
- [ ] Addiction - it can often lead to sex, drug, alcohol, shopping, and other addictions
- [ ] Time blindness - it is either now or not now
- [ ] Rejection sensitivity
- [ ] Poor self awareness - this is a huge issue of mine and one of my biggest fears
- [ ] Inability to see ones part in situations
- [ ] Distorted negative perception of self. Attention deficient distorter. We are blind to the upside and we only see the downsides and negativity. Shame, fear, misunderstanding, hold back in relationships and opportunities because of the negative perception of self - I deeply relate to this. This a deep root of my ADHD experience and my experience of losing my job. I want to know more about this and how to resolve it
VAST
- [ ] Variable attention stimulus trait
- [ ] The plus and minuses of the traits. Each negative has a positive and each positive has a negative
- [ ] Can take a life time trying to get good at what they are bad at - that’s me
Chapter 2
- [ ] The obsession, brooding, negative thoughts
- [ ] Epigenetics
- [ ] Ugh I don’t want to be here in a year, I want to move on with my life and be the person that I know I am. I hate having unfulfilled potential
- [ ] It is never too late to change, your life is not fixed. You can and will change
- [ ] Unlock your strengths
- [ ] Intractable rumination
- [ ] DMN - default mode network
- [ ] The angle and demon of the ADHD brain
- [ ] There is a reason why our brains ruminate in the negative
- [ ] Faulty connections and circuits of the brain, DMN v TPN
- [ ] The addiction connection. The ADHD brain often looks to be settled down and manifests itself in addictions. Not many studies have been done on this, most of it is anecdotal evidence. It os why many artists have addictions, the creative mind is looking to be calmed. I can deeply relate to this section
- [ ] They keep talking about the creative mind, entrepreneurs, and alluding to hyper focus - three things I have never experienced
- [ ] The DMN has you obsess over the negative, going over every little thing. Picking apart every interaction. It is destructive. You can use this obsession and focus on the TPN, focus on the positive and make that real
- [ ] The DMN is my demon, it is the part of my brain that I go to war with. It is what I despise, but it can be battled. The reoccurring thoughts and feelings are not representative of dismal truth but artifacts of your prolific imagination. They are negatives of the thoughts and imaginations and doom that holds you back. - I find this hard to believe because the worst blows have come when I was thinking of the positive and the rejection came out of nowhere
- [ ] Turn to the TPN and make your thoughts work for you. Meditation, medication, exercise, human connection
- [ ] Stop going to battle with it
Chapter 3
- [ ] The cerebellum
- [ ] Balancing exercises
- [ ] Love, encouragement, human connection, using your strengths
- [ ] Shame is rehabilitating
- [ ] The power of connection, support, love, and using ones strengths
Chapter 4 - the healing power of connection
- [ ] Loneliness, negativity, isolation, are detrimental to ones health
- [ ] Trauma in childhood often leads to addiction, unfulfilled potential, negative actions in adulthood
- [ ] The diet study that asked overweight women when their first sexual experience was - leading to identifying the obesity to sexual abuse/trauma
- [ ] Human connection is healing
- [ ] The behaviors of ADHD, impacts, and results can be traumatizing. The rejection, impulse, addiction, emotional, mental, and physical abuse/impacts. It puts in dangerous situations, we behave dangerously, and others respond in traumatic ways. Others become impatient, tired, intolerant, etc. It is not their fault but they act in ways that harm the ADHDer, as a result of of behavior
- [ ] The rejection, isolation of ADHD is intense. Human connection, love, acceptance is healing
- [ ] The single most important factor in professional, mental, emotional, spiritual, physical health - love
- [ ] One must be able to receive love. Learn how to take love in, not push it away
- [ ] ACE Test
- [ ] Many people with ADHD feel misunderstood, left out, alienated, on the outside looking in - this is me
- [ ] The solution is connection
- [ ] Never worry alone
- [ ] I do better when I have strong connections. I do badly when I have low connection
- [ ] Fear, shame, the belief you can’t do it - the real learning disabilities
- [ ] Build a life around connection, have meals with people, regularly keep up with close friends
- [ ] Close relationships are vital to a healthy life
- [ ] Forgive yourself and others, connect with nature, write gratitude list, stick with winners, commit to self improvement, join clubs, find meaning/purpose
Chapter 5 - find the right difficult
- [ ] Connect with your creativity/outlet
- [ ] Find your super power
- [ ] Find what you are good at. Find something difficult that you enjoy doing and get better at it
- [ ] Strength based approach
- [ ] Strengths assessment
- [ ] The zone of: what you are good, what you enjoy doing, what you can get paid for
- [ ] Colbi test - how we exert effort, a strength based personality test
- [ ] Finding your best fit
- [ ] Don’t waste your time on the self defeating. Running towards your weaknesses compounds the problem
- [ ] We reject help and it harms us. Don’t fail doing it your way, succeed with help
- [ ] I can relate to this and I need to run towards my strengths
- [ ] Our biggest fear is that we are more powerful than we know
Chapter 6 - create stellar environments
- [ ] Creating a safe, supportive, structure is essential for success
- [ ] Daily structure
- [ ] Use reminders
- [ ] Work/school structure
- [ ] Be cautious of electronic devices. Limit of screen use, turn it off and keep it away as much as possible
- [ ] Regular and clear expectations
- [ ] Encourage self assertion
- [ ] Laughter, humor is healing
- [ ] Never worry alone
- [ ] Structured but not strict, routine but not boring
- [ ] Clear lines of authority, clear lines of work and responsibility
- [ ] Promotes honesty but not bullying
- [ ] Promotes mediation between coworkers and not the immediate involvement of HR. High use of working things out directly and privately, less use of HR
- [ ] Build in little rewards
- [ ] Plenty of support and positivity. The ADHDer responds infinitely better to positive comments than they do negative comments. They need to hear what they are doing well. Strength based work/learning environment
- [ ] Feedback needs to be specific and prompt
- [ ] Work environment that encourages connecting with others
- [ ] Low fear, high trust
- [ ] Clearly stated policies on a variety of topics, handbook
- [ ] Place to be who you are - within reason
- [ ] Management has clear expectations and tasks - I needed more structure and clarity in what my role was
- [ ] Sleep
- [ ] Don’t eat in your bed
- [ ] Close screens down at night, keep them out of the bedroom
- [ ] Good sleep is the ability to wake up without the use of an alarm clock
- [ ] Nutrition
- [ ] Whole Foods diet, free from preservatives and junk. Don’t eat junk food
- [ ] Fruits, vegetables, etc. Eat real foods, if you can’t say what it is, don’t eat it
- [ ] Severely limit or abstain from sugar. Sugar is a dopamine kick and negative for the ADHD brain
- [ ] High protein diet
- [ ] Use of supplements - multi vitamin, zinc, magnesium, vitamin D & C,
- [ ] Get essential/complex fats, these are hard to obtain naturally, get them in supplements
- [ ] One of the bigger changes that I have tried to make since the incident, is to eat better, cutting out sugar, eating less junk, and eating real foods
- [ ] Populate your world with positivity
- [ ] Be your best friend
- [ ] Be around people that love you
- [ ] Avoid toxic or unhealthy relationships. People with ADHD can end up in relationships where they are trying to save their partner or their partner is not accepting of them - I am lucky that I have been with loving and supportive partners
- [ ] Read the book ‘why won’t anyone play with me’ - it is for adults too
- [ ] These two can help you learn better social skills but are from two different schools of thought.
- [ ] Applied behavior analysis, ABA - change habits and develop new routines. Develop a set of skills that will help individuals be successful
- [ ] ABA is about behavior change, it is pavlovian, it tends to be robotic. It is surface level, it is the notecards and finding the correct thing to say at the time.
- [ ] Social learning - it shows how to understand their behavior, not just change it. It shows how to read a social situation
- [ ] Social learning is deeper, it is understanding why you behavior in a certain and why to behave another way. It is not, insert behavior from x response, it is pulling back the layers more
- [ ] I have not been doing social learning, this is what I need to be doing. This is a therapist, coach, occupational therapist, doctor, or it’s own thing? Hallowell says social learning specialist or coach
Chapter 7 - exercise
- [ ] This is Ratey’s chapter
- [ ] Exercise can work as well as medication
- [ ] Meditation - there are plenty of apps and tools that can assist you with meditation
- [ ] Yoga, cardio, strengths training
- [ ] 35-45 minutes at least three times a week. 70% heart rate
- [ ] Ensure that exercise is part of your treatment
Chapter 8 - medication
- [ ] One of the most valuable tools in the tool box
- [ ] I am a huge supporter of medication and this reinforces my beliefs
- [ ] Use the science
- [ ] It works 70%-80% of the time
- [ ] The destruction of unmanaged and unmedicated ADHD is huge. HR see it in their practice often. They see abject human suffering
- [ ] Medication does not work for all people but it does work for most, find the medication that works best for you
- [ ] Medication prevents abuse. Most people that abuse medication are undiagnosed or don’t have ADHD. They kind of ruin for those of us that do
- [ ] Rejection sensitivity disorder - the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of it is growing, although it is probably more of a symptom. Clonodine is used address it, I take that
- [ ] Discussion about the different kinds of meds and effects
- [ ] Don’t be forced into taking medication, only take it when you are ready, you are willing, and you understand your own goals. Ask yourself the three questions, make sure that you have tried other treatment options and that medication is not the only thing you are doing
- [ ] Vyvanse is effective from 10-12 hours, is water soluble, because guy enzymes break it down it can not be abused through snorting or injection
- [ ] Methyl v amphetamines v non stimulant
- [ ] The advent of longer acting medications has been helpful to the community to cut down on taking so many pills and so often
- [ ] Great chapter, I am missing many of the technical details but that is alright
Conclusion
- [ ] Medication, exercise, human connections, creating stellar environments, meaning and purpose - these are your treatments tools
- [ ] This is a short and fantastic book. Not overly complicated, not a full introduction, but accessible and easy to understand. It covers most of the disorder and gives a clear treatment plan
- [ ] This is one of the first books I would give people
- [ ] Yet again it is clear that Ratey and Hollowell are some of the top minds in the field
- [ ] I don’t have an opinion on VAST, it seems like they are just rebranding ADHD
- [ ] Find your feel and make it real
- [ ] This ends hopeful, you can do this. Don’t let the demon rule you. You can live a wonderful life
- [ ] Go forward and live a beautiful life - manage your ADHD, don’t let it manage you
This is a pretty basic easy to digest book. The only issue is that it does not really offer any new information besides VAST. It’s a good starter book.
- Paddy, 1/25
ADHD 2.0
By Edward Hallowell & John Ratey
- [ ] The second book about ADHD this year
- [ ] Race car brain with bicycle brakes - the more I think about that, the more it hits home. I am going so fast but also so slow. My brain hits the brakes right after I have done something dumb
- [ ] ADHD is a public health concern. It leads to lower life spans, more frequent injuries, and often jail time. People with ADHD on average have a shorter life span by 13 years and as high as 21 years
- [ ] ADHD is serious, harmful, and painful. It causes hardship and stress. It is treatable and the most treatable mental health disorder. It responds better to medication than any other disorder
- [ ] I will reading this as I read Barack Obama’s book. I want to make sure that I devote full attention to this book and I take extensive notes
Chapter 1
- [ ] We are the unfulfilled potential, the inventors, the criminals, the artists, the bankrupt, the lawyers, the doctors, and everything in between. We are the success stories and the failures. We are not crazy, lazy, and stupid but it often appears that way.
- [ ] I think about my unfulfilled potential and wasted life. All of the years that I have wasted. I feel like such a loser. Geez I am about to cry
- [ ] We have to learn how to make ADHD work for us, we can harness it for success
- [ ] ADHD can be treated when professionally addressed
- [ ] He goes through the symptoms and signs of ADHD; time management, impulsivity, inattention, etc
- [ ] Lightening rod - we are the only person that gets in trouble, the one that causes the disruption. If everyone else is doing something wrong, we are the one that will get in trouble. Geez I relate to this so deeply
- [ ] Impulsive speech and poor social skills - this follows us into adulthood. Another symptom that I deeply relate to
- [ ] Seeking stimulation and boredom - the ADHD mind craves stimulation and despises boredom. We jump from one thing to the next constantly seeking stimulation. This is a symptom that I forget about
- [ ] Addiction - it can often lead to sex, drug, alcohol, shopping, and other addictions
- [ ] Time blindness - it is either now or not now
- [ ] Rejection sensitivity
- [ ] Poor self awareness - this is a huge issue of mine and one of my biggest fears
- [ ] Inability to see ones part in situations
- [ ] Distorted negative perception of self. Attention deficient distorter. We are blind to the upside and we only see the downsides and negativity. Shame, fear, misunderstanding, hold back in relationships and opportunities because of the negative perception of self - I deeply relate to this. This a deep root of my ADHD experience and my experience of losing my job. I want to know more about this and how to resolve it
VAST
- [ ] Variable attention stimulus trait
- [ ] The plus and minuses of the traits. Each negative has a positive and each positive has a negative
- [ ] Can take a life time trying to get good at what they are bad at - that’s me
Chapter 2
- [ ] The obsession, brooding, negative thoughts
- [ ] Epigenetics
- [ ] Ugh I don’t want to be here in a year, I want to move on with my life and be the person that I know I am. I hate having unfulfilled potential
- [ ] It is never too late to change, your life is not fixed. You can and will change
- [ ] Unlock your strengths
- [ ] Intractable rumination
- [ ] DMN - default mode network
- [ ] The angle and demon of the ADHD brain
- [ ] There is a reason why our brains ruminate in the negative
- [ ] Faulty connections and circuits of the brain, DMN v TPN
- [ ] The addiction connection. The ADHD brain often looks to be settled down and manifests itself in addictions. Not many studies have been done on this, most of it is anecdotal evidence. It os why many artists have addictions, the creative mind is looking to be calmed. I can deeply relate to this section
- [ ] They keep talking about the creative mind, entrepreneurs, and alluding to hyper focus - three things I have never experienced
- [ ] The DMN has you obsess over the negative, going over every little thing. Picking apart every interaction. It is destructive. You can use this obsession and focus on the TPN, focus on the positive and make that real
- [ ] The DMN is my demon, it is the part of my brain that I go to war with. It is what I despise, but it can be battled. The reoccurring thoughts and feelings are not representative of dismal truth but artifacts of your prolific imagination. They are negatives of the thoughts and imaginations and doom that holds you back. - I find this hard to believe because the worst blows have come when I was thinking of the positive and the rejection came out of nowhere
- [ ] Turn to the TPN and make your thoughts work for you. Meditation, medication, exercise, human connection
- [ ] Stop going to battle with it
Chapter 3
- [ ] The cerebellum
- [ ] Balancing exercises
- [ ] Love, encouragement, human connection, using your strengths
- [ ] Shame is rehabilitating
- [ ] The power of connection, support, love, and using ones strengths
Chapter 4 - the healing power of connection
- [ ] Loneliness, negativity, isolation, are detrimental to ones health
- [ ] Trauma in childhood often leads to addiction, unfulfilled potential, negative actions in adulthood
- [ ] The diet study that asked overweight women when their first sexual experience was - leading to identifying the obesity to sexual abuse/trauma
- [ ] Human connection is healing
- [ ] The behaviors of ADHD, impacts, and results can be traumatizing. The rejection, impulse, addiction, emotional, mental, and physical abuse/impacts. It puts in dangerous situations, we behave dangerously, and others respond in traumatic ways. Others become impatient, tired, intolerant, etc. It is not their fault but they act in ways that harm the ADHDer, as a result of of behavior
- [ ] The rejection, isolation of ADHD is intense. Human connection, love, acceptance is healing
- [ ] The single most important factor in professional, mental, emotional, spiritual, physical health - love
- [ ] One must be able to receive love. Learn how to take love in, not push it away
- [ ] ACE Test
- [ ] Many people with ADHD feel misunderstood, left out, alienated, on the outside looking in - this is me
- [ ] The solution is connection
- [ ] Never worry alone
- [ ] I do better when I have strong connections. I do badly when I have low connection
- [ ] Fear, shame, the belief you can’t do it - the real learning disabilities
- [ ] Build a life around connection, have meals with people, regularly keep up with close friends
- [ ] Close relationships are vital to a healthy life
- [ ] Forgive yourself and others, connect with nature, write gratitude list, stick with winners, commit to self improvement, join clubs, find meaning/purpose
Chapter 5 - find the right difficult
- [ ] Connect with your creativity/outlet
- [ ] Find your super power
- [ ] Find what you are good at. Find something difficult that you enjoy doing and get better at it
- [ ] Strength based approach
- [ ] Strengths assessment
- [ ] The zone of: what you are good, what you enjoy doing, what you can get paid for
- [ ] Colbi test - how we exert effort, a strength based personality test
- [ ] Finding your best fit
- [ ] Don’t waste your time on the self defeating. Running towards your weaknesses compounds the problem
- [ ] We reject help and it harms us. Don’t fail doing it your way, succeed with help
- [ ] I can relate to this and I need to run towards my strengths
- [ ] Our biggest fear is that we are more powerful than we know
Chapter 6 - create stellar environments
- [ ] Creating a safe, supportive, structure is essential for success
- [ ] Daily structure
- [ ] Use reminders
- [ ] Work/school structure
- [ ] Be cautious of electronic devices. Limit of screen use, turn it off and keep it away as much as possible
- [ ] Regular and clear expectations
- [ ] Encourage self assertion
- [ ] Laughter, humor is healing
- [ ] Never worry alone
- [ ] Structured but not strict, routine but not boring
- [ ] Clear lines of authority, clear lines of work and responsibility
- [ ] Promotes honesty but not bullying
- [ ] Promotes mediation between coworkers and not the immediate involvement of HR. High use of working things out directly and privately, less use of HR
- [ ] Build in little rewards
- [ ] Plenty of support and positivity. The ADHDer responds infinitely better to positive comments than they do negative comments. They need to hear what they are doing well. Strength based work/learning environment
- [ ] Feedback needs to be specific and prompt
- [ ] Work environment that encourages connecting with others
- [ ] Low fear, high trust
- [ ] Clearly stated policies on a variety of topics, handbook
- [ ] Place to be who you are - within reason
- [ ] Management has clear expectations and tasks - I needed more structure and clarity in what my role was
- [ ] Sleep
- [ ] Don’t eat in your bed
- [ ] Close screens down at night, keep them out of the bedroom
- [ ] Good sleep is the ability to wake up without the use of an alarm clock
- [ ] Nutrition
- [ ] Whole Foods diet, free from preservatives and junk. Don’t eat junk food
- [ ] Fruits, vegetables, etc. Eat real foods, if you can’t say what it is, don’t eat it
- [ ] Severely limit or abstain from sugar. Sugar is a dopamine kick and negative for the ADHD brain
- [ ] High protein diet
- [ ] Use of supplements - multi vitamin, zinc, magnesium, vitamin D & C,
- [ ] Get essential/complex fats, these are hard to obtain naturally, get them in supplements
- [ ] One of the bigger changes that I have tried to make since the incident, is to eat better, cutting out sugar, eating less junk, and eating real foods
- [ ] Populate your world with positivity
- [ ] Be your best friend
- [ ] Be around people that love you
- [ ] Avoid toxic or unhealthy relationships. People with ADHD can end up in relationships where they are trying to save their partner or their partner is not accepting of them - I am lucky that I have been with loving and supportive partners
- [ ] Read the book ‘why won’t anyone play with me’ - it is for adults too
- [ ] These two can help you learn better social skills but are from two different schools of thought.
- [ ] Applied behavior analysis, ABA - change habits and develop new routines. Develop a set of skills that will help individuals be successful
- [ ] ABA is about behavior change, it is pavlovian, it tends to be robotic. It is surface level, it is the notecards and finding the correct thing to say at the time.
- [ ] Social learning - it shows how to understand their behavior, not just change it. It shows how to read a social situation
- [ ] Social learning is deeper, it is understanding why you behavior in a certain and why to behave another way. It is not, insert behavior from x response, it is pulling back the layers more
- [ ] I have not been doing social learning, this is what I need to be doing. This is a therapist, coach, occupational therapist, doctor, or it’s own thing? Hallowell says social learning specialist or coach
Chapter 7 - exercise
- [ ] This is Ratey’s chapter
- [ ] Exercise can work as well as medication
- [ ] Meditation - there are plenty of apps and tools that can assist you with meditation
- [ ] Yoga, cardio, strengths training
- [ ] 35-45 minutes at least three times a week. 70% heart rate
- [ ] Ensure that exercise is part of your treatment
Chapter 8 - medication
- [ ] One of the most valuable tools in the tool box
- [ ] I am a huge supporter of medication and this reinforces my beliefs
- [ ] Use the science
- [ ] It works 70%-80% of the time
- [ ] The destruction of unmanaged and unmedicated ADHD is huge. HR see it in their practice often. They see abject human suffering
- [ ] Medication does not work for all people but it does work for most, find the medication that works best for you
- [ ] Medication prevents abuse. Most people that abuse medication are undiagnosed or don’t have ADHD. They kind of ruin for those of us that do
- [ ] Rejection sensitivity disorder - the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of it is growing, although it is probably more of a symptom. Clonodine is used address it, I take that
- [ ] Discussion about the different kinds of meds and effects
- [ ] Don’t be forced into taking medication, only take it when you are ready, you are willing, and you understand your own goals. Ask yourself the three questions, make sure that you have tried other treatment options and that medication is not the only thing you are doing
- [ ] Vyvanse is effective from 10-12 hours, is water soluble, because guy enzymes break it down it can not be abused through snorting or injection
- [ ] Methyl v amphetamines v non stimulant
- [ ] The advent of longer acting medications has been helpful to the community to cut down on taking so many pills and so often
- [ ] Great chapter, I am missing many of the technical details but that is alright
Conclusion
- [ ] Medication, exercise, human connections, creating stellar environments, meaning and purpose - these are your treatments tools
- [ ] This is a short and fantastic book. Not overly complicated, not a full introduction, but accessible and easy to understand. It covers most of the disorder and gives a clear treatment plan
- [ ] This is one of the first books I would give people
- [ ] Yet again it is clear that Ratey and Hollowell are some of the top minds in the field
- [ ] I don’t have an opinion on VAST, it seems like they are just rebranding ADHD
- [ ] Find your feel and make it real
- [ ] This ends hopeful, you can do this. Don’t let the demon rule you. You can live a wonderful life
- [ ] Go forward and live a beautiful life - manage your ADHD, don’t let it manage you
November 14, 2020
This was a helpful book, though I expected it to be a little more helpful. The authors literally "wrote the book" on what was then known as ADD (they point out that it's now referred to as ADHD whether there is hyperactivity or not, and ADD is no longer a current term). My 13 y/o has a lot of trouble struggling with issues that are probably ADHD and most of my other kids (or all of them) would probably qualify as well. As homeschoolers, we've been able to adapt their environment to meet their needs so it hasn't been as much of an issue, but Alex has been specifically asking me for tools to help him sit still and concentrate better during things like books and movies. This had some good information for him, though I was hoping for a bit more.
I do love that the authors tell kids that their brains are basically "race car engines with bicycle brakes" and the book is very reassuring about how intelligent, creative, driven, etc. people with ADHD are. It focuses on the positives and how to bring them out. There's also a lot of science about what's going on, and it was helpful to read about things like the sense of balance and how working that helps with focus. He talks a little bit about issues like sleep, time in nature and foods, more about the importance of exercise, and some about medications. There's a helpful chart of every kind of med that's reprinted from ADDitude magazine, with columns listing how long each one lasts, side effects, etc. We're not really interested in medications but the book recommends them and the authors both use them. I also appreciate that the book focuses on connecting with kids, encouraging them, supporting them, giving them enough love, etc. It really hammers in that these kids need love and connection above all else to thrive.
I was hoping for more tips, I suppose, along the lines of the Sensory Integration tips I used to use to help my kids concentrate when they were little (give them weighted stuffed animals to hold, give them something to fidget with, do specific exercises before you need them to focus, chew something sour....) but this is more along the lines of the big picture and big steps to implement. It's still a great book, and it contains the most up to date research, resources and lots more.
I read a digital ARC of this book for review.
I do love that the authors tell kids that their brains are basically "race car engines with bicycle brakes" and the book is very reassuring about how intelligent, creative, driven, etc. people with ADHD are. It focuses on the positives and how to bring them out. There's also a lot of science about what's going on, and it was helpful to read about things like the sense of balance and how working that helps with focus. He talks a little bit about issues like sleep, time in nature and foods, more about the importance of exercise, and some about medications. There's a helpful chart of every kind of med that's reprinted from ADDitude magazine, with columns listing how long each one lasts, side effects, etc. We're not really interested in medications but the book recommends them and the authors both use them. I also appreciate that the book focuses on connecting with kids, encouraging them, supporting them, giving them enough love, etc. It really hammers in that these kids need love and connection above all else to thrive.
I was hoping for more tips, I suppose, along the lines of the Sensory Integration tips I used to use to help my kids concentrate when they were little (give them weighted stuffed animals to hold, give them something to fidget with, do specific exercises before you need them to focus, chew something sour....) but this is more along the lines of the big picture and big steps to implement. It's still a great book, and it contains the most up to date research, resources and lots more.
I read a digital ARC of this book for review.
May 13, 2021
I was diagnosed with ADHD last year, although I never followed up about it. I mostly wanted to confirmed or disprove if I had it or not after wondering for a decade. Given my interest in psychology and psychiatry I was already a bit familiar with ADHD, but nothing too in-depth so I wanted something to increase my understanding of it, and most of all to get updated on the newest research about it.
For that purpose, I was recommended this book and I was excited to read it. It describes the condition well, both in lay terms that you're likely familiar with (forgetfulness, lack of attention, etc), but also with the support of some neuroscience. For instance, it talks about the role of the task-positive network (TPN) and default-mode network (DMN). The TPN is involved where there is attention towards a specific task (eg you reading this), while DMN is more connected with a view of self and imagination/daydreaming.
Both are required but have a tension that the brain balances. Usually they one network is active when the other is not, serving the purpose needed at the time. In ADHD that balance is deficient, and the DMN often competes with TPN when the TPN alone is required, which ends up causing distraction. They end up fighting each other instead of working together. While I was familiar with both networks, I didn't know it had been linked with ADHD so directly so that I was a good find, although not very in-depth.
I also really enjoyed the fact that the author mentioned that our environment and modern society can cause ADHD symptoms, which he calls VAST (the variable attention stimulus trait). This isn't a disorder like ADHD, but an environmental response that causes a similar outcome. This environmental aspect was one of the things that interested me the most about ADHD and I got super excited when I read, but unfortunately, he does not develop it very much. Where exactly is the line and how would that line be determined? That's the crucial question and one that is not answered.
The book as a whole has a tone that I wasn't the biggest fan of. While certainly with good intentions, it does fall into the modern trap of trying to showcase people who are neurodivergent an overly positive light. As if ADHD was some kind of superpower that only happens to have some consequences. While there is definitely a point to be made in that direction, it was overly done here. They tried to be so reassuring that it almost ends up creating an implicit quasi-ideal.
Most of my bigger questions were not answered. There is a gigantic problem in psychiatry of the validity of the diagnoses, which is what I was alluding to about VAST. The author gives many examples of ADHD individuals, but they are often extremes, such as a case where the husband was shopping with his wife, and then left her in the store and drove to his house alone. When his daughter reminded him by asking where her mother was, he was so focused on the task of watering his plants that he couldn't disengage to go get his wife. This is clearly very unusual and very dysfunctional, but it's easy to point to such extreme cases. What about when it's less extreme? What exactly makes it a disorder?
The cases he gives really contrast with his overall descriptions of ADHD, which I found way too lose. The wording he uses really just describes types of personality, and I would argue personalities that may very well not overlap with ADHD at all. He mentions often falling in love with a task and then being obsessed about it, but this is incredibly common. If you use such broad categorizations the meaning is completely lost.
This problem is seen on the first page of the book. He states how ADHD shines a light on the people that suffer from not meeting expected standards and labelled as lazy when in reality their brain is working against them. Yes, that is totally true. But then we come back to the same problem. Some people ARE lazy. So how do you distinguish the two? What metric are we using? It's incredibly frustrating that the authors always ignore "meta" questions as if this was either irrelevant or self-evident. It's neither!
The best criticism I have found against ADHD are studies where ADHD diagnoses are compared between the youngest kids who are born in the last month cut off for kindergarten compared to the oldest. If the diagnoses were done properly, age shouldn't matter. Yet, in a study from the US (Elder, 2010) the youngest kindergartners were 60% more likely to be diagnosed, and they were twice as likely to be medicated. This is an unacceptable rate of misdiagnoses. This age effect has been shown in Canada (Morrow et al 2012), Taiwan (Chen et al, 2016), Sweden (Halldner et al, 2014) and Israel (Hoshen et al 2016). This is such a blow to the typical ADHD narrative from most psychiatrists (especially those specializing in ADHD who claims is under-diagnosed), and yet in a book specifically about ADHD, these studies aren't even mentioned. It's embarrassing.
A similar case: in literally the first page of the book, he states: "For instance, many think it’s a child’s condition, and one they’ll grow out of. In fact, even if someone is diagnosed as a child, we now know that people don’t grow out of it—it is as much an issue for adults.". Yes, adult ADHD is a thing, but kids often DO grow out of it. In a study made in Sweden, kids were screened for signs of ADHD and they were checked up on 3 years later. Only half the children ended up with a formal diagnosis (Holmberg et al 2013). He claims that people who "supposedly" grow out of it simply learned to compensate and appear they don't have it. While I'm sure that happens, claiming this is what always happens seems nothing but wishful thinking.
This criticism aside, the book also goes into some non-standard treatments, such as the role of physical balance or anti-sickness meditation. I was completely unaware of and got me very interested. Yet for the most part, they were largely speculative. He just throws a bunch of anecdotes and claims people are getting results. That's not good enough for a science book. The same can be said for thousands of pseudoscience gurus.
This wasn't an isolated case, I expected the science to be much better. This low scientific standard can be seen in another case: he mentions that sugar can make kids (or at least ADHD kids, he's not very clear) hyperactive. There have been studies of parents that claim that sugar makes their kids hyperactive, and yet when controlled with sugar-free candy and analyzed by 3rd party neural observers, there was no difference in behavior (Wolraich, 1994). Parents saw what they expected to see based on their belief on the effect of sugar.
Even if he is making the lighter claim that sugar does not make normal kids misbehave but only ADHD kids misbehave, he states to observe how the kids react. As seen by the research quoted, this is completely useless. The case of sugar is quite a digression but it exemplifies the overall lack of scientific rigour. This is seen in smaller cases too. For example, there were many claims that didn't have any citation whatsoever, even when they were true (e.g. benefits of exercise in learning and attention).
Something completely unexpected about the book, and I would say in a positive way, was the emphasis on compassion and connection. This was a huge theme in the book, trying to both reduce the stigma for kids with ADHD and also trying to make parents and teachers better deal with it in a way that's more productive for children. ADHD is already difficult for children, but the fact that it goes so much against what society expects of them and the shame and criticism that it brings are way worse. And the latter does not help the slightest. So the author's emphasis is well placed. Nevertheless, this holistic approach sometimes went too far and at times I felt like I was reading a self-help book. And a lot of the advice given is just basic recommendations for good health. Which yes they likely help fight ADHD but they are not specific to it at all.
I found the end of the book a bit better than expected, which covered drug treatments. It did mention several types of drugs and their differences. It wasn't very in-depth, but pretty good information nevertheless. In the end, it had a massive table as well with every single ADHD drug. Although it was so extensive that it ended up not being practical. Side-effects were covered but very superficially, and almost exclusively focused on the short-term. I've read that stimulants for children have serious side effects and their long term benefit is unclear.
It was a disappointing book. However, it's partially because of my background and expectations. And it may sound like I'm very anti-ADHD or something like that. I am not. It's simply that this is a topic with a lot of problems and controversies, and I wanted, at the bare minimum, to see them addressed. Even if the author thinks they are all wrong.
Despite the shortcomings that I have covered it does explain the core of ADHD well and offers some helpful advice, especially for parents. If one is completely new to the topic, it wouldn't be a bad introduction. However, it's not at all a deep dive into ADHD as I expected and I learned little. And some of the flaws in the book are concerning. Keep that in mind if you're looking for an ADHD resource.
References:
Elder T. 2010. The importance of relative standards in ADHD diagnoses: Evidence from exact birth dates J Health Econ. 2010 Jun 17.
Morrow RL, Garland J, Wright JM, MacClure M, Taylor S, and Dormuth CR. 2012. Influence of relative age on diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children. Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Chen MH, Lan WH, Bai YM, Huang KL, Su TP, Tsai SJ, Li CT, Lin WC, Chang WH, Pan TL, Chen TJ, Hsu JW. 2016. Influence of Relative Age on Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Taiwanese Children. J Pediatr. 172:162-167.
Halldner L, Tillander A, Lundholm C, Boman M, Långström N, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P. 2014. Relative immaturity and ADHD: findings from nationwide registers, parent- and self-reports. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 55(8):897-904
Holmberg K, Sundelin C, and Hjern A. 2013. Screening for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): can high-risk children be identified in first grade? Child Care Health Dev. 39(2):268-76.
Hoshen MB, Benis A, Keyes KM, Zoëga H. 2016. Stimulant use for ADHD and relative age in class among children in Israel. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 25(6):652-60.
Wolraich ML, Lindgren SD, Stumbo PJ, Stegink LD, Appelbaum MI, Kiritsy MC. Effects of diets high in sucrose or aspartame on the behavior and cognitive performance of children. N Engl J Med. 1994 Feb 3;330(5):301-7.
For that purpose, I was recommended this book and I was excited to read it. It describes the condition well, both in lay terms that you're likely familiar with (forgetfulness, lack of attention, etc), but also with the support of some neuroscience. For instance, it talks about the role of the task-positive network (TPN) and default-mode network (DMN). The TPN is involved where there is attention towards a specific task (eg you reading this), while DMN is more connected with a view of self and imagination/daydreaming.
Both are required but have a tension that the brain balances. Usually they one network is active when the other is not, serving the purpose needed at the time. In ADHD that balance is deficient, and the DMN often competes with TPN when the TPN alone is required, which ends up causing distraction. They end up fighting each other instead of working together. While I was familiar with both networks, I didn't know it had been linked with ADHD so directly so that I was a good find, although not very in-depth.
I also really enjoyed the fact that the author mentioned that our environment and modern society can cause ADHD symptoms, which he calls VAST (the variable attention stimulus trait). This isn't a disorder like ADHD, but an environmental response that causes a similar outcome. This environmental aspect was one of the things that interested me the most about ADHD and I got super excited when I read, but unfortunately, he does not develop it very much. Where exactly is the line and how would that line be determined? That's the crucial question and one that is not answered.
The book as a whole has a tone that I wasn't the biggest fan of. While certainly with good intentions, it does fall into the modern trap of trying to showcase people who are neurodivergent an overly positive light. As if ADHD was some kind of superpower that only happens to have some consequences. While there is definitely a point to be made in that direction, it was overly done here. They tried to be so reassuring that it almost ends up creating an implicit quasi-ideal.
Most of my bigger questions were not answered. There is a gigantic problem in psychiatry of the validity of the diagnoses, which is what I was alluding to about VAST. The author gives many examples of ADHD individuals, but they are often extremes, such as a case where the husband was shopping with his wife, and then left her in the store and drove to his house alone. When his daughter reminded him by asking where her mother was, he was so focused on the task of watering his plants that he couldn't disengage to go get his wife. This is clearly very unusual and very dysfunctional, but it's easy to point to such extreme cases. What about when it's less extreme? What exactly makes it a disorder?
The cases he gives really contrast with his overall descriptions of ADHD, which I found way too lose. The wording he uses really just describes types of personality, and I would argue personalities that may very well not overlap with ADHD at all. He mentions often falling in love with a task and then being obsessed about it, but this is incredibly common. If you use such broad categorizations the meaning is completely lost.
This problem is seen on the first page of the book. He states how ADHD shines a light on the people that suffer from not meeting expected standards and labelled as lazy when in reality their brain is working against them. Yes, that is totally true. But then we come back to the same problem. Some people ARE lazy. So how do you distinguish the two? What metric are we using? It's incredibly frustrating that the authors always ignore "meta" questions as if this was either irrelevant or self-evident. It's neither!
The best criticism I have found against ADHD are studies where ADHD diagnoses are compared between the youngest kids who are born in the last month cut off for kindergarten compared to the oldest. If the diagnoses were done properly, age shouldn't matter. Yet, in a study from the US (Elder, 2010) the youngest kindergartners were 60% more likely to be diagnosed, and they were twice as likely to be medicated. This is an unacceptable rate of misdiagnoses. This age effect has been shown in Canada (Morrow et al 2012), Taiwan (Chen et al, 2016), Sweden (Halldner et al, 2014) and Israel (Hoshen et al 2016). This is such a blow to the typical ADHD narrative from most psychiatrists (especially those specializing in ADHD who claims is under-diagnosed), and yet in a book specifically about ADHD, these studies aren't even mentioned. It's embarrassing.
A similar case: in literally the first page of the book, he states: "For instance, many think it’s a child’s condition, and one they’ll grow out of. In fact, even if someone is diagnosed as a child, we now know that people don’t grow out of it—it is as much an issue for adults.". Yes, adult ADHD is a thing, but kids often DO grow out of it. In a study made in Sweden, kids were screened for signs of ADHD and they were checked up on 3 years later. Only half the children ended up with a formal diagnosis (Holmberg et al 2013). He claims that people who "supposedly" grow out of it simply learned to compensate and appear they don't have it. While I'm sure that happens, claiming this is what always happens seems nothing but wishful thinking.
This criticism aside, the book also goes into some non-standard treatments, such as the role of physical balance or anti-sickness meditation. I was completely unaware of and got me very interested. Yet for the most part, they were largely speculative. He just throws a bunch of anecdotes and claims people are getting results. That's not good enough for a science book. The same can be said for thousands of pseudoscience gurus.
This wasn't an isolated case, I expected the science to be much better. This low scientific standard can be seen in another case: he mentions that sugar can make kids (or at least ADHD kids, he's not very clear) hyperactive. There have been studies of parents that claim that sugar makes their kids hyperactive, and yet when controlled with sugar-free candy and analyzed by 3rd party neural observers, there was no difference in behavior (Wolraich, 1994). Parents saw what they expected to see based on their belief on the effect of sugar.
Even if he is making the lighter claim that sugar does not make normal kids misbehave but only ADHD kids misbehave, he states to observe how the kids react. As seen by the research quoted, this is completely useless. The case of sugar is quite a digression but it exemplifies the overall lack of scientific rigour. This is seen in smaller cases too. For example, there were many claims that didn't have any citation whatsoever, even when they were true (e.g. benefits of exercise in learning and attention).
Something completely unexpected about the book, and I would say in a positive way, was the emphasis on compassion and connection. This was a huge theme in the book, trying to both reduce the stigma for kids with ADHD and also trying to make parents and teachers better deal with it in a way that's more productive for children. ADHD is already difficult for children, but the fact that it goes so much against what society expects of them and the shame and criticism that it brings are way worse. And the latter does not help the slightest. So the author's emphasis is well placed. Nevertheless, this holistic approach sometimes went too far and at times I felt like I was reading a self-help book. And a lot of the advice given is just basic recommendations for good health. Which yes they likely help fight ADHD but they are not specific to it at all.
I found the end of the book a bit better than expected, which covered drug treatments. It did mention several types of drugs and their differences. It wasn't very in-depth, but pretty good information nevertheless. In the end, it had a massive table as well with every single ADHD drug. Although it was so extensive that it ended up not being practical. Side-effects were covered but very superficially, and almost exclusively focused on the short-term. I've read that stimulants for children have serious side effects and their long term benefit is unclear.
It was a disappointing book. However, it's partially because of my background and expectations. And it may sound like I'm very anti-ADHD or something like that. I am not. It's simply that this is a topic with a lot of problems and controversies, and I wanted, at the bare minimum, to see them addressed. Even if the author thinks they are all wrong.
Despite the shortcomings that I have covered it does explain the core of ADHD well and offers some helpful advice, especially for parents. If one is completely new to the topic, it wouldn't be a bad introduction. However, it's not at all a deep dive into ADHD as I expected and I learned little. And some of the flaws in the book are concerning. Keep that in mind if you're looking for an ADHD resource.
References:
Elder T. 2010. The importance of relative standards in ADHD diagnoses: Evidence from exact birth dates J Health Econ. 2010 Jun 17.
Morrow RL, Garland J, Wright JM, MacClure M, Taylor S, and Dormuth CR. 2012. Influence of relative age on diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children. Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Chen MH, Lan WH, Bai YM, Huang KL, Su TP, Tsai SJ, Li CT, Lin WC, Chang WH, Pan TL, Chen TJ, Hsu JW. 2016. Influence of Relative Age on Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Taiwanese Children. J Pediatr. 172:162-167.
Halldner L, Tillander A, Lundholm C, Boman M, Långström N, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P. 2014. Relative immaturity and ADHD: findings from nationwide registers, parent- and self-reports. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 55(8):897-904
Holmberg K, Sundelin C, and Hjern A. 2013. Screening for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): can high-risk children be identified in first grade? Child Care Health Dev. 39(2):268-76.
Hoshen MB, Benis A, Keyes KM, Zoëga H. 2016. Stimulant use for ADHD and relative age in class among children in Israel. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 25(6):652-60.
Wolraich ML, Lindgren SD, Stumbo PJ, Stegink LD, Appelbaum MI, Kiritsy MC. Effects of diets high in sucrose or aspartame on the behavior and cognitive performance of children. N Engl J Med. 1994 Feb 3;330(5):301-7.
April 26, 2021
This would have been 5 stars if not for the suggestion that ABA is a good option - I know that ABA can be very traumatic for folks w/ autism so I was disappointed to see it mentioned here.
For those wondering, here's a great twitter thread outlining some of the ethical issues with ABA
https://twitter.com/ZeroWrites/status...
For those wondering, here's a great twitter thread outlining some of the ethical issues with ABA
https://twitter.com/ZeroWrites/status...
November 16, 2023
дропаю, рекомендації брендів бадів це якийсь зашквар
September 16, 2022
This is a solid start for those recently diagnosed with the disorder, living with an ADHD spouse/relative/friend or just curious. It does well to break down harmful misconceptions about what ADHD is and how it affects children and adults alike.
That said, there were some eyebrow-raising moments...
For instance, the mention of mobile phones acting as a contributor/cause to ADHD - I'd have hoped there'd be greater evidence to merit the inclusion of such a claim. It's not so hard to imagine there'll be a handful of individuals who'll cling on to that as fact or regurgitate it to someone else who will.
I also felt like the authors only scratched the surface of some topics, glazing over divides in class, wealth, culture etc. which is reflected in the examples of 'extraordinary successes' that'd resonate more so to a young white man than myself.
Overall, I'd say the first third of the book is its strength.
That said, there were some eyebrow-raising moments...
For instance, the mention of mobile phones acting as a contributor/cause to ADHD - I'd have hoped there'd be greater evidence to merit the inclusion of such a claim. It's not so hard to imagine there'll be a handful of individuals who'll cling on to that as fact or regurgitate it to someone else who will.
I also felt like the authors only scratched the surface of some topics, glazing over divides in class, wealth, culture etc. which is reflected in the examples of 'extraordinary successes' that'd resonate more so to a young white man than myself.
Overall, I'd say the first third of the book is its strength.
September 26, 2020
I was really excited to have the chance to read this latest book by Drs. Hallowell and Ratey. These doctors literally wrote the book when it comes to ADD - their first book, Driven to Distraction, came out in the early 90s, and was not only the first book to introduce ADD to the world, but also the Bible of ADD treatment and diagnosis. As the first book on ADD and also still the best book, Driven to Distraction was a huge help to my family and millions of others.
So it is no surprise that ADD 2.0 is equally helpful, and can serve as the ADD Bible 2.0 for the 2020s and beyond. In this book, Drs. Ratey and Hallowell discuss cultural ADD as well as medically diagnosed ADD, and suggest that a better name for ADD-like traits would be VAST, or “Variable Attention Stimulus Trait.” This is a much-appreciated effort to take ADD out of the realm of “deficit” or “disease” and place it more on the larger spectrum of neurodiversity. This book provides advice not only for ADDers but for everyone living in our increasingly short-attention spanned culture. There is a lot of info packed into this book, and, knowing that science and brain stuff might be hard for an ADD audience to focus on, the authors pepper this dense information with patient stories, analogies and many other interesting things to help the reader commit the useful information to memory. There is a lot of great information here too about the increased creativity and intelligence that exists in most ADD folks, which is always helpful to identify and emphasize.
I was particularly appreciative of the chapter discussing ADD medications, calling out the panic that has arisen over the use of stimulants to treat ADD in recent years. Though the book thoroughly discusses non-medication treatment options, it also discusses both stimulant and non-stimulant medication for ADD in a responsible and compelling way. In addition to describing how these meds work on the ADD brain, the doctors make a compelling case that these meds actually DECREASE addiction for properly diagnosed ADDers, who otherwise tend to seek stimulation and self-medication in unhealthy and unscientific ways.
There is just a ton of additional useful information here on brain research, neuroplasticity, behavioral research, and more, making this book a thorough update on VAST/ADHD for modern times. If you have an ADD person in your life, or are driven to distraction yourself, this book provides concrete tools based in science for working within that brain framework, and also for appreciating the creativity and other actual benefits it may also bring. This book is equally great whether you have/are a child with ADD, or an adult.
Three cheers again for Drs. Hallowell and Ratey for continuing to demystify and destigmatize the ADD brain. Our world is better because of their work. And many thanks to Ballantine, NetGalley and the authors for the advance copy allowing me to get a jump start on all this new and valuable information.
So it is no surprise that ADD 2.0 is equally helpful, and can serve as the ADD Bible 2.0 for the 2020s and beyond. In this book, Drs. Ratey and Hallowell discuss cultural ADD as well as medically diagnosed ADD, and suggest that a better name for ADD-like traits would be VAST, or “Variable Attention Stimulus Trait.” This is a much-appreciated effort to take ADD out of the realm of “deficit” or “disease” and place it more on the larger spectrum of neurodiversity. This book provides advice not only for ADDers but for everyone living in our increasingly short-attention spanned culture. There is a lot of info packed into this book, and, knowing that science and brain stuff might be hard for an ADD audience to focus on, the authors pepper this dense information with patient stories, analogies and many other interesting things to help the reader commit the useful information to memory. There is a lot of great information here too about the increased creativity and intelligence that exists in most ADD folks, which is always helpful to identify and emphasize.
I was particularly appreciative of the chapter discussing ADD medications, calling out the panic that has arisen over the use of stimulants to treat ADD in recent years. Though the book thoroughly discusses non-medication treatment options, it also discusses both stimulant and non-stimulant medication for ADD in a responsible and compelling way. In addition to describing how these meds work on the ADD brain, the doctors make a compelling case that these meds actually DECREASE addiction for properly diagnosed ADDers, who otherwise tend to seek stimulation and self-medication in unhealthy and unscientific ways.
There is just a ton of additional useful information here on brain research, neuroplasticity, behavioral research, and more, making this book a thorough update on VAST/ADHD for modern times. If you have an ADD person in your life, or are driven to distraction yourself, this book provides concrete tools based in science for working within that brain framework, and also for appreciating the creativity and other actual benefits it may also bring. This book is equally great whether you have/are a child with ADD, or an adult.
Three cheers again for Drs. Hallowell and Ratey for continuing to demystify and destigmatize the ADD brain. Our world is better because of their work. And many thanks to Ballantine, NetGalley and the authors for the advance copy allowing me to get a jump start on all this new and valuable information.
September 12, 2021
A disappointment like always. People with ADHD don’t need the same basic “information” and superficial tips over and over, we need experts who understand the complexity of our lives.
December 23, 2024
Просто дві цитати продемонструвати рівень аргументації в книзі:
1.
2.
Обидві, хоч і вирвані з контексту, добре демонструють загальний підхід авторів: більше віри і фокусу на позитивних сторонах, підміна доказовості дієвості методики її популярністю чи поширеністю, зрештою загальний брак критичного ставлення до методик лікування. І хоч вони постійно наголошують на необхідності спиратися на наукові перевірені дані, самі ж регулярно грішать проти цього принципу, рекомендуючи читачу методики і тести, ефективність яких хоч і не була поки що науково доведена, але ж ��ляньте скільки людей ними користується. І це страшенно серйозна вада книги, бо фактично демонструє авторів не дуже схильними до критичної оцінки і чужих і власних методик. Всі просто вдячні, що ось щось пробується і комусь навіть допомагає, то ж зконцентруйтесь на позитиві і своїх сильних сторонах і пробуйте все до чого дотягнетесь, а там вже як піде. А якщо не піде - можливо ви просто недостатньо вірили в цю методику лікування чи в себе.
Свідомий того, що тема дуже чутлива і важлива, і будь яке джерело адекватної інформації по темі вже саме по собі несе цінність. Так само як підбадьорення людей з РДУГ та мотивування до пошуку дієвих шляхів покращення свого життя - важлива і вартісна мета. В цьому ключі добре, що книга у нас вийшла. Але до самої книги і авторів виникає дуже багато незручних питань, і я б, щиро кажучи, радше не радив би її, ніж радив. Як би там не було, нехай краще важкодоступне й рідкісне, але надійне й інформативне джерело, на яке можна покластися і справді щось впровадити на практиці, аніж поверхневий позитивний позитив, який покликаний радше підняти вам настрій порівняннями з "феррарі", а заодно і прорекламувати тихенько пару ліків/тестів знайомих контор.
P.S. в кінці книги міститься посилання на доволі обширний список літератури по темі - також можна віднести до сильних сторін книги і таким чином витягнути її до двох зірочок.
1.
"Навряд чи вони (пацієнти - прим.моя) всі ці десятиліття ходили б до нього, якби його незвичний (хоча нині не такий уже і дивний) підхід не давав принаймні якихось позитивних результатів."
2.
"Навіть найліпші й найбільш дієві ліки не допоможуть, якщо ви не віритимете них і не бажатимете приймати."
Обидві, хоч і вирвані з контексту, добре демонструють загальний підхід авторів: більше віри і фокусу на позитивних сторонах, підміна доказовості дієвості методики її популярністю чи поширеністю, зрештою загальний брак критичного ставлення до методик лікування. І хоч вони постійно наголошують на необхідності спиратися на наукові перевірені дані, самі ж регулярно грішать проти цього принципу, рекомендуючи читачу методики і тести, ефективність яких хоч і не була поки що науково доведена, але ж ��ляньте скільки людей ними користується. І це страшенно серйозна вада книги, бо фактично демонструє авторів не дуже схильними до критичної оцінки і чужих і власних методик. Всі просто вдячні, що ось щось пробується і комусь навіть допомагає, то ж зконцентруйтесь на позитиві і своїх сильних сторонах і пробуйте все до чого дотягнетесь, а там вже як піде. А якщо не піде - можливо ви просто недостатньо вірили в цю методику лікування чи в себе.
Свідомий того, що тема дуже чутлива і важлива, і будь яке джерело адекватної інформації по темі вже саме по собі несе цінність. Так само як підбадьорення людей з РДУГ та мотивування до пошуку дієвих шляхів покращення свого життя - важлива і вартісна мета. В цьому ключі добре, що книга у нас вийшла. Але до самої книги і авторів виникає дуже багато незручних питань, і я б, щиро кажучи, радше не радив би її, ніж радив. Як би там не було, нехай краще важкодоступне й рідкісне, але надійне й інформативне джерело, на яке можна покластися і справді щось впровадити на практиці, аніж поверхневий позитивний позитив, який покликаний радше підняти вам настрій порівняннями з "феррарі", а заодно і прорекламувати тихенько пару ліків/тестів знайомих контор.
P.S. в кінці книги міститься посилання на доволі обширний список літератури по темі - також можна віднести до сильних сторін книги і таким чином витягнути її до двох зірочок.
August 28, 2025
Can’t recommend this enough for someone struggling where to start with their ADHD research. It’s is anchored by a very positive outlook on the disorder both in its prognosis and the unique and constructive qualities ADHD offers once the patient has tools and therapies to hone the condition’s favourable qualities.
January 29, 2023
This was my first book on ADHD, which I picked up after ~ feeling seen ~ by an artist's ADHD cartoons on Tumblr (shoutout to ADHD Alien), and before I scheduled appointments with professionals to discuss my probable ADHD (non-surprise: I have ADHD).
Unfortunately this book was Not Good. I thought I could trust the authors because they are two professors at Harvard Medical School (or at least one of them is?), but this book really read like the authors constantly shilling clinics, methods, and practices in which they are part-investors. One of the method/clinics claimed that practicing balancing on a wobbly board mostly cures their patients of their ADHD?? There was a whole section of the author feeling amazed that he could give a talk in China on ADHD and that the Chinese people listening seemed to understand his talk?? The book purports to address Adults with ADHD, but mostly focuses on helping 8-year old boys with bad grades and who are bouncing off walls.
There was one potentially useful section of the book early on that discussed how the brain has 2 networks. One of them is the "focusing" network, and one is a "default" network, and the author claims that people with ADHD have trouble switching between these two networks, which... might make sense? E.g. I sometimes might have trouble starting a task because my brain is stuck in the default network; and sometimes I might have trouble wrenching myself out of a particular state of focus and thinking about or doing literally anything else. This seemed true for me, but there weren't any insights or tips for how to deal with this. But I am sus because I am sus of "brain science" in general?
One surprising benefit of this book is that I found a recommendation for the How to ADHD youtube channel in the reviews for this book, and in true ADHD fashion, instead of writing this review several weeks ago, I went off and started watching the youtube videos instead, and it seems pretty good!
Unfortunately this book was Not Good. I thought I could trust the authors because they are two professors at Harvard Medical School (or at least one of them is?), but this book really read like the authors constantly shilling clinics, methods, and practices in which they are part-investors. One of the method/clinics claimed that practicing balancing on a wobbly board mostly cures their patients of their ADHD?? There was a whole section of the author feeling amazed that he could give a talk in China on ADHD and that the Chinese people listening seemed to understand his talk?? The book purports to address Adults with ADHD, but mostly focuses on helping 8-year old boys with bad grades and who are bouncing off walls.
There was one potentially useful section of the book early on that discussed how the brain has 2 networks. One of them is the "focusing" network, and one is a "default" network, and the author claims that people with ADHD have trouble switching between these two networks, which... might make sense? E.g. I sometimes might have trouble starting a task because my brain is stuck in the default network; and sometimes I might have trouble wrenching myself out of a particular state of focus and thinking about or doing literally anything else. This seemed true for me, but there weren't any insights or tips for how to deal with this. But I am sus because I am sus of "brain science" in general?
One surprising benefit of this book is that I found a recommendation for the How to ADHD youtube channel in the reviews for this book, and in true ADHD fashion, instead of writing this review several weeks ago, I went off and started watching the youtube videos instead, and it seems pretty good!
May 29, 2022
Wow! Super information in an easily digestible format.
My adult son has recently learned that he may have ADHD and is going for testing. My husband has known he has had it since he was young but lives untreated. While my son was learning more about it, he told me he thinks I have it too (increasing the odds he has it according to the authors). After reading this book, I suspect he is right. I had no idea some of the traits I carry shame about might not merely be personality flaws.
This book was eye-opening and positive. A great resource for someone (me) who knew very little about it beyond the stereotypes.
My adult son has recently learned that he may have ADHD and is going for testing. My husband has known he has had it since he was young but lives untreated. While my son was learning more about it, he told me he thinks I have it too (increasing the odds he has it according to the authors). After reading this book, I suspect he is right. I had no idea some of the traits I carry shame about might not merely be personality flaws.
This book was eye-opening and positive. A great resource for someone (me) who knew very little about it beyond the stereotypes.
February 3, 2023
can we denormalise centring the cis-white male experience and using he/him pronouns when providing medical advice that can affect all genders? wtf is this
January 2, 2022
Life-changing.
Debunks the myths I've been told and repeated to myself all my life.
It's not just a label for hyperactive kids, it's not something you just grow out of, it's not over-diagnosed to sell more drugs, it's not treated with dangerous or experimental medication. It's not your fault your brain works the way it does.
It's one of the most heritable conditions in behavioural science. It's likely the most treatable disorder in psychiatry, with greater variety and higher safety than most treatments in this field. It affects between 5-10% of the population, and if left untreated, can drop life expectancy between 13-21 years based on a recent study. My Dad had ADHD, and he killed himself aged 55 after a lifetime of struggle with it and the addictions the condition often leads to, so that resonated a lot with my experience personally too.
I was diagnosed as a young kid and have learned to cope without meds through trial and error over the years. I've done better than I or anyone would ever have expected, but imagine what I could do without basic life being so damn hard. This book helped me understand myself better, that the pros mostly outweigh the cons given my field and areas of interest. It gave me hope that things can get easier.
Debunks the myths I've been told and repeated to myself all my life.
It's not just a label for hyperactive kids, it's not something you just grow out of, it's not over-diagnosed to sell more drugs, it's not treated with dangerous or experimental medication. It's not your fault your brain works the way it does.
It's one of the most heritable conditions in behavioural science. It's likely the most treatable disorder in psychiatry, with greater variety and higher safety than most treatments in this field. It affects between 5-10% of the population, and if left untreated, can drop life expectancy between 13-21 years based on a recent study. My Dad had ADHD, and he killed himself aged 55 after a lifetime of struggle with it and the addictions the condition often leads to, so that resonated a lot with my experience personally too.
I was diagnosed as a young kid and have learned to cope without meds through trial and error over the years. I've done better than I or anyone would ever have expected, but imagine what I could do without basic life being so damn hard. This book helped me understand myself better, that the pros mostly outweigh the cons given my field and areas of interest. It gave me hope that things can get easier.
December 4, 2021
Important points:
ADHD or not, focus became the most important thing as attention economics disrupt human nature. Get rid of excessive food processing, sugar, screens, bad news.
Strength-based, positivity, frequent reminders of values/support/love, fight the urge to be a "savior" to all in need for help/cynics/whiny/mean people because then negativity will be the only thing at your focus.
Seek connection (the other Vitamin C), both inside your brain (cerebellum-balance exercises, get your heart rate up to feel good) and outside with others/pets/spirituality, never worry alone, write it down.
Accept yourself as you are, ask for and accept help (doesn't mean you'll lose all dopamine from deserving praise because it's still you who does the actual work), create things.
Enjoy the ride
ADHD or not, focus became the most important thing as attention economics disrupt human nature. Get rid of excessive food processing, sugar, screens, bad news.
Strength-based, positivity, frequent reminders of values/support/love, fight the urge to be a "savior" to all in need for help/cynics/whiny/mean people because then negativity will be the only thing at your focus.
Seek connection (the other Vitamin C), both inside your brain (cerebellum-balance exercises, get your heart rate up to feel good) and outside with others/pets/spirituality, never worry alone, write it down.
Accept yourself as you are, ask for and accept help (doesn't mean you'll lose all dopamine from deserving praise because it's still you who does the actual work), create things.
Enjoy the ride
May 2, 2023
This was a nice little introduction on ADHD with some relatable information. It is quite short, I wish it contained more. Maybe it's because I started with this and not Driven to Distraction (the author's first book). I found the piece on RSD nice, and some great insight on how you can manage ADHD symptoms without medication. These are things I can apply to my life (together with medication) to try and make the best of it.
June 27, 2022
Have you ever found one of those books that helps you understand yourself so clearly you're a bit dumbstruck? This was that book for me, to a fault.
I have lived with ADHD since I was 5 years old, and I have never really understood it beyond something I just wrestled with, which put me in a lot of "gifted" classes. I honestly grew up feeling like I was "a smart, but kinda broken kid." Then here comes Dr. Hallowell with this assertion that "no, you're not broken, your brain is just wired in a way that schools and occupations don't really account for adequately."
Granted I've been researching my ADHD on my own for years and trying to make sense/make do with it on my own, but this made my brain chemistry so much more "present" and gave me better tools to work with when I need to tame my focus.
I highly recommend this books to anyone who has ADHD or is living with someone who does.
I have lived with ADHD since I was 5 years old, and I have never really understood it beyond something I just wrestled with, which put me in a lot of "gifted" classes. I honestly grew up feeling like I was "a smart, but kinda broken kid." Then here comes Dr. Hallowell with this assertion that "no, you're not broken, your brain is just wired in a way that schools and occupations don't really account for adequately."
Granted I've been researching my ADHD on my own for years and trying to make sense/make do with it on my own, but this made my brain chemistry so much more "present" and gave me better tools to work with when I need to tame my focus.
I highly recommend this books to anyone who has ADHD or is living with someone who does.
July 18, 2022
ADHD runs in my family, but I am just starting to do my own research into the topic. The most positive aspect of the book for me was the realization that ADHD contributes to challenges, but that it can also confer great strengths to those who harness it. ADHD is inherently paradoxical. One of their examples was that a high percentage of entrepreneurs exhibit ADHD symptoms. It promotes the creative and out-of-the-box thinking required to take the risk of starting a new business, but also the same entrepreneur’s procrastination in doing their paperwork.
The book suggested a number of accessible therapies and habits to help counteract the weaknesses inherit in ADHD, but they also recommended a strengths-centered approach as a better starting position when working with these individuals.
The book suggested a number of accessible therapies and habits to help counteract the weaknesses inherit in ADHD, but they also recommended a strengths-centered approach as a better starting position when working with these individuals.
May 2, 2024
If you have Adhd don’t read this book. If you have someone in your family who is really dumb and has a hard time understanding adhd get them to read this book, because it’s purely contrived psychology facts
Mixed in with pseudoscience. At best I can say that the authors are evidentially correct in noting that lack of sympathy towards people with ADHD lends greater suffering from ADHD. However, the amount of unhelpful, ambiguous and redundant facts present in this book Make it not worthwhile for those looking for help. If you want an example that Sums this up well the author claims that after bravely helping a young Chinese student who suffers from attention disorders , the brave author ended corporal punishment in the school system. How? simply by telling the teachers of said authoritarian school that people with ADHD need love.
Mixed in with pseudoscience. At best I can say that the authors are evidentially correct in noting that lack of sympathy towards people with ADHD lends greater suffering from ADHD. However, the amount of unhelpful, ambiguous and redundant facts present in this book Make it not worthwhile for those looking for help. If you want an example that Sums this up well the author claims that after bravely helping a young Chinese student who suffers from attention disorders , the brave author ended corporal punishment in the school system. How? simply by telling the teachers of said authoritarian school that people with ADHD need love.
July 10, 2024
Interesting book. Some good points. I was concerned with the authors’ openness towards ABA therapy methods as they have been fairly widely criticized because the creator of the method had some majorly abusive tactics. And the principles of the program have been used in conversion therapy programs which are deplorable.
They also spoke positively/neutrally about wilderness therapy programs, mentioning that those programs often use taekwondo. Not a good look. Those programs are so abusive. I was just put off by parts of the book. Hard to put into words. Silly since I’m writing a review…
They also spoke positively/neutrally about wilderness therapy programs, mentioning that those programs often use taekwondo. Not a good look. Those programs are so abusive. I was just put off by parts of the book. Hard to put into words. Silly since I’m writing a review…
May 11, 2024
це не книга про РДУГ, а рекламний буклет усіх можливих доказових і недоказових, перевірених і випадкових, затверджених і нетестованих засобів для впливу на симптоматику РДУГ. перший розділ може бути корисним для тих, хто нічого не знає про РДУГ, як вступ до теми. все інше уваги не варте. хоча ні, брешу. передмова до українського видання – ок.
April 28, 2024
Для мене це виявилась доволі помічна книга, хоча чарівних пілюль тут немає.
Проте є поради що робити і як зацікавлювати людей з РДУГ, щоб цей розлад розкривав їх хороші сторони, а не лише вносив негатив в життя.
Дякую!
Проте є поради що робити і як зацікавлювати людей з РДУГ, щоб цей розлад розкривав їх хороші сторони, а не лише вносив негатив в життя.
Дякую!
March 5, 2025
pros: definitely some ah-ha moments in here and some useful tidbits that I will take with me
cons: in so many of these chapters I couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody was trying to sell me something which I vehemently detested
cons: in so many of these chapters I couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody was trying to sell me something which I vehemently detested
July 16, 2024
4.5 stars
This is an excellent overview of what it's like to have ADHD and how to create an environment that helps individuals with ADHD thrive. Highly recommended for therapists and clinicians!
This is an excellent overview of what it's like to have ADHD and how to create an environment that helps individuals with ADHD thrive. Highly recommended for therapists and clinicians!
August 13, 2023
As someone who has been working up the nerve to talk to their doctor about this, I found it really helpful in giving an overview and where modern medicine is with it.
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