Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder

by Edward M. Hallowell

practical ways to enhance novelty and stimulation in everyday life, such as taking notes on her own thoughts while listening to other people talk, doing at least two things at once while listening to a lecture, or adding as much color and other visual pizzazz to one’s surroundings as possible.

These people always feel a press for the next thing and the next thing and the next thing.

Instead of framing the syndrome as an inability to pay attention to cues, this definition focuses on the ability of someone with ADD to pay attention to many more cues than the average person.

the phenomenon of time collapsing in on itself for people with ADD:

instead of being able to carve out discrete activities that would create a sensation of separate moments, the person cannot stop the relentless flow of events.

Everything runs together, unbraked,...

Our patients frequently report that they are their most calm when completely caught up in the thrill of it all, whatever the “all” may be. It could be fun, a catastrophe, or a life-or-death crisis. These situations allow the ADD person not only to get into forward motion, but also to forget, to disregard that they need brakes in the first place. In an emergency, it’s full speed ahead. What a relief.

stimulants—Ritalin, Cylert, Dexedrine—act on the catecholamine system.

The beginnings and endings of moments in time become clear, and deliberation, planning, and pausing finally become possible.