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January 14 - March 16, 2023
About two-thirds of people with ADHD have a life expectancy reduced by up to 21 years.
A person with ADHD has the power of a Ferrari engine but with bicycle-strength brakes. It’s the mismatch of engine power to braking capability that causes the problems. Strengthening one’s brakes is the name of the game.
“ADHD” is a term that describes a way of being in the world. It is neither entirely a disorder nor entirely an asset. It is an array of traits specific to a unique kind of mind. It can become a distinct advantage or an abiding curse, depending on how a person manages it.
We’re relaxed not knowing where we are or what direction we’re headed in.
If we weren’t so dreamy and curious we could stay on track and never get distracted.
This is why the word “deficit” in the name of our condition is such a misnomer. In fact, we do not suffer from a deficit of attention. Just the opposite. We’ve got an overabundance of attention, more attention than we can cope with; our constant challenge is to control it.
it helps to think of ADHD as a complex set of contradictory or paradoxical tendencies: a lack of focus combined with an ability to superfocus; a lack of direction combined with highly directed entrepreneurialism; a tendency to procrastinate combined with a knack for getting a week’s worth of work done in two hours; impulsive, wrongheaded decision making combined with inventive, out-of-the-blue problem solving; interpersonal cluelessness combined with uncanny intuition and empathy; the list goes on.
Strong will, stubbornness, refusal of help. It can seem stunningly stupid, but many people with ADHD, especially men, state outright, “I’d rather fail doing it my way than succeed with help.”
made famous the term “rejection-sensitive dysphoria,” or RSD, which describes a tendency on the part of people who have ADHD to overreact precipitously and disastrously to even the slightest perceived put-down, dis, or vaguely negative remark. They can spiral down to the depths in the blink
Uncannily accurate intuition, coupled with a tendency to overlook the obvious and ignore major data.
Transparency, to the point of being honest to a fault. The person who is incapable of “kissing up,” intolerant of hypocrisy, often tactless, politically incorrect, and heedless of repercussions and consequences…is often dealing with ADHD.
Tendency to externalize or blame others while not seeing your role in the problem. This is coupled with a general inability to observe oneself accurately, which naturally leads to more externalizing, since you truly do not see the role you play in the problem.
Distorted negative self-image. Due to the inability to observe oneself accurately, coupled with the heightened sensitivity to perceived criticism and a record of underachievement, people with ADHD usually have a self-image that is far more negative than is warranted.
ADHD, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive.
Can get a lot done in a short amount of time Fundamentally different sense of time; there is only NOW and NOT NOW in this world, so procrastination rules, and things rarely get done on time
In a neurotypical brain, when the TPN is turned on and you’re on task, the DMN is turned off. But in the ADHD brain, the fMRI shows that when the TPN is turned on, the DMN is turned on as well, trying to muscle its way in and pull you into its grasp, thereby distracting you. In ADHD, therefore, the DMN competes with the TPN, which in most people it does not do.
Trapped in the past or future in the DMN, you’re likely to abandon projects you once started with enthusiasm, make careless mistakes, or, worse, fall into a state of misery and despair, for no good reason whatsoever.
