Slowing down stimulates discomfort, sadness, isolation, and shame, which become background affect throughout life. If manic defenses are chronically employed, they can become a way of life and keep children and adults from constructing inner imaginal experience and a sense of self. Sadly, many children with manic defenses are mistakenly diagnosed with ADHD. They are medicated to help them cope, while the real problem goes unresolved.
