ADHD Quotes

“Insanity in individuals is something rare—but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL, 1886)”
― Thom Hartmann, ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer’s World

“When required to remain seated, a person has difficulty doing so. Stimuli extraneous to the task at hand are easily distracting. Holding attention to a single task or play activity is difficult. Frequently will hop from one activity to another, without completing the first. Fidgets or squirms (or feels restless mentally). Doesn’t want to, or can’t, wait for his or her turn when involved in group activities. Before a question is completely asked, will often interrupt the questioner with an answer. Has problems with job or chore follow-through, and this difficulty doesn’t stem from some other learning disability or defiant behavior. Can’t play quietly without difficulty. Impulsively jumps into physically dangerous activities without weighing the consequences. (This is different from garden-variety thrill-seeking, and more accurately characterized by a child running into the street without looking first.) Easily loses things, such as pencils, tools, papers, that may be necessary to complete school or other work. Interrupts others inappropriately, butting in when not invited. Talks impulsively or excessively. Others report that the person doesn’t seem to be listening when spoken to. The three caveats on these diagnostic criteria are that the behaviors must have started before age seven, not represent some other form of classifiable mental illness, and occur more frequently than the average person of the same age.”
― Thom Hartmann, ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer’s World

“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”
― Thom Hartmann, ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer’s World

“In other words, ADHD people frequently have difficulty following directions, because the directions weren’t fully received and understood in the first place.”
― Thom Hartmann, ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer’s World