ADHD 2.0 Quotes

“your conative style determines what you actually do in life. Borrowing again from the Latin, Kolbe calls this our MO, our modus operandi. And, for our purposes, that’s what a person who has ADHD most needs to learn about herself or himself and why we so strongly recommend taking this test.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“We short-circuit all such complexity by slicing time down to its barest bones. In our world, we recognize only two times: “now” and “not now.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“we have a pronounced intolerance of boredom; boredom is our kryptonite. The second that we experience boredom—which you might think of as a lack of stimulation—we reflexively, instantaneously, automatically and without conscious”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“what the standard we’re not conforming to is! People with ADHD are lovers in the sense that they tend to have unbridled optimism. We never met a deal we didn’t like, an opportunity we didn’t want to pursue, a chance we didn’t want to take. We get carried away.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Some people call this being a nonconformist, but that term misses the point. We don’t choose not to conform. We don’t even notice”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“We like irrational. We’re at home in uncertainty. We’re at ease where others are anxious. We’re relaxed not knowing where we are or what direction we’re headed in.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“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.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“inborn weather vane leads the person with ADHD to be the first to sense a shift in mood or energy in the group, the class, the family, the organization, the town, the country.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“ADHD often are lightning rods for whatever can go wrong: being the one kid caught with weed when twenty others had it; the adult or kid who gets scapegoated, blamed, and disciplined more than anyone else; the one who disrupts the family event, or business meeting, or class discussion without meaning to.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“As much as we can get down in the dumps over a minute criticism, we can fly high and put to great use even small bits of encouragement or recognition.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“trouble reading the social scene and inability to control the impulse to interrupt or butt in.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Restlessness, especially in boys and men.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“although we tend to reject help from others (see above!), we are the ones who offer the shirt off our back to the person who needs it, whether we know them or not.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“In our world, we recognize only two times: “now” and “not now.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“The second that we experience boredom—which you might think of as a lack of stimulation—we reflexively, instantaneously, automatically and without conscious thought seek stimulation. We don’t care what it is, we just have to address the mental emergency—the brain pain—that boredom sets off.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Our imagination fuels our curiosity to find out what that noise was, or what was under the rock, or why the petri dish looks different from when we left it. If we weren’t so dreamy and curious we could stay on track and never get distracted. But we do investigate the noise, the soil, the petri dish.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are the classic descriptors,”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Alan Turing summed us up when he said, “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“ADHD is a powerful force of pain and needless suffering in too many lives. But if mastered, it brings out talents you can neither teach nor buy. It is often the lifeblood of creativity and artistic talents. It is a driver of ingenuity and iterative thinking.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“How much sleep is enough? The amount of sleep it takes for you to wake up without an alarm clock. That’s your physiological requirement for sleep. Try to get that much and your brain will repay you; your body will as well. Insufficient sleep is associated with increased risk of obesity, depression, high blood pressure, depressed immune function (which can lead to cancer), and anxiety disorders.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction - from Childhood through Adulthood

“How much sleep is enough? The amount of sleep it takes for you to wake up without an alarm clock. That’s your physiological requirement for sleep. Try to get that much and your brain will repay you; your body will as well. Insufficient sleep is associated with increased risk of obesity, depression, high blood pressure, depressed immune function (which”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction - from Childhood through Adulthood

“The overarching mistake too many people make about ADHD is to think of this mountain of a condition as a molehill of a problem for a rare few.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Belgau Balance”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Okay, buddy, you say to yourself, do it again. How those words taunt through eternity. Do it again. To do it again, consistently, that’s the dream we all share but few of us achieve.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Long-term studies found that those with ADHD who are successfully treated with stimulants become addicted to substances far less than the general population, and certainly less than the population who have ADHD and do not take stimulant medication.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Spoiler alert! Taking a stimulant or stimulant-like drug early in life helps prevent, not promote, addiction later on.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Another stimulant-like drug, modafinil (brand name Provigil), works by stimulating both the histamine network and dopamine, which makes us awake and attentive. Originally designed for narcolepsy, and popular with shift workers like night nurses and pilots, it also has benefits for some with ADHD. The”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Failing to master the adaptive pursuit of dopamine leads to addictions of all kinds, but mastering it leads to success and joy.”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Was Steven at risk of developing a self-image as a failure? Had he already done so?”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood

“Am I doing everything I can in terms of non-medical treatments (e.g., connecting, building structure into my day, getting exercise and quality sleep, eating well, meditating, and other beneficial habits)?”
― Edward M. Hallowell, ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood