Basically the same conclusion I have come to as well... It's a disposition as much as it is a "disorder" and like and personality, you have to find out where you fit...
"The trick, for each person, is to find niches within their environment that play to their strengths rather than to their weaknesses. In general, people who are highly controlled are great in jobs that require lots of reflection and relatively little action, and people who are highly impulsive are great in jobs that require lots of action with relatively little time for reflection. This has nothing to do with degree of intelligence. You can be intelligent and impulsive, making terrific snap judgments; and you can also be intelligent and reflective, making good judgments after thinking things through very carefully."
Here is the original article.
I am a pretty textbook case, and it's interesting to see how my past has been pretty drastically altered by the common traits shared by others with ADHD. I think the awareness of this is most important part. One, so I understand myself and don't have to feel guilty about who I am and two, so I am able to warn people and they can better accommodate me and adjust their expectations for my behavior and what my known weaknesses are.
For instance, if someone had a friend with a bad knee and they wanted him to come along on some camping/hiking trip they would in some ways have to plan the trip around his ability to walk. I think this is similar. I am just not capable of doing some things that others can and I think the best approach is to work with what I am given because there are also some clear benefits to ADD that I enjoy (he highlights some in the article). I also consider these aspects to be essential to who I am - aversion to small talk, my periods of "hyperfocus", how quickly I let go of anger, how I am always searching for improvement, my high level of energy. They all have a negative aspect too, but I am ok with who I am (except for the part where I am sort with people I care about and how I have trouble having linear conversations.
I think the general point is that I should find a lifestyle that works with who I am and to use medication when necessary (say for boring tasks like studying or writing a long paper) but in general I think I would be fighting an unwinnable battle if I try to change my entire way of thinking/being simply to fit in.
Which is exactly why the put ADD "personality" in the title in quotation marks. The point was to draw attention to the fact that maybe it should treated like that instead of a full blown disease.
"The trick, for each person, is to find niches within their environment that play to their strengths rather than to their weaknesses. In general, people who are highly controlled are great in jobs that require lots of reflection and relatively little action, and people who are highly impulsive are great in jobs that require lots of action with relatively little time for reflection. This has nothing to do with degree of intelligence. You can be intelligent and impulsive, making terrific snap judgments; and you can also be intelligent and reflective, making good judgments after thinking things through very carefully."
Here is the original article.
I am a pretty textbook case, and it's interesting to see how my past has been pretty drastically altered by the common traits shared by others with ADHD. I think the awareness of this is most important part. One, so I understand myself and don't have to feel guilty about who I am and two, so I am able to warn people and they can better accommodate me and adjust their expectations for my behavior and what my known weaknesses are.
For instance, if someone had a friend with a bad knee and they wanted him to come along on some camping/hiking trip they would in some ways have to plan the trip around his ability to walk. I think this is similar. I am just not capable of doing some things that others can and I think the best approach is to work with what I am given because there are also some clear benefits to ADD that I enjoy (he highlights some in the article). I also consider these aspects to be essential to who I am - aversion to small talk, my periods of "hyperfocus", how quickly I let go of anger, how I am always searching for improvement, my high level of energy. They all have a negative aspect too, but I am ok with who I am (except for the part where I am sort with people I care about and how I have trouble having linear conversations.
I think the general point is that I should find a lifestyle that works with who I am and to use medication when necessary (say for boring tasks like studying or writing a long paper) but in general I think I would be fighting an unwinnable battle if I try to change my entire way of thinking/being simply to fit in.
Which is exactly why the put ADD "personality" in the title in quotation marks. The point was to draw attention to the fact that maybe it should treated like that instead of a full blown disease.
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