The Courage to ‘Come out of the ADHD closet’

One of the compliments Patrick McKenna and I have received is about our ‘courage’ in going public about our ADHD.

I have to tell you, the first few times someone said that, I positively glowed.

But the more open I have become about it, the less ‘courageous’ it has seemed.

Honesty has always made my life simpler.   More authentic.   And less lonely.

That’s right, less lonely.

And if you’re totally successful at hiding it, Read more

The Highlight of Saturday?

High point of the workshop on Saturday at the Science Centre?
For me, it came as our surprise guest, Patrick McKenna, and Michelle, an eager volunteer from the audience, performed the radio ‘soap opera’ about how Opposites Attract.
They played a married couple struggling with his undiagnosed and untreated ADHD.
All the laugh lines got laughs and I was quite enjoying it. (My part was to make sound effects and hum mood music as the story unfolded.)
Then from the mid-point on, they went into the back and forth. Righting. Anger, blame and frustration. The theatre became very still and quiet. At first I thought something was wrong… then I realized it was resonating.
You could hear a pin drop.
Dr. Jain had created the script, based on his work with hundreds of patients. Talk about striking a nerve!
After the workshop several guys came up, shook their heads ruefully and admitted, “Every line in that scene was something I’ve said to my wife or she has said to me.” Some wives were there, and confirmed it. Others wished their wives had been there.
Since then, in the Forums and in E-mails to our Info account Ava has been hearing how many people were fighting back tears. A few stopped fighting and simply let them flow.
The skit had a happy ending. Or at least a hopeful one. And Patrick and Michelle got huge applause. But Kudos to Dr. Jain as well.

By the way, for those who asked after the Workshop, and for those who were turned away at the door, “Yes, we will be doing the ‘Now What’ workshop again as soon as we can arrange it.”

And ideally we want to take it on the road. (Is Vaudeville still around?)

Way Too Much Fun… Way Too Early!

Did you know there is something called 5:20 AM?
I learned about it this morning, first hand. It’s a horrible, horrible, uncivilized thing, and God willing I will never had to confront it ever again.
The good news? The traffic is very light at that ungodly and cruel hour. Proof that the vast majority of people have common sense and are still in bed.
Frankly, I was a bit concerned that by time we got on the air on Breakfast Television that I would be nodding off, rather than talking about the Workshop.
Apparently those fears were groundless. Take a look.
The energy in the studio is so high, like ADHD central, I was flying. Weee!
This was the nicest group of people I’ve met in a very long time. I didn’t want to leave.
Once we got rolling I actually had to make sure I didn’t motor mouth. If you look carefully, you can spot me taking a breath and forcing myself to speak at a coherent speed.
I spoke to eight or nine people in the hour I was there.
And three of them told me about their ADHD.
Ah yes, when you find the right job, you can soar.
Work becomes so much fun that you’re actually willing to get up at 4:00 in the morning to be there.
Imagine!

A Voice In The Dark… Of The Audio Booth

There are two sounds that everyone hates—the bone-cracking scrape of fingernails on a chalkboard… and the sound of their own voice.
No one likes hearing their voice. Personally, I always think mine is way too high and reedy.
The problem is, my voice is on television a lot, and now for the first time in thirty years or so, it’s on a commercial. It’s a radio commercial for the Adult ADHD workshop we’re doing on Saturday, Feb 27th. (Shameless Plug!)
This week I went to 680 News to record a 30 second ‘spot’, as they say in the biz, and the radio execs and technicians there were great. The recording engineer turned out to be a fan of my work. Which is more than I am sometimes.
They were happy with the second take, but I did a third to be safe. Then I joined them Read more

Breakfast Television

So the media is hearing about our workshop on Adult ADHD and we’re getting all kinds of phone calls, from newspapers and from radio and television stations.  A nice change from the steady calls from creditors.

Sarah Hampson at Globe and Mail is doing an article on Tuesday for her Currency column.  I’m talking to the Toronto Star on Monday.  Or is it Tuesday?  We’ve done some radio already, and on Monday morning we’re going to be on Breakfast Television.

And we have to be there at 7:00 in the morning.  Which means I have to be up and moving by… 5:30 AM.  WHAT!?!  Who invented Read more

“What’s my Motivation?” – Part Three

So I’m talking about motivation… which is part of what we’re going to look at in the workshop we’re doing.
The biggest thing I ever did that was outside of my comfort zone was this charity bike ride. 600kms. (Read Part One and Two. In that order!)
(Actually, having kids was an even bigger stretch, but I didn’t know it at the time. Whereas the Bike Rally was clearly going to be ‘Impossible.’)
So I need motivation to get in shape in time for this rally, cause I’ve never done anything like this before. Hell, I’ve actively avoiding stuff like this!
And as I said, I am motivated by the fact that people are pledging wads of cash to the charity to support me. I thought it would take weeks go meet the minimum $2,000. But people were so stunned at the idea of me doing something that involved fitness, I think they threw money in thinking, “Rick’s gonna try and ride a bike for 100 kms a day, for six days straight? This’ll be worth $2000 easy!”
The motivation keeps piling up.
My kids are proud as hell.
My son is beaming at me and announces he’s going to try out for the football team this year. (This from the shy brainiac who spent every other gym class on the bench due to asthma!) Read more