Re: If ADHD describes the symptoms, are we all suffering from the same thing?

[Wgreen]

Hey there:

It’s certainly true that saying somebody has ADHD is like saying somebody is wearing a shirt. A shirt is a shirt, but it can be cotton or polyester, red, blue, pink, white, long sleeve, short sleeve, you name it.

At the risk of reposting something (which I know is “Verboten”), here again is (I think) a useful definition offered by Thomas Trilling:

“Attention deficit disorder is a congeries [jumble] of symptoms, to all appearances unrelated and sometimes contradictory. If there is a linking theme, it is the inability to maintain a productive level of concentration (“focus”) through the normal range of daily activities. Lack of focus can show itself as a failure to do the right things or to keep from doing the wrong things. The symptoms are almost as diverse as the demands of life itself: hyperactivity, but also lethargy and daydreaming; procrastination, but also rushing into situations without thinking about rules and consequences; unwanted shifts of attention, as when a conversation overheard across the room suddenly drowns out everything else; unprovoked or disproportionate outbursts of temper; inability to plan ahead, stick to a task, or keep track of time; insensitivity to other people’s unspoken needs; high-risk and thrill-seeking behavior; and obsessive cravings that are no sooner satisfied than they give way to others just as intense. The list goes on…”

…and on, and on.

To make matters worse, medications that work for one person don’t work for another. Coping strategies that work for some don’t work so well for others. Everything about this disorder is slippery, and that can lead to enormous frustration for people looking for definitive answers. I’m afraid we may be a long way off from being able to provide real relief to all those who suffer from it—assuming all want relief, which, of course, is not the case.

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