Do not take ADDvantage of your bodies physical limitations

[Anonymous]

Having been recently injured and not looking forward to the surgery in front of me and having been somewhat physically evaluated and informed of the athritic conditions that I will have to deal with down the road. I have become aware of the abuse I had put on my once indestructable body. In hindsight I remember having a standing apointment at the doctors office as a youngster I was very active when young; Baseball, soccer , football, basketball, hockey, climbing trees to the tippy top that were next to the electric companies telephone poles so I could eat lunch with the linemen while they were at the top of the poles in there bucket trucks and jumping off the roof of my home after having to run and leap 10 feet out to make it into the pool. Yep I did miss and smashed the metal side and had to have major surgery to my knee because i did not tell my folks did it for three days as I was instructed many times by my father “STOP CLIMBING UP ON THE ROOF”.

My physical activity carried on through my late teens through my twenties, thirties and forties…. building chimneys by myself (haulling ladders scaffold, cement and brick from the ground sometimes up a slate covered roof in a snow storm three stories, handling 40′ ladders fully extended on a hill to reach a bird nest or repair squirrel damage to a soffit in darkness to get the job done on time. Gutting homes down to studs and restoring them to near perfection till wee hours of the morning ALL BECAUSE I did not know better. I am proud of some of my accomplishments no doubt about it….. But at what long term expense…. Oh I forgot to mention I was 5-7 and 160 lbs. soaking wet and I have a small frame.

Regrets? YES ! No lies. if I could have the chance again would I still do the things I did? ABSOLUTELY!!!…. MAYBE (lol) I think so. I definately enjoyed the rush I used to get. BUT in reality If I had been on Meds and there was a greater understanding and knowledge of ADHD when I was younger and less of a stigma attached to it in our neighborhood social circle I have to wonder if I really would even had thought of being as great as a risk taker I was.

Would I have played sports? Yes. Climb trees and want to be in construction? Yes. But not to the Extreme I did. In retrospect I write this to hopefully help parents of children with ADHD or even young adults realize moderation is key and if you want to take things to the outer limits, sure go ahead Life is Awesome But… Do it as safely as you can without exposing your body to over the top potential damage. Some examples, Climbing rock walls with safety gear as opossed climbing a rock cliff next to Route 80 with trucks screaming by at 70 miles an hour 150 feet below without any safety gear on. How about kayaking or white water rafting with safety gear on and experienced guides as opossed to taking a blow up pool raft down a river after a hurricane to see how long it can float until the flimsey raft deflates.

We have incredible knowledge and opportunities at our fingerttops. Use it ! have fun in life share the outdoors safely with your friends and loved ones. Get the R U S H of life to satisfy the cravings that ADHD affords. Please, just remember we are not young forever and neither is your body!

Have fun, enjoy life but be safe as you can still enjoy the thrills of life with a helmet and seatbelt on!!!

REPORT ABUSE

[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

Hey, NJADD,

You sound like my character Bill on the Red Green Show, who is now on this website. Impulsive to the point of no return.

So here’s where the real gold lies for the other people you are hoping to help avoid what you went through: Tell us what someone could have said or done to have had you changed, way back when? What would have stopped you from taking risks? What would someone who is taking risks need to hear to be able to stop? What do you know now, that you wished you knew then? Or did you know, just like smokers know they’re at higher risk for cancer, and you were willing to risk it?

R

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Rick…….. First i feel honored that a star of your caliber has responded to my Post so I will do my best……..

It is only that I look back now after becoming somewhat educated about the Syndrome of ADHD I can offer these suggestions….. I wish there was more education about ADHD as I believe there would be a greater acceptance, understanding regarding ADHD and less of negative stigma attached to it. Uh OH i feel a slight ADHD moment coming……Yikes hear it comes I was thinking about a neighbor I had, he lived two homes down “Arthur”,,,,, Good kid in the sense he never hurt anyone and was extremely funny BUT he had ADHD BAD oooppssss not BAD but to the extreme, He actually climbed through windows to escape our classroom and boring teachers and would taunt other teachers and the principal to try to catch him as he ran around the flagpole in the front of the school after he put on his superman costume he hid in his book bag,,,,, True Story WOW.FLASHBACK……

I remember going over to his home occasionally as a youngster and when he was in his home environment he was calmer and we often could “play” normally together …….. I can actually remember though if I went to his home directly after school there was medication (parents called it magical aspirin) left on a table he had to take before snack …but I bet it was ritalin.

Oh here ya go Rick an example of the importance on education and medications. I bet the medication worked but because it did not have the right release times and his parents might not have been properly educated he never really fully benefited only his parents did(in the short term) as he was calm compliant and MORE FOCUSED for them. Not when he should have been to gain valuable reading, writing and etc skills at school where there is a lifelong benefit.

We have knowledge today USE IT there is a holistic approach. If it will provide the greatest chance of a positive outcome with the least amount of risk WHY NOT USE IT one size does not fit all (as you can tell by all the different posts) . A youngster should have a support system that includes school employees, family and medical professionals educated about ADHD. Even adults need support systems.DUH I still haven’t completed mine! (Do not worry Raj you can challenge me in a couple of weeks hopefully I will be in a better place then and have the group somewhat assembled yes i am creating a plan to make that happen! Thank Raj! Heck the whole crew at TotallyADD for me Rick ) . Find Support personnel and educational resources and use them!

Lastly, I am sure l would have been able to explore new things and played sports but it would have been in a safer, controlled and focused environment even if medicated appropriately ( I was not nearly hyperactive as Arthur above) where the likely hood of serious injury would have been greatly reduced. Parents! there also could be life learning skills incorporated in the activities that could be useful in adult hood so be creative and use any and all the resources available you can.You will benefit as an Adult and your kids will benefit from you!,,,,,, I hope this post provides some insight on the trials and tribulations I encountered as a youngster with ADHD and being close to a friend that also had ADHD x2. Although we had two greatly different “strains” of it we both struggled and continue to struggle today forty years later ( FYI maybe if not for Arthurs obvious and outward distractions I would have received treatment at the time instead of being pushed along and being told “Do not be lazy” and “Focus! Concentrate! it’s not hard”). But hopefully with a new found approach as presented here on TotallyADD.com and with a continued holistic* approach better days are a coming .

* Remember “holistic” in the way it is portrayed in the TotallyADD.com Videos

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts