Impulsivity vs compulsivity question

[Anonymous]

I was at the Science centre today (June 11). Dr. Jain spoke about impulsivity vs compulsivity. I found that video clip on the website. He went further today and talked about how as you age….if you are on the compulsive side, you stay there in terms of possible disorders and if you are on the impulsive side you are at risk for the disorders on both sides. He mentioned a person being a Heart person disguised as a Head person. Do you have any video clips or articles explaining this part of it? Specifically he said that Impulsivity with intelligence could lead to Anxiety….I have a nephew (and his mom) that need to hear this information. Thank you so much for all you do! I LOVE totallyADD!

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[wolfshades]

I was at that workshop too, and keyed in directly on that discussion as well. I always believed I was an introvert. But that interview and Dr. J.’s subsequent discussion/analysis got the brain cells just firing away. It made so much sense, didn’t it?

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[BuxomDiva]

@Wolfshades – the head vs heart thing is not about extrovert vs introvert as I recall – it’s about whether you are motivated by impulse or compulsion isn’t it?

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[wolfshades]

@BuxomDiva – you might be right. However, it was presented as both extrovert/introvert and impuslive/compulsive at the same time at Dr. J’s seminar.

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[Carry]

A heart person disguised as a head person……

That makes so much sense.

It sounds so silly to recognize that all of a sudden..

It’s so frustrating sometimes not to be able to see something that obvious about yourself. Do you guys recognize that?

Are there transcripts of seminars like the ones you visited? I really need to show this to my therapist.

I’m going to have to attend his seminars…… ok.. calm down… breathe..

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[Anonymous]

Before the age of five, ask around, were you the shy quiet kid or the gregarious energetic social butterfly. If you lived a traumatic life before five, this might have been suppressed so you might have been a forced introvert. They way you are built predicts your outcome. Remember, all ADDers move towards internalization as they progress to adulthood. That is why it looks like it goes away. This doesn’t mean that Head people (compulsive over thinkers) don’t feel. They feel a lot but they don’t make decisions on feeling. That doesn’t mean the Heart people (impulsive and reactive) aren’t able to think, they just make decisions based on emotion.

In life, we all need to have balance. Sometime we marry into a relationship just to get that balance.

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[Carry]

That makes sense! (I’m sure you’ll sleep so much better, knowing that! )

Thank you for adding that!

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[Anonymous]

While this dimension is overly simplistic, it actually has a lot of relevance when it comes to figuring out your needs. I was very impressed by the work of Eysenck back in 1957 and the validity of this finding continues to be a major part of today’s understanding of personality testing. Eysenck coined the terms introverted and extroverted.

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[Carry]

*little off-topic, perhaps*

I’m in a group right now getting educated on ADD as a part of my treatment. It’s there where I found out how many facets there are to this disorder. I recognize my symptoms in the others, but scattered across the whole group. We have so many similarities, but none of them have the exact same form as anyone else in the group.

Simplification is the only way to get a grasp on understanding what you’re looking for, but the stereotypes never match any of us completely.

I am learning so incredibly much about myself, through the group and through this site, that being clear can be even more overwhelming than ‘road-running’ through my thoughts was, before I got diagnosed.

I’m not sure if my little puns come across as cynical or anything. I’m mostly making fun of myself, but I’m sure you get that

There’s no way to show you how grateful I am for your contributions, without getting an immediate manic attack!

I guess that’s the emotional rollercoaster, for ya!

So, thank you!

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[Anonymous]

“Remember, all ADDers move towards internalization as they progress to adulthood. That is why it looks like it goes away.”

Huh??

I read the paragraph on this idea- but I don’t quite get it. Could someone explain it with examples or something? I do find it interesting.

I was more of an extrovert before the age of 16, when I went through some painful,stuff. Ever since then, I have been more introverted than I want to be. There is this little extrovert jumping around in me to get out. I know that I definitley am someone who leads with their heart and always have been that way. I’d say I was somewhere in the middle between extrovert and introvert. When I was a kid I was a ham. I was always putting on shows/plays for my family, and when I was a teen, I was cocky- until 16 that is.

I describe myself as an introvert now…but I was more extroverted as a young person.

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[BuxomDiva]

Roachella – bottom line is that we find ways to adapt to make ourselves appear more “normal” so we can get dates once we hit puberty! At least that seems to be the consensus amongst all my ADD’er friends. I see some of that adaptivity going on in my son as well, who is now 20.

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[Anonymous]

I’m still not relating to this…what am I missing??

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[Carry]

@Roachella I think you’re describing yourself, what the ‘internalization’ is about. The process from being extraverted to being – more or less forced – introverted. As we grow up we learn that we experience less obstacles, and less obstruction from others, when we keep our restless tendencies hidden from the outside world, so that’s what part of our strategies develop into. (to name one aspect of it)

A couple of my friends admire my calm nature. They were so surprised when I told them about the tornadoes that roam my brain!

If you re-read your own example, I think no other examples are needed..

-*- Unless we’re not getting what you’re not getting… or something. -*-

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[Anonymous]

Shy quiet daydreamer = internalizer; social gregarious energetic = externalizer. What were you like before the age of 5? After that age, we learn adaptive strategies. We explore the other side of the line for a while. An internalizer tries to be an extrovert for a while; an extrovert tries to be an introvert. We try to find balance, ying-yang; head-heart; Republicans-Democrats; Liberals-Conservatives; Venus-Mars etc. If we can’t find it within ourselves, we marry someone who has what we miss. Ergo, balance. Sometime, as in ADD, the person has extremes of both anxiety and impulsivity. They are NOT balanced though they tried to be.

Does that help, Roachella?

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