Question for Dr. Jain about last night's stage show

[quizzical]

I was so glad I went to the stage show last night in Maryland – it’s given me lots to think about! Not that I need lots to think about, because I am the compulsive type! I can think for hours about anything!

Which brings me to my question: I was a little unclear about how having an impulsive vs. compulsive personality relates to ADD. Logically, it would seem that impulsive folks are more likely to have ADD, but I can’t remember if you actually said that (probably just wasn’t paying attention, but I think you can chalk that one up to me, rather than anything lacking in your presentation ). I am definitely a ruminator – does this mean I can’t have ADD? Does it mean it is less likely? Or does it simply mean my distractability is more internal, rather than external? As in, my own thoughts distract me far more than the spider on the wall, but I’m still distracted.

Thanks so much for a great show!

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Sounds interesting. I would love to hear more about the impulsive vs compulsive stuff as it relates to ADHD. I am like you quizzical. I spend hours going over and over things in my brain, but rarely get to the action stage. Though I can certainly be very impulsive too – mostly verbally, and money spending One online test I did said I did not have ADHD because I lacked enough hyperactivity symptoms (the only test I have taken that said I am unlikely to have ADHD!!), but I wonder about hyperactivity of the mind. I do fidget and fuss when I have to sit still, but not drastically, and I have never been one for bouncing off the walls, but my brain is in constant overdrive. And my thoughts tend to perseverate. I find it hard to progress beyond a certain point before I go back to the beginning and start the same thought process again. Very irritating!! And plenty distracting!

Back to my point….I would love an answer to quizzical’s questions too.

REPORT ABUSE

[memzak]

Watch the video under “ADDitional info” called “Impulsivity vs Compulsivity”. It is the same information as from the show but a bit less entertaining. I haven’t watched it in a while and I confess I am a bit confused myself. My husband is seriously compulsive and I fall more under the impulsive side. I think that we keep trying to make everything black and white when it’s all mixed up together and then we get confused. I can also sit for hours just thinking but I am definately not compulsive.

Dr. J can you help?

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Okay. I watched the video and this is my take on it….

I disagree that ADHD is most likely suffered by people on only one end of the impulsivity/compulsivity spectrum, as the video implies. I have read multiple times that ADHD and anxiety are often found hand in hand, as are ADHD and depression, and ADHD and OCD. My belief is that the manner in which your ADHD is expressed depends upon where you are in the impulsivity/compulsivity spectrum. Those bounce-off-the-wall, driven sort of ADHD people who can’t help but blurt out what’s on their mind, take many risks, and can’t sit still for quids are on the impulsive end of the scale, whereas those who suffer from ADHD with endless over-thinking, lack of motivation, perseveration, and daydreaming are on the compulsive end of the scale – in other words their ADHD symptoms are more internalised so they lack the outward hyperactivity and impulsivity. And these are the people who are more likely to end up with “internalising” sort of disorders such as anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder as co-morbidities to their ADHD. Those at the other end would probably be the ones more likely to end up with co-morbidities such as bipolar, eating disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, and other behaviours related to impulsivity, such as gambling and substance abuse.

Make sense?? Anyone else agree? Because if those on the impulsive end of the spectrum are the only ones likely to end up with ADHD, then how does that explain primarily inattentive ADHD….you know, those introverted daydreamers that are the most under-diagnosed in the ADHD spectrum.

REPORT ABUSE

[memzak]

Thank you KrazyKat that makes more sense. I still have trouble thinking of this as linear though. I believe there are other factors affecting how ADD/ADHD presents itself. I started out as a bubbly, active little girl that was always getting into trouble and ended up totally intraverted, inhibited, “squashed” and very unhappy. I’m still doing research on this so I will wait to say more.

REPORT ABUSE

[nellie]

Interesting point memzak –

I can’t remember in which book I remember reading this – maybe the SO I’m not Lazy, Crazy or Stupid one – but the author(s) made a point about girls being told they’re lazy, unmotivated etc etc long enough ( because no one realizes they have ADD) and the resulting self esteem issues end up in an adult individual being rather repressed/introverted compared to the bubbly child they once were. Anyway, that’s a major paraphrasing on my part but I hope you get what I mean.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I, too, enjoyed the show on Sunday. I’m very glad I went. I wasn’t sure if I’d actually learn a whole lot more than I have already learned about AD/HD, but I really feel like I did! Patrick and Rick were great but Dr. J was especially terrific! I don’t often meet or hear/read about/see doctors who are so knowledgeable and intuitive about AD/HD! There’s no doubt it’s hard to find the right doctor.

I especially liked the time in the presentation when the presenters outlined the 6 types of focus and attention. Since Rick encouraged the audience not to take notes, I didn’t, but I wish I had because I don’t remember each of these types and I thought it was a very helpful way of explaining “focus and attention.” I remember hyperfocus, microfocus, I think one was task-switching, and I think another was distraction, does anyone remember the others?

REPORT ABUSE

[quizzical]

Wow, bewitchd, you did way better than I did on recalling the focus and attention section – I’d forgotten all about it until you mentioned it, and I certainly couldn’t have told you there were 6 types! So, alas, I can’t help you fill in the blanks on that one! But the bits you remember did come back to me when I read them in your post, so I’m glad you mentioned those!

REPORT ABUSE

[memzak]

For some reason Macro focus comes to mind but I can’t be sure about that. Right now June 12th feels like a year ago. I did have an epiphany this morning about clutter and something that Dr. J demonstrated on stage. He was describing how the two classes of medications help us focus. One was bringing the foreground noise into focus and the other was making the background noise fade away.

I got to thinking about why we live in such clutter, why we lose things right in front of us like a rock dropped into a dark pool of water. The way Dr. J explained how the two classes of medications worked made something click in my head. He was holding his hand up on stage and put one finger of his other hand in front of it. Normal people see and hear the teacher (single finger) in front of the background noise (the open hand) but for an ADDer the single finger becomes part of the open hand and it all blends together.

Just like sounds become part of the background noise, objects become part of the visual background “noise”. We literally don’t see what is in front of our faces because it has “dropped out of site” into the background clutter. Oh dear, a de’ja vu moment. Why do I feel like I have actually heard this before and forgot and am now rediscovering this? Would not be the first time that has happened.

Maybe if we all stop and notice what is around us than maybe we won’t live in such a cluttered environment? It could happen. Kind of like Rick’s game of noticing.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

KrazyKat: upon my research I came upon an interesting psychiatrist’s ADHD blog. One of the videos describes what you talking about with the ADHD and anxiety connection. http://www.corepsychblog.com/adhd-medication-tutorial/#axzz1PxRAeC9Y

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts