[munchkin]

Thanks for the great ideas! I’m using some of these, others I wil try.

I’m still wondering about the gap of time from the alarm or timer going off and the action that needs to be taken. I’m on medication, so I have improved my ability to hold a goal in mind while I’m transitioning from one task to the next, but only to a point.

I keep thinking there must be a certain number of minutes that’s ideal where the timer or alarm goes off and then the action I’m supposed to perform actually gets done.

It can’t be instant, because I have to stop what I’m currently doing which usually involves ending a phone call and/or making a note of where I’ve left off the first thing so I’ll remember where to pick it up when I return to it.

5 minutes seems to work for changing tasks, but if I have to actually leave and get in my car to go somewhere, the transition time is increased. Even 15 minutes doesn’t seem long enough, even though I’m at work, and all I should really have to do is put my jacket on and go.

30 minutes is always too long – I end up getting distracted or thinking I can get another task done real quick before I actually start getting ready to go. (Also, I haven’t gotten over my distaste of being early – I’m trying to figure out the psychology of that problem)

Thanks again Robert & Nellie

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[munchkin]

I don’t really visualize numbers much at all – I think of them a quantities – – like two is any two objects – like two ladybugs! a million is like… a huge pile of sand, or the stars in a galaxy…

There is a disconnect when I try to write the numbers – I think of them as words more easily. I don’t like “numerals.” So when writing numbers in a hurry, I often will accidentally substitute the first letter of the word for that number. This can be a big problem since two and three both start with a “t”.’

I don’t experience the colors or shapes you describe, but I can imagine it might help the brain make sense by creating a visual system…

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[munchkin]

Hi Joyce,

Your posting didn’t bother me – I felt that you were just genuinely trying to share your experience with ILS – which related to the original question asked. It looks like only a few people who posted had actually tried the system.

We do sometimes get marketers who spam up our threads with a sales pitch – this is where the frustrated reactions are coming from. If you are trying to convince people to try ILS, rather than just sharing your experience, you probably will hear some pretty argumentative responses from the group.

If you check the “About” section of the site, it was “Created for adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) and those affected by it (family, employers, health professionals, etc.)” And this forum is for non-expert sharing of experiences, successes, strategies, etc. If you fit into that category, then welcome!

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[munchkin]

On the bright side – there has been a big shift in the scientific view of what ADHD is, and the existence of adult ADHD, and I think it may have a domino effect on how we see other mental illnesses and behavior problems accross the board.

It takes a very long time for the general public view to catch up with science.

If you go through the history of criminal justice systems around the world, I think you see a recurring theme of trying to balance the rights of victims against compassion for criminals who are themselves victims of child abuse, mental illnesses, and other circumstances. I think everyone loses out though if you wait until after the crime has been committed.

It would be so much better to invest money in more research and also treatment for anyone who needs it, regardless to their ability to pay. The cost to society of letting people fall through the cracks is horrible. You can see a lot of activism in this area – just check out http://www.nami.org to see what’s going on to change the situation.

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[munchkin]

I had never read this thread before – fascinating! I grew up in a multi-faith family, and we never went to church, but I’ve been extremely interested in religion all my life. Every religeon I’ve learned about has added something postitive to my viewpoint for sure.

The thing I notice across all group religeons is an element of dogma (rules, traditions, rituals) that must be adhered to exactly according to that religeon’s practices – no matter what. I could go on about that, but from an ADD standpoint, I always got caught up in having to measure up. I would always run away at the point where I was disrespected for my inability to follow the dogma “correctly.” Once I was the odd person out, I no longer felt the benefit of being in a fellowship – it seemed more like a liability to my self esteem than a spiritual uplift.

On the other hand, I get why you have dogma! It holds you to a standard and reveals weaknesses, helping you to see yourself in a new way and address the selfish, thoughtless things we do. What I have pulled out of it all is the value of mindfulness and intentions in what you do. Lightening up (Robbo) and being able to let go of attachments, failures, etc. is key to that. Attachments = Distractions! These are skills that are difficult if you have ADD because you do so many things on impulse without ever being able to apply any religeous, philosophical or other types of value systems to your actions.

As I begin this life changing journey of being diagnosed wtih ADD, understanding it, treating it, etc. I am hopeful I will be able to lead a more spiritually fulfilling life – whatever religeon or philosophies I find myself drawn toward.

The original poster on this site had trouble sitting through mass. If attending mass and being able to focus on the experience, and get the desired value and result from it is important to you, I think it’s a worthy pursuit. I think it is an activity that tests the effectiveness of our ADD strategies for sure!

I’ve heard it said: God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle. I have no idea where that comes from, but it’s a good pep talk

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[munchkin]

Hi caeserkat – sorry to hear about your job…

What kind of strategies are you using for your ADD so far?

It takes awhile to figure out what’s helpful for you as an individual, so hopefully now that you’re diagnosed and learning more about the condition, your track record will get better.

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[munchkin]

Hi John – I got diagnosed as “hyperkinetic” or something like that around ’77-ish. I wish I would have had meds because although I did graduate by the skin of my teeth it was definitely the “school of hard knocks.”

When I started taking Ritalin recently, I got a zombie like feeling that would just kill my productivity at a certain point in the day. Once I lowered my dose a little, I really got a great benefit from it – finally starting to do OK at work.

Have you thought about trying it again as an adult?

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[munchkin]

Thanks for that Scotmann! You sound like my big brother who is also a picky music listener

Me – I like all the classics, and I don’t mind the pop stuff as well (except when they play the same song every hour) You never know who might be the next AC/DC… I’m a radio addict all the way because I can’t afford to own enough music for the variety I want. Variety is the spice of life, right?

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[munchkin]

If your able to do a satisfactory job with your assignments, tolerate the work environment, and agree with the values of the company, that will go a long way to make up for whatever is not such a good fit. I have a hard time with the idea of an “ADD Friendly” job – as far as a job where having ADD is beneficial… But, I think there are jobs where the interest level can be higher, and therefore it’s easier to stay focused and engaged.

If you are an artist, you might have a hard time doing all the marketing, networking and business stuff it takes to really make a great living at it. But – you might like a job where you deal with art in a different role – like teaching, art supply store, gallery docent, printmaking, poster shop, etc. Those jobs could be tedious in their own way, but would remain interesting because you could add your experience and enthusiasm to the mix. I’m not saying that’s what you should do – but as a concept…

There are so many employees out there who don’t have ADD, but they don’t really care about their job either. If you do something that allows you to tap into what you are interested in, but still do a practical job that needs to get done, you actually make a better employee than joe schmoe who just applied at every place he walked by…

It would feel good to be appreciated now and then… for more than just turning paperwork in on time…

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[munchkin]

A large portion of my job is law-related and I’ve been realizing (after a few months with the benfit of meds) I need to computerize, computerize, computerize. Also – double checking isn’t enough for me – I have to triple check for accuracy if something has extreme consequences for errors. (which is a lot of what I do) I don’t have any great proofreaders helping me right now, so I don’t trust that.

There’s nothing worse than asking someone to proofread and then they don’t really do it. Some people will just hand it back to you later on and say – “looks great!” (Then I find all the mistakes later after it’s too late)

Pieces of paper are not my friend, and I delegate the organizing of paper to other staff as much as I can. Despite that, my office still looks like a fire hazard, but the more I go “paperless” the better I am at keeping track of all the projects, their progress, and the oodles of supporting documents.

I have upgraded to a copy machine that scans to pdf and emails documents to me. I have put in one database, and I have two more being implemented. I save every email, scan, etc. and have it set up so I can run searches and queries to make sure I haven’t lost track of anything. Now that I realize there’s a real problem, I’m no longer in denial, and I have become much more diligent about writing everything down, scheduling everything in my calendar even if it seems like something I couldn’t possibly forget about, and setting many alerts and alarms throughout the day.

I think I might just keep my job after all!! (But I’m still appalled at the simple mistakes I make)

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[munchkin]

Taylor – Yes! I prefer to go to art galleries by myself because I like to lose myself in the one painting in the room that has “the magic” for me. If properly inspired, I’ll stand there until my feet give out imagining what the painting meant to the person who painted it, what did they see in the rest of the room and out the window of their studio, what did they hear? smell? Were they happy? sad? nostalgic? jealous? infatuated?

I have several family members who paint on canvas, so it has a personal meaning for me

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[munchkin]

I used to always have to touch this hot plate in my classroom at school! It was never on, and it was some kind of stone material that was actually really cool even on a hot day. I couldn’t resist touching it, it felt neat, and my teacher would catch me and yell at me – don’t touch that! I was way too old to be doing dumb stuff like that.

One day I put my hand on it, and it felt cold, but actually it was very, very hot! Worst 3rd degree burn of my life – the hand is just so full of nerves!! Even after that, I would look at the hot plate and want to touch it. Weird!

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[munchkin]

It’s hard not to take myself too seriously – especially when nobody else does! Going from pre-diagnosis and having no idea about adult adhd to being medicated and having a little time for it all to sink in is like a completely different perspective on life. It’s been a real shock to the system – very freakin dramatic indeed!

I was just thinking it’s like in that Pirates of the Carribean movie where the ship turns upside down and instead of being underwater, all the water falls away because gravity reversed, and there’s an alternate reality on the other side! The other side’s OK though – it’s good!

Don’t despair – you ain’t no termite – YANT!!!

and WOFH!!!

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[munchkin]

Chica – I notice your diet is very specific about the morning routine. I’ve noticed that if I excercise and have a rice protein shake in the morning the rest of the day tends to go a lot better than usual. (If only I could be consistent with that)

The iPhone comes standard with a pretty good app with alarms, timers, stopwatch etc.

The other function that seems important is to have a calendar with alerts that go off prior to events in your day. For that, I use a PC with Microsoft Outlook and I’m able to synchronize that calendar with the phone. (You can call Apple if you need help setting that up)

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[munchkin]

Motorcycles – ya! – my husband’s Cafe’ ing an 80’s Goldwing, and it’s been a blast!

I enjoy all types of creative outlets, but music is above all the rest. I definitely get perfectionistic with it, but with music, no matter what, it’s about the time you put in. (“paying dues” as they call it) I’ve never been able to put in the time it would take to gain the mastery I dream of – but it’s never too late!

I am a great fan of art, music, etc. and I just love to see/hear/taste anything that has been crafted to perfection – I really appreciate what went into it and what it takes to really and truly create something of quality, originality and that magical element that is so much more than the sum of it’s parts!

So cool!!!

-Munch

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