Adult ADD

As usual, although it may not be your intent, you come off as a snotty son of a bitch. I didn't know i was under any obligation to "help" Wolf Woman. However, it can help anyone to know that they are not alone. Do me a favor and stop reading my posts, then i won't have to read your replies.

I don't recall ever interacting with you directly on a thread, but I might suggest that in the future you simply set me on ignore. While I see no reason to jump ugly on your part, I'm not as enlightened as some people. The reason that I came here is to respond to OP and not give everyone a boring impertinent lecture on military history. However, that's just my preference - to read interesting and pertinent comments and possibly offer some help. Your's seems to be a different focus. Whatever floats your boat.

May you have the happiest of New Years. Speaking of meds, I truly hope you find some medication that curbs your surly nature.

Actually, it is relevant. Many adults with ADD benefit from being in relationships with more stable, choleric-personality types. Many successful, wildly creative people need that other person.

One of the radio stations featured song writing pairs and it seemed EVERY pair had the creative, high energy person paired with the more serious, business head. It was noted in the song writing duo of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, among others.

well said...

There are many, many examples of people with artistic or intellectu8al talent who also suffered from, possibly, either bi-polar disorder or ADD, and they have often needed outside input to "steady" them. Johann W A Mozart probably suffered from bi-polar disorder, and his relationships with Gluck and Haydn inspired him to some of his best work, and the correspondence from his father, Leopold Mozart shows again and again how he (his father) called upon him to focus his efforts, to make the right contacts, and curb his impulsive and sometimes anti-social behavior. It was a hit and miss proposition--Wolferl (as the family called him) had many acquaintances, but few friends.

I wonder if that would apply to Lennon and MacCartney, too.

Hi shewolfnm,
I wish you every success with your new self! I've never taken any prescription mood-altering drugs; albeit I use a small bit of booze and pot on occasion.

For me I can oscillate between the creative and pedestrian, and more often than not pull it off. That means I can follow a creative tangent and then tie it in with disciplines I'm already comfortable with.

What I've always had a dislike for however is rote memorization, so I try to find ways to bring-to-life all the bland information I need. Also I find that I can remember things much better if I constantly mull them over; the problem being it can make you appear absentminded!

I rely a lot more on my problem solving skills than on memorization.

I suspect that there is another shoe to drop, which is that the new you will not like a lot of the people that you used to hang out with. This will reorder your relationships big time over the next few years.

You clearly dont want to go back to life without drugs, so you will need to deal with it. The good thing is that once you get settled there is a high chance that you will be more happy than you have ever been before.

Adderall never helped my nephew.
He benefited more from therapy.

I'm glad that you are getting relief from the chaos with this drug.

Hi shewolfnm,
for your consideration: http://420441.blogspot.com/

HAwkeye speaks the truth in this . I was actually hanging out with a biker gand while I was working on a PhD. They were, shall we say, spontaneous . My diss advisor sent me a messaqge that I would possibly lose funding if I didnt straiten out. All the time this was coming to a head while I ws dealing with my dying father and how we never resolved anything between us.

I hung on as a student with no funding and, then I began therapy. I was a candidate for Ridallin and rejected it . I learned several tricks and within 2 years, not only had funding back, but was a project director with 2 grad students working under me and It was like coming into a place of calm when all that I had before was chaos and no direction. I found art therapy helped me design a means to focus and to understand me better.
It did cost me my biker friends and a marriage (I didnt cauise it because she was running around and had already rejected me as a kind of worthless specimen, ).

Things can change markedly and I dont feel ashamed of the little imp inside me , I actually have fond recollections of all the experiences and side tracks my chaotic life had in store.

AGE DOES NOT TEMPER ADD, it only makes the loss of esteem hurt even more and you get the feeling that abject failure is all you have , when its not the case.

That's funny. For me pot works the opposite way as it causes me trouble with concentrating. Worse than that, it makes me think my art looks better than it is. Now if I could instead just give it to the image viewers, I could do better. Or would I just THINK I'm doing better?

Incidentally, Adderall did nothing helpful for me. However, I realize that all individuals are not wired or affected the same way. Therapy helped me in that I learned better coping skills and mechanisms for compensating.

Does or did Jagger or Richard suffer from ADD or ADHD? No offense but where's the relevance to this topic?

I love both of those pool hall photos. The lighting on the first one is top notch and the second one reminds me very much of one of my favorite photographers - Robert Frank.

I'm glad you're enjoying your new found clarity!

Agreed. Well observed. Reminds me too of Robert Frank style.

Thank you Set.

And yes, his statement is relevant. Just because someone has something going on, does not remove their abilities, their intelligence or their worth.
ADD and bi-polar DO seem to have a high occurrence among artists.
People who have an artistic outlet DO see a difference once medicated / changes.. or what ever you want to call it.

But it does not make them less than.. and most people do not even realize that the social icons they love , HAVE issues like that one.

It was a compliment , and I took it as such. Thank you

as for behavior modification and other trinkets I would get from a therapist, I have already discussed much of that BEFORE going the med route.

And , even with out knowing it, I was doing exactly the things I would need to in order to keep going.

Remember the blinking reference?
One of the things people have to do is find a focal point. Something quite that allows you to take a fast mental break to reset your focus time.

blink blink


I was already doing that.
I have other tricks too.

I have google calandar.
I write EVERYTHING on there all the way down to " do laundry today. 1 was 1 dry " and I have it email me a reminder.
if you saw my email account right now, you would understand.

When I realized I was forgetting something important I would write it in, set it at an interval and it would email me to let me know.
With out that, I would have forgotten much and have had a real hard time.

things like that ARE what you need to do, and I already structured a lot of my life based on tips i would have learned from a therapist.

Im not in any way saying I know it ALL.. but.. I already had a grasp , and that is why the jump to meds just.... worked.
My email box now bothers me. Its SO busy and SO full and SO MUCH information and things I cant even begin to understand how I didnt remember.
Grocery shopping
Clean litter box
Flossing
Im not even going to go into it all.

But it worked.
Why?
Because I would sit on my computer and flip through page after page, often just running in a circle of about 4 or 5 pages and each time I opened my email ( maybe 5 times in 10 minutes) something new was there.
A new shiny thing.

Get it?

yeah. wow. anyway.

Im not keen on weed. the weed that is out there today is NOTHING like what I used to smoke when I was younger. It makes me paranoid, and is just all around uncomfortable.

I remember getting stoned, sitting around and staring at the ceiling laughing my ass off. Not any more. Now? weed makes me jump up and want to take off running. Its been almost 10 years since I smoked. Im not in a rush to smoke again.

Adderall is not the best choice. i can tell that now.
But it IS giving me a sample so to speak, of what it is really like with control and no flippy feeling.

I have sat at home for 3 days in a row, just.. SHOCKED.. and focusing on nothing Just listning to the SILENCE in my head....

no rubber balls of thought.

I can follow a train of thought all the way through

I start something, i finish it.

now I know what i am missing, I can work with a therapist and my doctor to find the right thing.
I can not imagine , and I dont even want to think about not having these meds for the rest of my life. That is a bit scary right now on this side of the coin if I were completely honest.

I was so .. out of it.. so.. unable to focus, Im literally picking up the pieces as if ...like i said before.. i walked into someone elses room.

I am renting from my friend. In about 8 weeks her lease is up. I dont know what im going to do or where i will live.
My savings is gone
My work is minimal

and it is as if, I didnt even NOTICE before.

Fear? You bet your ass its there. And that is amazing too.
My emotions are.. REAL.. I am much more verbal with them too. I can identify because they linger now. Not like before.
Before I could get to a point of tears, with in about 2 minutes get to a different emotion and never register the change. ( I heard this from Ian after meds started )

Now im scared. Scared to my bones.

Oddly enough, im truly a happy person now. Im so cozy in myself its .. i dunno.. freaking amazing.

I LOVE feeling. I LOVE thinking. I love working..

ahhhh.. yeah. This is nice.

you are so right on I dont even really need to elaborate.

But the people in my life are shifting now. Quickly.

I have talked with people before.. and now.. i just stare at them with my mouth gaping open as if I dont know who the hell they are.

The 'quality' of people I attract now is totally different. yes, a huge statement to make on such a short time of meds but it is true.

I had to look that name up.

Wow. I really like his work.
I assigned his London shot as my phone's wallpaper.

Thank you for that.