I just did a guest post for Naill of Ireland. Here it is:
“Ten” Basic “Facts” About ADD ADHD
- ADD ADHD exists. Our brains function differently than other peoples. This has been shown by brain imaging.
- Our main difficulty is an inability to control our focus. We are either unfocused or him:hyperfocused. Most of our difficulties come from that.
- Thus we tend to be distractible, impulsive, irritable and unreliable. We forget things and lose things. We procrastinate. We get eagerly involved in something and then quickly lose interest. We have trouble finishing things. And so on and so on. We each have our own individual pattern of problems.
- This can make our lives very difficult, but there are things we can do to make our lives better.
- Medication helps many people who have ADD ADHD, but it is not for everyone. It primarily helps with focus.
- Strategies are very helpful. We identify a problem that causes us enough trouble to make it worth working on. We devise a strategy. We persist in that strategy until it becomes a habit. (The problem must be specific – for example, “I lose my keys.” not “I lose things.”)
- Many physicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists do not understand ADD ADHD. Many of them do not understand that they do not understand. Certified ADD ADHD coaches can be very helpful.
- We need to educate ourselves about our condition and how we can cope. There is a lot of good information on the net. There is a lot of garbage on the net.
I recommend three books: Driven To Distraction, The ADHD Effect On Marriage, and most humbly, my own, Your Life Can Be Better, primarily about using strategies. I recommend three websites: Naill’s, and ADDerworld.ning.com, and even more humbly, this one.
- The basic basics: You need an appointment book and a to do list, or their electronic equivalents, and you need to know how to use them. You needed sleep, structure, strategies, exercise, and outdoors.
- Every person is unique. You need to find what works for you.
- Your life can be better.
Note: Sometimes people confuse their opinions with facts. I call these ten “facts” because some of them are truly facts and some of them are more my opinion.
Note: There are three kinds of people, those who can count and those who can’t.
Note 2: There are two kinds of people in the world, those who can get Word and WordPress 
When my brain works at all.
to lay out posts the way they want, and the rest of us.
doug
Great Bonus Tip O the Day:
from Homey- how to schedule when life is unpredictable
ADDadultstrategies 
Doug, This is one of my all time favorites from your site!
LikeLiked by 1 person
gail – thank you! and thank you for commenting
doug
LikeLike
Well said.
It surprises me that doctors who are trained to help people with ADD/ADHD don’t understand it. It’s not really that hard to understand and when you’re around someone with ADD, it’s pretty obvious.
My husband had another contractor help him sometimes and the contractor has undiagnosed ADD – by that I mean that he doesn’t know he has it. Anyway, I told David the guy had ADD and it’s helped David understand some of his actions and even know what to expect.
My point is that it’s just not that hard to understand ADD so what’s the doctors’ problems?
LikeLiked by 1 person
homey – good question, what are the doctor’s problems? Well, I think they’re not trained in ADD ADHD, like many other people they may have misconceptions and once we have a conception, mis or otherwise, we don’t tend to change it, but just look for data to support it. And they don’t know that they don’t know. So it is a real problem.
thank you for commenting. As always.
Doug
LikeLike
I am psychiatrist in Switzerland and my observation is that the problem is more than lack of training.
As we are regularaly supected to just give a medecine insted of attention and psychotherapy, psychostimulant medication is mainly seen from the point of view of those who accused pharma to have created a problem inorder to sell their drug, a point of view firmly and repetedly and not allways transparently sustained by Scientology. Having such a view leads to total desinterest toward the subject and indeed we have to do hard informative job to get the collègues motivated. My own strategy I use as I will retire in 2 years is to send diagnosed and well treated patients to public services where young doctors are learning their job, in order to get prolongation of their prescription. This way I hope to catch their interest, with informed consent of my (ex)patients who can explain their problems and the benefits of the treatement. C.Kaufmann
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dr Kaufman
yes, there are expectations without understanding, and many of the doctors are not knowledgable. thank you for trying to improve this, and thank you for commenting.
doug
LikeLike
jeff – and happy Easter.
doug
LikeLike
Addendum to #8 – I need DISCIPLINE! I need to discipline myself to use my to-do list, etc!
For example, I still cannot get myself to clean my desk off first thing every morning or to do many other things.
But I believe my life can be better!
To prove this I will discipline myself to order Doug’s book THIS EVENING.
Along with his tips in his blog, I will try to implement the suggestions in his book.
By knowing my problem I’m on the way to treating my problem!
By the way, Niall’s website is:
https://niallsadhdnotes.wordpress.com/tag/add/
Jeff
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jeff – you’re going to order my book – what a wonderful idea!
Thank you for correcting me on the link, I think I fixed it.
Suggestion – it’s best to only work on one or two things at a time. Is clearing your desk first important to you? If so, what are you doing instead of that? Right now,you you cannot clean it first EVERY time. If you make the rule, I can’t do anything else until I clear my desk, then plug away at it. You will have some slips, but gently remind yourself of the rule, commit to do better the next morning,and it will become a habit.
I bet this will work over time. (we are not good at patience, or discipline)
thank you for commenting.
doug
LikeLike
Well, I stopped procrastinating and ordered Doug’s book. Crossed that off my to-do list. I plan to read the book carefully, and highlight all the tips I think will be helpful with a yellow marker.
I also cleared off my desk. Unfortunately, that just meant gathering all the papers up into one big pile, and stashing the pile somewhere else in my office – to deal with at another time – HOPEFULLY!
Sending wishes for a happy Easter weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
jeff – you did it! the book and the desk.
suggest reading book slowly.
now desk is clean, maybe easier to keep it that way.
the big pile, maybe goal of one paper per day. if you do more that’s ok, but if one, you’re making progress. small steps.
you are beginning to take charge, and that will make your life better.
hope you will do a review after you read the book.
thank you for the buy and for the comment
doug
LikeLike