je404ucd
Really Experienced
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2004
- Posts
- 116
ADHD - Why are good titles so hard to come by?
Okay, I moved this to its own thread because I did want to step on another Lit-erian's (?) toes.
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There is this doctor--Jonathan Scott Halverstadt--that believes the largest contributor to the divorce rate is that ADD (and all its other names) is vastly under-diagnosed.
Before I go any further, I want to define a few terms. Often I will use undiagnosed and diagnosed. Most of the time when I say ‘diagnose’ I also mean ‘medicated.’
Now some of you may wonder what a neurological disorder like ADD could have to contribute to divorce. Well... People who are ADD have a disorder in their prefrontal cortex. They have the same nerve cells as non-ADD people, that is to say there is that extremely small gap between each nerve cell that can only be crossed by a neurotransmitter. In most cases, the neurotransmitter used is dopamine (sp?) (pronounced 'dope-uh-mean'). People who are ADD don't produce the normal amount of dopamine; in fact they are extremely low on it.
Without dopamine, it is difficult to tie in past knowledge/experiences in with current sensory input. Thus contributing to 'impulsive' and 'irrational' behavior. Behavior is impulsive because with less input, there is less to consider thus making the already quick decision making skills of the brain into lightning fast. Irrational because it doesn't seem to be based on the way the world really is ("You can't just punch him! He kicked your ass last time too!").
Like I said before, ADD is a neurological disorder. That is to say, "A physical disorder that is located in the brain." This means it can be treated with medication (of course there are non-medication ways to treat it). Medication can supply artificial neurotransmitters to supplement the low levels of dopamine. While these medications are almost universally stimulants, the dosage is so low (ranging from 5 mg to 40 mg and in rare occasions 72 mg--of varying types... some are time release so you don't get it all at once) that no person would feel the 'stimulating' effect (which is why people who aren't ADD don't feel anything when they take it).
By now you are wondering, "What the hell, other than impulsive behavior, does ADD have to do with raising the divorce rate? So... people are impulsively getting divorced? So what?" Or something like that.
Well, like I said before, there is a way of medicating without medication. While normally dopamine is the neurotransmitter of choice, there are other neurotransmitters that are released in certain scenarios. Adrenaline and endorphins are such substitute transmitters. A study measuring the adrenaline in urine of children proved that the level in ADD children is significantly higher than in non-ADD. Which is why 1 in 6 people in prison are believed to be undiagnosed ADD. Undiagnosed ADD people (and even those that are diagnosed) tend to be more aggressive. Yes, the main way for a un-medicated ADD person to medicate is to seek external stimulation to get alternate neurotransmitters flowing in the front of his brain.
Now is a good time to introduce a new term called ‘hyperfocus.’ Hyperfocusing is when a person focuses on one thing so intently that they pretty much live, breath, eat, and exist for the object of their attention. It is always on their mind and they learn everything there is to know about the thing. ADD people often hyperfocus. Hyperfocusing makes an ADD person feel great from the stimulation of something new! But after a while the newness starts to wane. Often an ADD person is left wondering if they still like/enjoy the thing they were hyperfocused on. Many a relationship between an ADD and non-ADD person ended a few weeks in because the ADD person got scared that they messed up (they still like/love the person, but they feel indescribably ‘off’).
This ‘off’-ness isn’t the weird state of being for an ADD person. It is the default setting. Why? This ‘off’ feeling is the low neurotransmitter mode. And when an ADD person comes down from a stimulation high (especially one from another person) they go back to the uncomfortable state of being ‘normal’ for them. It is like test-driving an amazing car, forgetting it isn’t your car, and having to give it up at the end.
So now if you can pull the impulsive behavior, the stimulation hunt, and hyperfocusing it should be fairly obvious why many undiagnosed/un-medicated ADD people rush into things they shouldn’t. Like marriage. Then a day, week, or month later they lose the stimulation they got from hyperfocusing and they panic.
Don’t get me wrong; ADD isn’t all bad. People who are ADD are very adept at mastering a variety of things quickly. That guy you know that seems to know a lot about everything might be ADD. It really depends on whether a person is medicated or not. With medication you lose most of the bad (being the low neurotransmitter levels). The only disadvantage left behind is learned behavior.
But what do I know? I was diagnosed in 2nd grade (age 7) with ADD, and I have been medicated ever since. I graduated from High School as valedictorian. I am now attending a California University, majoring in Computer Science and Engineering. I am on the Dean’s List.
I don’t want to go into too much more detail because I will inevitably mess up and say something wrong.
For more information, check out A.D.D. & Romance by Jonathan Scott Halverstadt. It should be in either the Relationship, Self Help, or Psychological Disorder section of your bookstore. Best book I’ve read about relationships, and I recommend it even for people who aren’t ADD and don’t have an ADD partner.
So I think the high divorce rate is directly correlated to the high rate of people rushing into a marriage they aren't ready for.
Changes from original:
1. Corrected one word mistake.
2. Remembered that in addition to Adrenaline, Endorphins are also used as an alternate neurotransmitter. This is why AD/HD people don't always pursue negative encounters (like arguments and fights).
P.S. The current "Politically Correct" term for this neurological disorder is "AD/HD." But I don't think anyone takes offense to "ADD." But other names are rude (those being hyperkinetic, organically driven, minimal brain dysfunction, etc.).
Okay, I moved this to its own thread because I did want to step on another Lit-erian's (?) toes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is this doctor--Jonathan Scott Halverstadt--that believes the largest contributor to the divorce rate is that ADD (and all its other names) is vastly under-diagnosed.
Before I go any further, I want to define a few terms. Often I will use undiagnosed and diagnosed. Most of the time when I say ‘diagnose’ I also mean ‘medicated.’
Now some of you may wonder what a neurological disorder like ADD could have to contribute to divorce. Well... People who are ADD have a disorder in their prefrontal cortex. They have the same nerve cells as non-ADD people, that is to say there is that extremely small gap between each nerve cell that can only be crossed by a neurotransmitter. In most cases, the neurotransmitter used is dopamine (sp?) (pronounced 'dope-uh-mean'). People who are ADD don't produce the normal amount of dopamine; in fact they are extremely low on it.
Without dopamine, it is difficult to tie in past knowledge/experiences in with current sensory input. Thus contributing to 'impulsive' and 'irrational' behavior. Behavior is impulsive because with less input, there is less to consider thus making the already quick decision making skills of the brain into lightning fast. Irrational because it doesn't seem to be based on the way the world really is ("You can't just punch him! He kicked your ass last time too!").
Like I said before, ADD is a neurological disorder. That is to say, "A physical disorder that is located in the brain." This means it can be treated with medication (of course there are non-medication ways to treat it). Medication can supply artificial neurotransmitters to supplement the low levels of dopamine. While these medications are almost universally stimulants, the dosage is so low (ranging from 5 mg to 40 mg and in rare occasions 72 mg--of varying types... some are time release so you don't get it all at once) that no person would feel the 'stimulating' effect (which is why people who aren't ADD don't feel anything when they take it).
By now you are wondering, "What the hell, other than impulsive behavior, does ADD have to do with raising the divorce rate? So... people are impulsively getting divorced? So what?" Or something like that.
Well, like I said before, there is a way of medicating without medication. While normally dopamine is the neurotransmitter of choice, there are other neurotransmitters that are released in certain scenarios. Adrenaline and endorphins are such substitute transmitters. A study measuring the adrenaline in urine of children proved that the level in ADD children is significantly higher than in non-ADD. Which is why 1 in 6 people in prison are believed to be undiagnosed ADD. Undiagnosed ADD people (and even those that are diagnosed) tend to be more aggressive. Yes, the main way for a un-medicated ADD person to medicate is to seek external stimulation to get alternate neurotransmitters flowing in the front of his brain.
Now is a good time to introduce a new term called ‘hyperfocus.’ Hyperfocusing is when a person focuses on one thing so intently that they pretty much live, breath, eat, and exist for the object of their attention. It is always on their mind and they learn everything there is to know about the thing. ADD people often hyperfocus. Hyperfocusing makes an ADD person feel great from the stimulation of something new! But after a while the newness starts to wane. Often an ADD person is left wondering if they still like/enjoy the thing they were hyperfocused on. Many a relationship between an ADD and non-ADD person ended a few weeks in because the ADD person got scared that they messed up (they still like/love the person, but they feel indescribably ‘off’).
This ‘off’-ness isn’t the weird state of being for an ADD person. It is the default setting. Why? This ‘off’ feeling is the low neurotransmitter mode. And when an ADD person comes down from a stimulation high (especially one from another person) they go back to the uncomfortable state of being ‘normal’ for them. It is like test-driving an amazing car, forgetting it isn’t your car, and having to give it up at the end.
So now if you can pull the impulsive behavior, the stimulation hunt, and hyperfocusing it should be fairly obvious why many undiagnosed/un-medicated ADD people rush into things they shouldn’t. Like marriage. Then a day, week, or month later they lose the stimulation they got from hyperfocusing and they panic.
Don’t get me wrong; ADD isn’t all bad. People who are ADD are very adept at mastering a variety of things quickly. That guy you know that seems to know a lot about everything might be ADD. It really depends on whether a person is medicated or not. With medication you lose most of the bad (being the low neurotransmitter levels). The only disadvantage left behind is learned behavior.
ADD is the same way. A person who becomes medicated won’t suddenly be able to act differently, but they are now capable of changing his behavior to act differently.
But what do I know? I was diagnosed in 2nd grade (age 7) with ADD, and I have been medicated ever since. I graduated from High School as valedictorian. I am now attending a California University, majoring in Computer Science and Engineering. I am on the Dean’s List.
I don’t want to go into too much more detail because I will inevitably mess up and say something wrong.
For more information, check out A.D.D. & Romance by Jonathan Scott Halverstadt. It should be in either the Relationship, Self Help, or Psychological Disorder section of your bookstore. Best book I’ve read about relationships, and I recommend it even for people who aren’t ADD and don’t have an ADD partner.
So I think the high divorce rate is directly correlated to the high rate of people rushing into a marriage they aren't ready for.
Changes from original:
1. Corrected one word mistake.
2. Remembered that in addition to Adrenaline, Endorphins are also used as an alternate neurotransmitter. This is why AD/HD people don't always pursue negative encounters (like arguments and fights).
P.S. The current "Politically Correct" term for this neurological disorder is "AD/HD." But I don't think anyone takes offense to "ADD." But other names are rude (those being hyperkinetic, organically driven, minimal brain dysfunction, etc.).
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) and part of it hated the fact that I had to take pills to work right. But the medication did give me enough control over myself that I could discipline myself. Even today, a lot of people don't believe that I am AD/HD because I am much more disciplined than pretty much everyone around me.
