Living with The Adhd Paradox

ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit hyperactivity Disorder) are described as developmental, neurological genetic disorders. They are a disorder at school. Most schools are designed for children who are average, making being different a disorder. Much of the ADHD school children’s over-the-top misbehaviors are the result of frustration.

Adults have more lifestyle and employment choices, and with the right attitude and understanding of what ADHD is, this need not be a disorder. There are natural alternatives and strategies to compensate for our weak sides, while focusing on our strengths.

Developmental genetic disorders do not suddenly develop like an epidemic. Unless of course people decide to live in Chernobyl. ADHD occurs in all countries and in all cultures. It is a problem only in societies leading a modern western type of lifestyle, especially in the United States, where ADD and ADHD have become an epidemic.

ADHD research tends to focus on the negative side of this condition, ignoring that there are positive sides to the attention deficit psyche, which are very beneficial to our society. Medicating ADHD, while there is a place for it, takes away the symptoms, but unfortunately the talents as well. This is why a broader debate on natural alternatives in ADHD treatment is so important.

Our school system is putting more pressure on our younger children today than there was a few generations ago. Young children do not all respond to this in a way that makes teaching easier. Frustrated children misbehave. It is not their fault; it is the school system focusing on pushing more information onto the kids without considering how the child who is a bit different feels.

The average child copes with school; it is child who is in one way or another different that is a problem. This difference can be an imbalance, having a talent in one field while not coping in some other fields leading to lower self-esteem and disappointment. The average child does OK varying between being good and mediocre across the board.

The ADHD Paradox
The hyperactivity and the daydreaming in the inattentive child are responses to being bored, under stimulated or frustrated. The attention deficit comes together with an ability to hyper focus. This is the paradox of ADHD, which is being ignored by mainstream ADHD research. The ADHD child has attention dysregulation, and the attention deficit is one part. The other part is hyper focusing, which the child is unable to do in the classroom environment.

How often does a parent or spouse of a scatterbrained ADHD person wonder how come he or she can be so absorbed by an activity or task and be oblivious of the world around? The answer is this switch between these two poles. ADHD can be better described as Attention Deficit Hyper focusing Dysregulation.

I have a strong willpower and for a number of years I overrode my attention deficit by sheer willpower. I was not aware I had ADHD at the time. This worked well while I had my own private office. When we moved into a new office building with a modern open plan office system I started to become less efficient. I worked overtime late and on weekends. These were the times I could get something done. This downward spiral continued for about a year, until I had a nervous breakdown. Now I know why it went so horribly wrong.

I cannot hyper focus on command. Then I will be in attention deficit straight away. I cannot choose the task to hyper focus on. That is something that comes from within; something I find personally stimulating. Any outside pressure puts me in attention deficit.  This is where the dysregulation comes in.

In the hyper focusing mode I generate energy, I feel alive and I am not troubled by distractions. Often I am not aware if someone enters the room and stands next to me. I am oblivious of other things. I can communicate and interact with others about the task or project we are busy with. I see solutions coming out in 3D Technicolor where normal folk see a flat monochrome problem.

In attention deficit mode, we ADHD folk experience two things: