I was chatting to someone on Skype last night and we fell on a subject that I don’t really speak much… mainly because it is so hard to explain if you’ve never been through is: Living with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) .
I got to hear something rare as well… The account from someone that lived with someone with ADHD (her ex husband suffered with it)… And as we spoke and she told me how impossible it was I kinda started to realize how bad I am.
Last night I couldn’t sleep so I started dealing with invoices and forms that I needed to fill up and send back (my bed was covered with them), and was scanning documents to send to a PR agency, and was having 3 unrelated conversations on skype, twitter and MSN as well as having a half written media pack open on corel and 6 tabs on the other monitor as twitter rolled on my main account in the other monitor and music played in my laptop where I had a half written blog post I never seem to be able to finish…
She told me her ex husband described it once as being like a TV with the remote control constantly set on browse… at the end of the day he would get home and collapse with tiredness… Well that and ADHD is often accompanied by other disorders like Depression and BPD.
Sometimes for me is like having a crowd talking in my head, all of them speaking at the same time about different things… It can be exhausting… Incredibly frustrating… But I think he has it worse than I do… I was 18 when I was diagnosed. I can’t say I have it totally nailed just yet… but I’ve learned to live with it, and to a certain point to control it… most of the time.
It’s not all bad tho, people that suffers from ADHD usually have very elevated IQ/Multiple Intelligence Coefficients… And if you learn how to channel all the ‘voices in our head’ and teach them to talk to each other instead of over each other and about different subjects you can be incredibly good at what you do…
Mozart, Richard Bransom, Malcolm Forbes, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Christopher Columbus, Robin Williams, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein… What did they all have in common? You have one guess..
Creativity and innovation are hallmarks of people with ADHD. For example, if Edison didn’t have ADHD, we might be reading by brighter candle light. So there definitely is a silver lining here…
I know it’s not easy… but there are a few things you can do if you find that you, or your kid, partner or a friend has ADHD:
First of them TALK to someone… try and explain how you feel… what you feel… If you think you might suffer from it talk to your GP and try to get tested for it. If you do, having an ADHD Coach is a good start (Bear in mind that some traditional methods of coaching might not work as true ADHD is usually neurological)
Second, STOP denigrating yourself, and start celebrating yourself. ADHD is inherited and you don’t have a choice over your genetics. “will power” alone has little chance against genetics so you might as well be happy about that. Creativity, “out-of-the-box” thinking, and intuition are also a genetic traits frequently linked to ADHD. Learn more about your unique positive traits, and learn to focus on harnessing and leveraging your unique creativity and positive points.
Third, Educate yourself, There are many good ADHD books, websites and support groups out there. For example, “Driven to Distraction,” “The Davinci Nation Method” and “You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?” are a few awesome books you can read. Also, CHADD.org has a list of support groups, self-help tips and resources.
Help yourself or your kid/partner/friend with ADHD accept that they have a need for stimulation. This need fuels their creativity and allows them to be highly effective in high-risk/stress situations. Select activities where the ADHD trait can have a positive impact on your agenda.
Also… A nutritionist specializing in ADHD can also help you eliminate other foods you may be sensitive to from your diets, and recommend specific nutrient supplements… Bear that in mind… you are what you eat. 
And at least but not last… HAVE FUN!!!!! Travel, workout, find a hobby that will harness your attention… this is how I got started in photography… Remember that because you have a mental health problem it doesn’t mean that your life is over… there are many more pros than cons and there is NOTHING stopping you from living life in full!
Meditation, Running, Swimming, focus exercises… it all helps too… when you actually do it… you see… I stopped running in 2003… went from doing it every morning to full stop within weeks… I haven’t been swimming for a while… Focus exercises and meditation… well… I haven’t had time for it lately… so… when I find myself awake at 4AM staring at 2 computer screens, with a laptop on my lap and paperwork scattered over my bed I think I know something needs to be done… right?!
Oh gosh… look at the size of this post!!!! lol
I hope it helps… It definitely helped ME to realize I have a lot to do…
Carpe Diem!
I think I’ve said tat once, but I guess this is the only good thing about being single on Valentines Day is that you don’t really need to worry about going out and getting gifts for your significant other… Mainly because you don’t have one…
And the winner for our 
