something in the planets

street-howitzer:

I laugh way too hard at this shit.

[Video description: Keifer Sutherland is mostly-offscreen—he’s bent over as the video begins. He and the camera operator are in what looks like a hotel lobby. In the background are a row of floor-to-ceiling pillars, interspersed with large Christmas tress. Soundtrack is general white-noise and operatic background-music.

CAMERA OPERATOR: Hey, Keifer.
KEIFER: [stands up, looks away]
C.O.: Are you a pirate, man?
KEIFER: [swivels on his heels to face the camera] That would explain everything.

Keifer turns around, charges forward, and dives into the nearest Christmas tree, knocking it to the ground. People nearby begin to cheer and take photos with their camera-phones as the clip ends.]

mskassinova:

I’m a pretty harsh judge. I jump to opinions pretty quickly- I like to have my information first, but I can’t say I’ve never formed an ignorant opinion in my life. That being said, when I’m making opinion statements that are based on things that are either fact or fiction, I’m pretty meticulous…

adhdisme:

In the preface to Thom Hartmann’s book The Edison Gene, he highlights that Thomas Edison likely had ADHD.

When Edison’s schoolteacher threw him out of school in the third grade for being inattentive, fidgety, and “slow,” his mother, Nancy Edison, the well-educated daughter of a Presbyterian…

tamarak333:

Crisis mode in humans is a strange phenomenon. At one point in our past, it was, of course, necessary as a ‘fight or flight’ response; an adaptation to help ensure a better chance of detecting and (perhaps) out-maneuvering predators.

In the present time, we prey upon one another, not only…

marishadevoin:

 

I just finished reading Gabor Maté’s Scattered Minds: A New Look At the Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder <—read a couple chapters here. I describe this book as a compassionate look at ADD.

Not sure how to accurately say how profound it was to read this book. I cried freaking crazy tears knowing that in the chaos and pain that is my stupid brain there is actually logic and meaning, a pathology that makes sense, medically and holistically, and to top it off the author of this book has ADD himself and is one of the most compassionate human beings on earth.

“A doctor in Ontario gave the father of a nine-year-old girl with attention deficit disorder a dramatically apt analogy. Imagine, he said, you’re standing in the middle of a really crowded room. Everyone around you is talking. Suddenly someone asks you, “What did so-and-so just say?” That’s what it’s like inside the ADD brain and how it is for your child.”

This made me realize why it is so freaking hard for me to talk to people in crowded public spaces. It is a battle to keep my eyes from wandering, and it gives me a headache to keep my mind focused solely on the one person because I know how annoying it is to communicate with someone who looks like they don’t really give a damn about you or what you have to say, which is the sad thing, I really DO give a damn, but it’s as though I have no control of my sensory inputs (eyes and ears). Impulse control… it’s just not happening.

When I can muster up the energy to focus I tend to tilt one of my ears toward the person, perhaps as a way to focus the sound, like a funnel into the brain. It probably makes me look like I am hard of hearing. Going deaf has been a huge fear since I have been accused of having selective hearing now and then, but since ADD is a psychological/neurological issue and not an ear issue I’m slightly less worried now (though a musician should always be concerned on some level).

Trying to have a conversation near a television? Yeah right…

AWOLNATION - “Sail”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPtSKimbjOU

“A parallel analogy suits the situation the parents of ADD children find themselves in: you’re stuck in the middle of heavy traffic at an intersection; the engine has stalled and you are trying your best to get moving. Everyone is yelling and honking angrily at you, but no one offers to help. Perhaps no one knows how to.”

I don’t have kids, nor do I meet the criteria for hyperactivity, but this is certainly analogous of what goes on in my head when I’m running late for anything that requires being timely: work, rehearsals, meetings, ferries - which is ALL THE F*CKING TIME…. All throughout school - start the year off keen. But as the year progresses, so does the tardiness. It’s amazing I haven’t been given a speeding ticket yet in one of my formula one-esque races to wherever it is I’m going. Meanwhile I’m playing that old broken record of self-hate, “What? That’s what time it is?? How did that happen? Come on get moving, or get out of the way!” *Haphazardly throws all of my stuff into a bag, invariably forgetting something, stomping around like a frustrated little child* “Here we go again. F*ck, why do I even try, I’m f*cking useless! I should just drive off a f*cking cliff and end it all.” Yup, it’s a hate-hate relationship with myself.

This is no exaggeration or hyperbolism. I’m dead serious, and yet probably hilarious (or sad) to watch. You’re guaranteed to get this freakshow a couple times a week. Sh!t, I should put up a camera and charge people to watch the farce that is my life. Grab the popcorn.

“The analysis of ADD given in this book attempts to synthesize the findings of modern neuroscientific research, developmental psychology, family systems theory, genetics and medical science. These are combined with an interpretation of social and cultural trends, as well with my own personal experience as an adult with ADD, as a parent and as a physician. To avoid giving the book an academic slant, references are given in the notes at the end, along with further comments intended for the professional reader and for lay readers seeking source information.”

This is quite the thorough book, but it’s a real page-turner, which helps. In the struggle to absorb information into a distracted mind the only “magic pill” is for the subject matter to be interesting. Interestingness being the only thing allowing information to enter into and remain in the ADD brain.

This is so frustrating:

I read a review of this book on amazon.ca, the overwhelming majority are glowingly positive, but still this one angers me to no end.

http://www.amazon.ca/review/RBTJZQXL1IMCU/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#RBTJZQXL1IMCU

3 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars

ADHD is NOT caused by maternal neglect!!!!!!!, Feb 15 2010

By

Joanna (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scattered Minds: A New Look At The Origins And Healing Of Attention Deficit Disorder (Paperback)

Gabor Mate claims that based on his observations as a GP + coordinator of the Palliative Care Unit, ADD/ADHD is caused by maternal neglect/lack of love. He doesn’t really offer any solutions on how to deal with it… time travel being ruled out, I guess:).

He’s a strong communicator + a compelling speaker, which is probably why his theories enjoy the popularity they do.

Great reading for getting yourself thinking and exploring other perspectives, but I’d recommend going to more reliable/scientific sources when looking for meaningful solutions.

If she actually had meaningful, logical insights with examples from the book then that would be different, but either this woman didn’t even read it, or she came to her own conclusion about the book’s content and author before briefly breezing over it. (Hmmm… inability to follow through on one task, reactionary, a little pre-emptive ornery sarcasm aimed at something she’s clearly unwilling - or unable - to learn about… perhaps an AD(H)D sufferer herself!)

I can tell you he offers up amazing insights. I am already effectively dealing with my paralyzing stage fright and crippling self-esteem issues since, which I will get more into later.

I wish there was a way to respond directly to Joanne’s comment. In the meantime I’ve voted her review as “unhelpful.” LOL

All you’d have to do is read the freaking introduction to know that what she says has absolutely nothing to do with the book:

“I have attention deficit disorder myself, and my three children have also been diagnosed with ADD. I do not think it is a matter of bad genes or bad parenting, but I do believe it is a matter of genes and parenting. Neuroscience has established that the human brain is not programmed by biological heredity alone, that its circuits are shaped by what happens after the infant enters the world, and even while it is in the uterus. The emotional states of the parents and how they live their lives have a major impact on the formation of their children’s brains, though parents cannot often know or control such subtle unconscious influences. The good news is that major changes in the circuits of the brain can occur in the child and even in the adult if the conditions necessary for positive development are created.

Quick to arise whenever the environment is mentioned is the question of blame. “You mean it’s the parents’ fault?” people immediately ask. It is a simplistic notion that if something is wrong, someone has to be at fault. It would not help parents of children with ADD, besieged on all sides by the incomprehending judgments and criticality of friends, family, neighbors, teachers and even strangers in the street, to have yet one more finger pointed at them. This book does not do so.”

Pg. xviii “As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than we already do. We need less guilt and more awareness of how the quality of the parent-child relationship can be used to promote our children’s emotional and cognitive development. Scattered Minds is written to encourage such awareness.”

There are more gems like these throughout the book, all of which I will take note of. Onward to Chapter 1!