Attention Deficit Disorder can contribute chaos and creativity to a person's life. Find out ways to live well with ADD or ADHD.

Five Ways to Live Well With ADD

These are commonsense, no-nonsense ways to improve your life, if you have ADD or if you just need a bit of direction. Often, simple ideas like these get lost in the hustle and bustle of daily life.

It's difficult saying "no" to a request or dropping a well-established activity that no longer advances your interests. However, there are times when you will want to de-clutter your life, so that you can have more time and energy to do those things that bring you joy.

There are many ways to live well with ADD. What's your suggestion?

Now, your turn!

Good article. I saw a government shrink last week who suggested I might have some ADHD in my diagnosis. Which is odd, since I can concentrate very well on things i am interested in. it's just that most things not in my interest areas are boring. Most people's conversations are boring. When something does not tweak my interest, it is almost impossible for me to pay attention.

Would that be like ADHD?

Uhm, Jilly, what you wrote above is very ADHD sounding. It's one of the reasons some people have a hard time believing in ADHD. A child with ADHD will have tremendous difficulty focusing on something, but then when it comes to another certain topic that just lights them up, they often become very focused.
Working in education, I have yet to meet someone with ADHD that didn't focus well on certain things only, or in very specific situations.
I worked with one boy this last year who consistently had trouble paying attention - turned out it was caused by chronic sleep deprivation.
Finding a muse is good advice for most people, but it is critical for those with ADHD.

Really? Cool! I am always excited to learn more about myself. This gives me a new thing to look into, and might explain a lot about my people problems.

Lisa is right! Sleep deprivation is not your friend, especially if you have ADD. Here are a couple of articles about sleep. The first article has research based information about children and ADD. The second is aimed more at adults. The articles do have some overlap where information applies to both children and adults.

Sleep Improves Functioning and ADD

Insomnia with ADD

I am not commenting on the sleep thing - i get plenty of that. More of the surprise that I might have ADHD in my diagnosis. I don't even know what that is really.

I was hoping we could have a discussion here.

This article might interest you. Don't forget the links at the bottom. There's a link to a review of a great ADD website.


Attention Deficit Disorder Facts

What do you think about this possible diagnosis? I haven't talked to anyone about this yet.

Read the article you linked. Hmmm, that doesn't sound like me.

You might ask your health care professional specifically why he thinks that you have ADD.

Well, this was a government shrink and i won't see him again. It was for an SSI interview.

Oh and he said ADHD, not ADD. I am not clear on the difference.

Sometimes they are used interchangeably. ADD/ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Kind of like Jill/Jilly.

Since my site is called Attention Deficit Disorder, that's what I usually use. ADD can be primarily (predominantly) inattentive, primarily hyperactive, or combined type.

Primarily inattentive means that people have trouble focusing and sustaining attention.
Primarily hyperactive-impulsive means that people have difficulty staying still or quiet. They move a lot and talk a lot. Also, they are impulsive and can interrupt quite a bit.
Combined type means that they have a bit of many symptoms-some intattentive and some hyperactive/impulsive.

Here's a great site that explains it in detail.

NIMH-ADD Site

There are many more ways to live well with ADD. We'll explore more of them this week.