Did You Know that sometimes ADDers can Pay Attention better than Anyone?
CONCENTRATION is what challenges someone with ADD and yet at the same time, when they DO concentrate, and they do sometimes, they do it better than the rest of us!
In discussing ADD on these last few posts, I have emphasized the negative side which is two parts.
1. inability to concentrate without being distracted
2. inability to organize, or to create and maintain order
As with all things however, there is a flip side.
If the ADD person starts a project that is extremely interesting or important to them, they may become totally locked in, or 'hyper-focused'. They will be able to stick with that activity for a long period of time without being distracted. They will bury themselves in it to the exclusion of everyone and everything. And that too will drive you nuts if you let it.
This is one way in which this condition can contradict itself. Even though a lot of the time, a person with ADD has a lot of difficulty paying attention to one task, there are also times when they can pay attention better than anyone. At those times the ADD person is your man! When you hit it right, they are the best person for the job!
However, IF they do get distracted from this project, there is a chance that they may never come back to it.
This is the ultimate burden for someone with ADD. They will often feel like failures because they believe they accomplish so little. Although to some extent that may be true, it may also be an exaggeration. But all of us with mental disorders have a tendency to exaggerate situations.
Next time I am going to chat a little bit about the challenge for finishing projects when you have ADD.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? Are you learning some things about ADD that you didn't know before?
If the ADD person starts a project that is extremely interesting or important to them, they may become totally locked in, or 'hyper-focused'. They will be able to stick with that activity for a long period of time without being distracted. They will bury themselves in it to the exclusion of everyone and everything. And that too will drive you nuts if you let it.
This is one way in which this condition can contradict itself. Even though a lot of the time, a person with ADD has a lot of difficulty paying attention to one task, there are also times when they can pay attention better than anyone. At those times the ADD person is your man! When you hit it right, they are the best person for the job!
However, IF they do get distracted from this project, there is a chance that they may never come back to it.
This is the ultimate burden for someone with ADD. They will often feel like failures because they believe they accomplish so little. Although to some extent that may be true, it may also be an exaggeration. But all of us with mental disorders have a tendency to exaggerate situations.
Next time I am going to chat a little bit about the challenge for finishing projects when you have ADD.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? Are you learning some things about ADD that you didn't know before?
