This is your brain on ADD...

So I found this book about ADD and relationships (primarily romantic, but can be applied to any relationship really) and have found it fascinating. It isn't incredibly academic - more anecdotal - but still quite insightful. As the daughter of an ADD-sufferer, and as someone with ADD tendencies and a definite ADD personality type (an ENFP looks eerily similar to someone with ADD), I found the book helpful in shedding light on the ways my actions affect others.

I guess no one really knows what causes ADD...it's still somewhat mysterious, as are most things involving the brain. But scientists know that Attention Deficit Disorder stems from some sort of neurological deficit in the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for "executive functioning"). Neurotransmitters act as chemical 'bridges,' carrying information from one neuron to the next. If you have the right kind of neurotransmitter at the right time in the right place in the right amount, then everything hums along smoothly. If this is out of wack, your behavior is inevitably affected. When the electrical activity in your prefrontal cortex is sluggish (due to a lack of dopamine), you exhibit ADD behaviors.

Now, I have undiagnosed ADD (though my dad, a psychologist, has confirmed that I exhibit a lot of the behaviors; I've tried to develop some coping mechanisms), but I can relate to much of the stuff listed in this book. 1) Impulsivity, 2) Need for stimulation, 3) Forgetfulness, 4) Lack of organization, 5) Poor follow-through, 6)Difficulty staying on task, 7)Hyper-focused (related to the need for stimulation).

Need for stimulation is something I think I relate to the MOST. We tend to make fun of my dad for this. Whenever we try to have a conversation with him that's more than 3 sentences long, and he begins to zone off, we start waving our hands in front of his face to get him back in the "here and now." He needs multiple forms of stimulation to stay focused. And so do I, frankly, but this is manifested more in me biting my nails, cracking my knuckles, tapping my feet, doodling, twisting my hair around my finger, etc. These are some of my coping mechanisms...and they usually help.

The book says, "People with ADD want, crave, need, and absolutely have to have stimulation. They are drawn to new stimulation like the proverbial moth to the flame." Folks with ADD tend to be kinesthetic learners - they understand life better with it is interpreted through bodily experiences. My sister and my boyfriend are always saying this about me - I experience life through my senses. If there is something to smell or taste or hear or see or touch, I'm there. I'm a sucker for PDA (public displays of affection). I have to stop and smell the roses. I like watching butterflies and people's facial expressions and ants scurrying up a log. I feel almost drawn to touch soft, fluffy dogs or the big spines on a cactus leaf. I am fascinated by the slime molds in my backyard, the way they ooze when you poke them with a stick. I like climbing trees to pick the reddest apple. I revel in a good sunset, a yellow Autumn tree, a flock of birds. These are all the things life is about for me - things I can experience through my 5 senses.

My need for stimulation (which produces dopamine...mmmm) manifests itself in other ways, too. I read multiple books at once. I attempt three different tasks at the same time. I listen to music while doing paperwork. I knit while watching a movie. I doodle during meetings. I take a different route home. I delight in spontaneity and creativity and novelty. I am maybe one of the few who LOVE surprise parties. I love sending and receiving gifts or notes or emails "just because." I really feel fully myself when I travel abroad, as I am immersed in stimulation to the max (new food, culture, language, ahh!). And I feel fully myself when I am in deep, meaningful conversation with someone else, not necessarily discussing things I've already concluded but processing ideas, working through them, and sharing insights and experiences regarding those ideas.

Now, my need for stimulation isn't necessarily a bad thing. I definitely don't see it as such. In fact, it has allowed me to be a more creative, caring, intuitive, knowledgeable person. It only becomes problematic when 1) others do not realize this is my need or 2) this need is not reigned in. Without stimulation, I shrivel like a raisin. But with too much, I become self-indulgent and obsessive. I find that I can be hyperfocused on certain things that can cause a lot of stimulation - scrapbooking, hanging pictures up in my room, organizing my closet, reading a good book, listening to a friend, searching for something that I've lost, painting a picture, listen to a radio show I enjoy. But my hyperfocus is intermittent, and there are things that need my attention to detail but I have a really difficult time unless I find these tasks stimulating (anything involving numbers or minute details is, in my opinion, the antithesis of stimulating).

Anyway...a fascinating book. A fascinating read. I always love things that shed some light on the mystery of myself and the mysteriousness of other people.