Learning to Live with ADHD

By Casey Wood

Imagine spending every second of every minute of every day surrounded by voices yelling at you, demanding your attention, and telling you different things to think, say, and do. Imagine that no matter how hard you tried to focus on one voice, or one task, the others yelled louder until you struggled to focus on anything. This is more or less the life of a person with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. The ‘voices’ are not audible nor tangible, nor are there any delusions or hallucinations associated with them, nevertheless, there is an endless barrage of thoughts and feelings which is essentially to the same effect. Having suffered from ADHD most of my life, and still struggling to learn to overcome it’s frustrating effects, this is a topic that is close to home for me.

To many, ADHD is discounted as nothing more than normal childhood hyperactivity. It is seen as a condition of little consequence, and that has minimal effect on patients’ lives. It is also believed by many that children grow out of ADHD, and it does not affect most adults. In reality, roughly 11 percent of the population has ADHD, and almost never do adults ‘grow out of’ ADHD, they simply learn to better cope with it, or fail to recognize the changes in symptoms and manifestations that come with age. It is estimated that roughly 15 percent of ADHD cases are severe, 45 pecent are moderate, and 40 percent are mild.

Living with ADHD is difficult, no matter age or circumstance, however the symptoms and repercussions can vary greatly based on age and which type of ADHD the patient has. There are three classes of ADHD - predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined. Predominantly inattentive type is characterized by difficulty focusing, finishing tasks, and following instructions. Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type is characterized by impatience, inability to wait one’s turn, and interrupting others. Combined type is most common, and as could be assumed, it is characterized by an assortment of the symptoms associated with the other two types.

Common ADHD symptoms observed in children include squirming, fidgeting, difficulty staying seated in class or at meals, inability to wait one’s turn, answering questions before they have been completely asked or called on, excessive running and climbing, inability to work or play quietly, excessive talking, intruding personal space, and interrupting others. These issues can lead to difficulty learning and frustration from teachers and other adults. They can also lead to difficulty forming friendships.

In adults, common symptoms of ADHD include feeling fidgety and restless inside, inability to sit through meetings, meals, and movies, extreme impatience, finishing others’ sentences, drawing rapid conclusions, fast or reckless driving, preference for an active job, low tolerance for frustration, excessive talking, inappropriate comments, interrupting others, monopolizing conversations, poor attention, excessive distractibility, spacing out, problems with memory and forgetfulness, frequently losing things, trouble organizing steps in a project, chronic lateness; procrastination, trouble starting and finishing tasks, poor time management, poor time estimation abilities, careless mistakes, and disorganization. In adults, the symptoms related to inattentiveness tend to become more prominent and the hyperactivity symptoms become more subdued and felt internally, rather than observed externally. ADHD in adults can cause difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships, money problems, difficulty at work and chronic unemployment, and many other related issues.

As a lone benefit of ADHD, many who struggle with it find themselves capable of achieving what is known as ‘hyperfocus’ on occasion. Hyperfocus allows those with ADHD to be able to focus very intently on a specific task or idea - due to necessity or to strong interest in the subject - yielding very fast, effective, and sometimes unique results. Some with ADHD even refuse to seek treatment for fear that it would impair their ability to hyperfocus if they did.

Treatment for ADHD should be determined with a doctor who specializes in behavioral health. Many Pediatricians and primary care physicians specialize in this area. Treatment may include medication, therapy, mental exercises, or special training. It is important to work with a healthcare professional to seek assistance in identifying ideal treatment for each patient.

While society has grown to recognize, accept, and accomodate ADHD more than it did previously, especially in children, there are still many who struggle due to misconceptions or misunderstandings related to the disorder. These issues can often, lead to the development of anxiety and depression, which makes coping with ADHD even more difficult. While those who struggle with ADHD will likely never be free of its effects, at least in this generation, having the general population grow to better understand and accommodate it can lead to a significant improvement in quality of life for those of us who do struggle with it. After all, one of the best ways to become the clearest voice in a crowd is being the voice that is recognized and that cares.

There are a Few Ways 2020 Rocked

By Shellie Peterson

On New Year’s Day, I could almost hear a collective sigh of relief from my entire community. Could you hear it, too?

The year 2020 felt a lot like running a marathon that never seemed to end. When it finally did, we all felt the brief reprieve.

But even though it’s natural to be glad 2020 is over, 2021 is already presenting us with some of the same challenges. Instead of just “getting through it” and waiting for the next year to arrive, it’s important to focus on the good.

I picked out some of the best social media stories from 2020 that happened in our little communities and decided to share them with you. Here are some of the ways 2020 actually rocked, even when we previously thought it was a “dumpster fire.”

Several people hopped online to thank others for making sure misdelivered Christmas packages made it to their rightful owners. Kudos to those kind-hearted package sleuths for restoring our faith in humanity!

Many people paid for others’ food in 2020, either in fast food drive-throughs or in grocery stores. In a year when many families were struggling financially, I am sure this help was received with grateful hearts.

A police officer received much-deserved recognition online after he purchased Christmas presents for a family he didn’t know in Wal-Mart. To make the story even sweeter, it turns out that the family the officer helped was in the act of buying Christmas presents for another family in need.

Our communities rallied together to raise donations and create “The Best Christmas Ever” for a local family who lost their husband and father in a tragic construction accident.

Food drives were put together by volunteers in our communities. As a result, an incredible amount of food was donated in a short time period to bring relief to the food-insecure.

A “good Samaritan” at Costco loaded a woman’s groceries into her car and gave her $200 before he left as quietly as he arrived.

A kind-hearted man stopped and presented hot chocolate to a crossing guard at Larsen Elementary on a particularly cold day.

I can’t possibly list all of the acts of kindness demonstrated by members of our communities during one of the most difficult years in recent memory. And these were just the stories posted online. I can’t imagine how many other stories went unpublished, but not uncelebrated in the lives of the givers and recipients.

As I read story after story, I realized that what we look for is what we see. If we look for the good, we’ll find it, even during dark times.

Even better, we can become the good that helps others hold on through those dark times.

To borrow a thought from Charles Dickens, the year 2020 was a reminder to me that even in the worst of times, we can work together to make it the best of times as well.

THE FUNNY-ISH FILES

Living In the World of Television Cliches

By Joe Capell

I was reading a book the other day. One of the characters walks into a bar. She’s a petite young woman. She immediately runs afoul of a gang of toughs--four or five guys who are much bigger than her. Words are exchanged. The large men arm themselves with beer bottles and pool cues, ready to attack. Can you guess what happens?

Of course, you can. This tiny woman beats up the entire crew, leaving them heaped in a pile of broken bottles, broken pool cues, and broken bones. It’s one of the cliches of modern storytelling. There are many of them.

Recently, ESPN’s Mina Kimes wrote something on Twitter that made me laugh: “Just once, I’d like to see an advertisement for a new network drama about a cop/lawyer/ doctor who does play by the rules.”

It’s true! But would anyone watch it?

They say we want “realism” in our television shows, but no medical drama is going to show a patient sitting in the waiting room for 35 minutes, then in the examination room for another 25 minutes, only for the doctor to come in and talk to him for 45 seconds and leave.

That’s realism.

Television show cliches are so overused that if you see a certain thing, you can be sure of what is about to follow. Examples: If a car gets in any kind of accident, then it will explode, but not until the occupants have been dragged away to a safe distance.

If two people are playing chess, then someone is less than two moves away from announcing “Checkmate.”

If someone goes to Las Vegas and gets drunk, then they will get married and have absolutely no memory of it.

If a dangerous criminal is being transported from prison, then an elaborate escape plan will be perfectly executed.

If a night security guard or armored car driver is shown, then they will most likely die in a breakin.

If two characters are in the same room angrily yelling at each other, then there is a very good chance they will end up passionately kissing.

If a main character is shot, stabbed, or seriously wounded in an explosion, then within two episodes there will be absolutely no lingering effects of said near-death experience. (Heck, if I twist my ankle playing basketball, I’m limping for two months--these guys get shot in the face and they’re back making jokes by the water cooler in a day and a half!)

Luckily, we live in the real world, not the world of television cliches.

Unfortunately, that means I’ve got another 27 minutes before they move me from the waiting room to the examination room. (Capell is a Serve Daily contributor.)