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Quanticia
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Default Jul 14, 2019 at 06:27 PM
  #1
After reading this article, I'm thinking: ADD doesn't seem to be an attention disorder.
It seems to be a disorder of our ability to compare info on the fly, assigning proper meaning to it - which, in turn, affects our ability to prioritize things - which, finally, causes loss of focus. What I mean by that?
What I lack isn't the ability to focus: it's the ability to decide on what to focus on. It isn't the ability to remember: it's the ability to decide on what is important enough to remember. And guess why I'm always late: both of the above. I have a hard time following conversations, not because I can't focus on the conversation per se, but because my brain can't decide on what's important enough to focus on (daydreams included). Overall, what I lack isn't focus itself, but the instinct to compare info in my brain. The instinct to deduce what value new info has for me and, thus, how my brain should use it. I usually need to write things down and use a lot of conscious effort before I can make sense of their worth. Is it the same for you?
Could it be that a general struggle to focus is the wrong way to go? Could learning how to compare - no, how to assign meaning - on the fly, be the "solution" for ADD? Is it even possible to consciously develop such an instinct?
Thoughts?

Last edited by Quanticia; Jul 14, 2019 at 06:49 PM..
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Default Jul 15, 2019 at 04:00 AM
  #2
It used to be called add until one of the DSM revisions changed it to adhd with subtypes(unless that has changed also). There is adhd PI(primarily inattentive) adhd H or PH(primarily hyperactive) and adhd C (combined). I am very passionate about adhd. I belong to adhd forums and have done a ton of research to understand my disorder. You are right that the term " Attention deficit disorder" is a misnomer. It is more about what to focus on or what ends up getting our attention rather than a lack of attention in general. It is a neuro-developmental disorder, in the brain and they have done studies that prove that the brain of someone with adhd is different than a neurotypical person. People with adhd have emotional regulation issues and are 30% less mature than their peers. We are more prone to alcohol and drug abuse which is also why I am do passionate about medication. Medicated people with adhd are actually less likely to develop substance abuse issues. Children who are medicated learn better. I do not mean that all people with adhd should be on medication but if it disrupts your life enough then medicine us a good way of treating it. Having adhd is like listening to the radio as it scrolls through the channels. You get a few seconds of one channel and then it changes, or you hear static and you have to decide how to get it on the right channel so you can hear it.

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Default Jul 24, 2019 at 07:29 AM
  #3
That's a bit like saying that being short isn't to do with your height but your body's ability to grow tall.

It is an attention disorder because it is a problem with your brain deciding what to attend to. I'm not certain if there is a way of quantifying attention outside of this context. Can you have more or less attention as a discrete value set apart from your ability to determine where to direct it?
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Default Jul 27, 2019 at 04:41 AM
  #4
I want to answer your question but am having a hard time with it, Can you elaborate a bit more?

Quote:
Originally Posted by jj1984 View Post
That's a bit like saying that being short isn't to do with your height but your body's ability to grow tall.

It is an attention disorder because it is a problem with your brain deciding what to attend to. I'm not certain if there is a way of quantifying attention outside of this context. Can you have more or less attention as a discrete value set apart from your ability to determine where to direct it?

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Default Aug 09, 2019 at 12:32 PM
  #5
I like this thread. It really explains how someone with ADD/ADHD can really hyper focus on some things and have so much trouble with other things. Even day to day that can change depending on what's getting thrown at you. I know I'm one of those people who can hyper focus to the point of forgetting to eat and other times when I have a dozen things that seemingly need to be done at once (because yes I have trouble prioritizing and deciding how long something will take) I sometimes feel like I have the attention span of a fish, lol.
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Default Aug 29, 2019 at 06:59 AM
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I've also been grappling with definitions. I'm 55, now officially diagnosed ADD (ADHD inattentive) and on Strattera which makes a huge difference. It NEVER occurred to me that I had ADD, and I've been involved with mental health issues for decades. I didn't see it apply to me because I can "focus just fine" could pay attention in lectures... I'm not "inattentive". BUT now that I watch myself closer and understand that this is and EXECUTIVE FUNCTION disorder everything makes sense now. Bear in mind also that ADD/ADHD comes with hyper-focus as a symptom. For example right now, I need to start my workday (I'm an IT consultant and work from home, something I COULD NOT HAVE DONE without medication... I'd never get to my desk or if I did, as I am now, I'd never start, I'd do things like "oh I wonder if there's any interesting questions to answer on the ADD forum at psych central, and then, as I am now, get hyper-focused on giving you a thoughtful answer! … oh!! just realized I didn't take my Strattera pill yet today!... seriously LOL - OK just took it. Hope I can finish this question then start some work... though I really would like to take a walk first... but then would I ever get down to work? isn't it better to get something done so theres some sense of accomplishement then go for a walk? But if I do get down to work I may not want to interrupt myself and I'll never get a walk in... do I need another cup of tea? Oh wait... I'm in the middle of answering a question about ADD...)

So back to the point.... With Executive Function not working correctly It is cripplingly difficult to take anything from thought into action. I see the dishes need doing, I think I should do them now before it gets worse, I see the dishes need doing, I think about other things that need doing, I see the dishes need doing, I think of someone I'd like to phone, I phone them, see the dishes need doing, decide to check my email, see the dishes need doing.... Now with meds, I see the dishes need doing so I get out of my chair and do them!! wow when that first started it was so amazing!

And I think there is something in what you are saying: with executive function not working properly it is very hard to decide WHERE the attention should be, but in addition to that, it is very hard to prioritize tasks because there is such a backlog going on in my mind. We are of course all different. I find it quite easy to put my attention on what others are saying to me, or when doing activities with others, but I'm an extrovert so perhaps that is part of it, I find it hardest times like now when I'm on my own with my own thoughts and I have to direct them in a particular direction without any outside assistance.

I tried to draw my experience once, and I drew a cross section of a skull from above with ping-pong balls bouncing in every direction around the interior, which are the thought and ideas and intentions to act, and a kind of pane of glass behind my eyes through with they could not escape - and me sitting in a big armchair behind the glass looking out, but with the ping-pong balls trapped in there with me unable to get out. It definitely is anxiety provoking.

So yes, in summary - I think the simplified definition and the over use of the word "attention" like you can't pay attention or you can't focus does kind of miss the point in a number of ways, especially since Hyper-Focus is a key feature (whether it's video games , and there are a lot of us who are computer programmers or techs where long intense focus is needed). The problem with the current name, is that for clinicians, teachers,, doctors etc that don't have it they look ONLY for issues of Attention and focus and miss ALL the rest of what makes this so debilitating.

I would like to see ADHD renamed to something that makes this clearer something like "Executive Function Deficit/Disorder with/without hyperactivity"
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