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I have a problem. I have ADHD, and I have some anxiety issues. I also seem to have some depression, albeit very mild. But this, or these, aren’t my problems. Well, they’re my problems, but not the problem I’m referring to.

Follow along with my logic here, won’t you?

Ten percent of the population, roughly, have ADHD. I’ve read some statistics that suggest that thirty percent of all ADHDers have a comorbid condition, and fifty percent of persons with ADHD and a comorbid condition have more than one comorbid condition.

That’s fifty percent of thirty percent of ten percent, or one and a half people in every hundred (fifteen in every thousand for those of you who don’t deal with half people very well) have not only ADHD but also at least two comorbid conditions.

It's important to understand medication

On Wednesday, Laurie Dupar, PMHNP, RN, PCC, a certified ADHD coach and a nurse practitioner, answered questions from two readers. But I had some questions too.

So I took the opportunity to ask a real expert and satisfy my curiosity.

What great answers did Laurie have for me? Read on …

It takes more than just the right lenses ...

I’ve heard it said that ADHDers can’t see the trees for the forest. I know that’s often true, but sometimes I can’t see the trees because I’m focused on a single tree.

That would be ADHD hyper-focus.

But maybe hyper-focus, or at least focus, is the wrong word. If I look at the forest and don’t break things down, I get overwhelmed.

It’s not that I’m unfocused, it’s that I’m not focusing in on individual trees, or items in my world.

Beautiful Sky ...

“Isn’t that a beautiful sky?” I said to myself last night as I backed into my west-facing driveway.

I turned off the engine and as I undid my seat belt and opened the door I realized I’d spoken out loud. Well, it was a beautiful sky.

I’m doing that more and more these days, talking out loud when I’m alone. I had done it less when I started taking Concerta, but I’ve been doing it more since my wife died.

A creative photo of creative people

I abhor prejudice. To decide that someone is unacceptable on some level because of a perceived difference is intolerable to me. I cannot believe that a person is better, or worse for that matter, because of a difference in skin color, faith or religion, political affiliation … the list goes on.

Stereotyping, while a milder form of prejudice, is still a form of prejudice. And it isn’t always milder. Witness racial profiling.

In the same way that some people think that a person with a physical disability has all physical disabilities, a person who has the appearance of the so called “average terrorist” … must be a terrorist.

Hard at work ...

I live to write. I live because I eat and breath with regularity. But if I couldn’t write, I’d take much less joy in eating, in breathing. So why is my blog post late? Blog post writing is writing after all.
Part of writing is reading
As with any vocation we must keep learning. When I was a computer programmer I found it easy to be a hermit, I had a cave-like office and I would sequester myself in there to avoid distraction. But I continued to learn about new hardware, new software and new programming techniques.

As a writer I need to keep on top of what other writers are doing, trying, using. I don’t have to do what they do, but I do need to know what is out there for readers, I need to know the environment into which I’m releasing my work. There is no point in writing an article for a magazine in a style that is unacceptable to the current reader demographic.

A fun and educational place to spend an evening ...

Is it possible that putting more than one ADHDer in the same place might be counterproductive?

About a month ago I attended an ADDiva Webinar. I got into a private chat with another attendee who knows me. The fact that I am a divo and not a diva is not obvious at these webinars, but some of the participants know that I’m a guy and I don’t hide the fact.

These webinars are available for replay. Thank heaven for that.

The private chat was not on topic, in fact it was like an excerpt from a burlesque comedy routine. Much of it was centered around my gender, a naughty conversation about me being found out.

It's about time ...

“I remember that movie,” my boss said, “how did it start? I missed the beginning of it … ”

I looked at her, she looked at me, and we laughed.
How did I get here?
It’s been an unusual progression. My marriage afforded me with an executive function, my wife’s. This meant that I always had things to do. After her passing, I was left at loose ends, as they say.

I ended up helping out at a local café in exchange for a place to write and hang out in the day.

Please take the time to comment ...

It’s easy for us to be down. Part of the diagnosis for ADHD stipulates that there must be evidence that one’s symptoms cause persistent negative interference with regards to school, work, and social interaction throughout one’s life.

We all know about persistent negative interference, right?

A comment by “Anonymous” last week reminded me how easy it is for us to be depressed. I’ve been there. Things that would bother a norman briefly can weigh on us like an anchor. And things that are specific to ADHD are constant burdens. Like compound interest, our ADHD problems make non-ADHD problems worse.

When I call someone, I’m not expecting an answering machine. And I often get an answering machine (Yes, I’m aware that most answering machines are actually answering services, I’m old, until last year I still had a rotary dial phone).
Kelly – speechless??
So what happens when my call is answered by a machine or answering service? I usually hang up. Why? Well, I’ve given this some thought. I dial the phone after rehearsing the script of talking to the person I’m calling. I have not rehearsed a one-sided message for an answering machine. I can’t keep two potential conversations in my mind even if one of them is one sided.
It’s a type of transition, and It flusters me
I’ve actually tried to leave a message and ended up leaving what I perceive to be a garbled mess of uninformative gibberish. On one memorable occasion of trying to leave a message, I called back 20 seconds later to clarify what I had been trying to say – I left more gibberish I think. I ended up leaving the person I was calling with the perception that I was crowding them.