By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year. It’s the year of the Dragon. I thought I’d celebrate by starting off with some fresh-baked peanut butter cookies for breakfast.
The Dragon made me do it…
Confession: that’s not exactly how I planned it; cookies for breakfast on Chinese New Year was serendipity, of sorts. I’d planned to make them yesterday, as a way to take a break from my work.
As a little girl, peanut butter cookies were my favorite. How hard could it be? I thought. I found a website called Simply Recipes which I mistakenly read as, “simple” recipes. With only nine ingredients, and three – 3! – steps, I thought even I could handle this cookie-making thing. Goes to show how wrong you can be.
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
Did someone say "Starting fires?"
Girl Guides. They had me at “fire-starting.”
Did you go to Girl Guides when you were a young ADHD girl? I did, and I loved it. Turns out a lot of the skills I learned in guiding were handy for a budding ADHDer. The camping trips didn’t hurt, either.
What’s not to love?
There was the aforementioned fire-starting (initially, the leaders and I had different ideas about that. We worked it out.)
Then there was financial management. I discovered that if I spent my dues on candy before the meeting, I’d be too hepped-up and sent home. I decided to pay my dues. Besides, I didn’t want to lie about losing my money. I actually did lose it often enough as it was.
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
What's Your ADHD Story?
Since I last wrote about the impending DSM-5, Dr. Ronald Pies’ blog post appeared in World of Psychology here at Psych Central. I found Pies’ post, Why Psychiatry Needs to Scrap the DSM System: An Immodest Proposal, interesting on several levels. Foremost was the fact that Pies calls for a replacement of the DSM that sounded hauntingly familiar.
Storytelling is very Canadian, eh?
Pies’ suggested approach to replace the current DSM diagnostic tool looked a lot like something already being used by Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Tim Bilkey. Bilkey has diagnosed over 3400 adolescents and adults at his ADHD clinics in Ontario.
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
ADHD transition triumph: solving surprise party startle!
I’ve written before about how difficult transitions can be for those of us with ADHD. In my post, 8 Gifts for ADHD Kids, gift #4 was transition time. Even ADHD adults need extra time to switch from one activity to another.
This weekend, I looked forward to being taken out to dinner for my birthday. We’d arranged to meet at my friend’s house, and proceed from there.
I arrived punctually, only to find that some of my closest friends were already assembled. There were helium-filled balloons, presents, bottles of wine, and a huge spread of incredible home-cooked food.
In short, more than a few of my favorite things. But also an unexpected and therefore overwhelming array of stimuli to take in on a moment’s notice.
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
Zoë Kessler, 4 months old; the beginning of a lifetime of bad hair days!
I’m celebrating not only the new year, but also my birthday (today).
Birthdays remind me that the clock is counting down. What do I want to do with the time I have left? And how do I figure out how much that is? See? Time-management is impossible!
Nonetheless, people without ADHD try to convince us otherwise, so I play along. I personally have learned how to be on time since my ADHD diagnosis, so that’s something (and I’m sure my non-ADHD employer is grateful).
Every year from January 1st to the 7th, I take time to reflect, clarify my goals, and to learn from the past years’ experiences.
A major problem with this strategy, of course, is that I can hardly remember last year. Still, I soldier on. I can still learn from what I think happened, right?
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
My first post for 2012 takes me full circle to one of the inaugural posts I wrote for ADHD from A to Zoë back in 2010.
At the time, my ADHD diagnosis was a mere 2 years old, and I had a bag full of questions I needed answered, not least of which was: What The #$#%! Is ADHD?
It turned out that the answer was not that straight-forward. Nor, it would seem, is it any more so today.
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
Happy 2012 from Zoë & Samantha (Photo: ©Jake Chegahno, 2011)
I’ve been enjoying the “Top 10″ lists of my fellow bloggers, so I decided to take stock of what rocked ADHD from A to Zoë visitors in 2011.
Judging from the top 3 titles, we’re a touchy-feely bunch with a practical side, and we love to laugh. The top 3 spots are funny, pragmatic, and sexy, in that order.
The remainder of the list follows suit. We’re also philosophical and reflective (Posts #6 and #7). A pretty well-rounded bunch, if you ask me!
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
Enough already with the Christmas lights!
Don’t get me wrong; at first, I enjoyed the magazine-worthy display of holiday lights in the photo. This is good, ’cause they’re just across the street from me, four houses down.
Usually, I revel in the Rockwellian atmosphere of my cozy little neighborhood. My neighbors’ unparalleled enthusiasm for seasonal festivities is a wonder to behold: they’ll vamp it up for Valentine’s; create super-spooky houses for Halloween; and share mutual-driveway grill-a-thons in the summer.
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
Nellie says: "Don't worry; be happy!" Christmas 2005
That does it. I’m going to give a “Reframing Christmas” workshop! I woke up this morning, December 25, forgetting it was Christmas for a few minutes. Soon after, I was dancing in my kitchen. Of course I’m mellow. Of course I’m sad about a dear relative’s recent passing, but I’m also happy and having a relaxed, gentle day. Is it Christmas? I keep forgetting.
I’m practicing staying in the moment. Here’s my moment: I’m alive. I’m breathing. I have sweet, funny, kind, intelligent and wonderful brothers whom I love and can support through their (and our) loss. I have a dear sister who has two amazing kids I’ve had the privilege of watching grow up. I have dear friends who shower me with love and support and laughter; who challenge me and engage me intellectually all year long. Is it Christmas? Oh ya. I forgot.
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By Zoë Kessler, BA, B.Ed.
…Especially to those of you who are alone; who feel alone; or who would rather be alone right now.
If you’re like me, it’s been a rough year. Not all bad, but definitely a lot of trauma and challenges. Mine ended up with another death in the family, but also with good news from my new publisher – they loved my first 4 chapters!
I’m sure I’m not the only one…
Here’s to anyone who is alone; who feels alone; or who wishes they were alone right now.
A lot of us struggle at this time of year to keep afloat emotionally. I wasn’t going to write a post today; then I realized that, considering what Psych Central is all about, surely I’m not the only one home alone (in my case, by choice); and I’m pretty certain that there are those of you out there feeling alone (not by choice); or even wishing you could be alone right now.
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