© Jeff Siegel, 2010

Disclaimer: Although the He Said / She Said series is a collaborative effort between Zoë Kessler and Jeff  Siegel, each author speaks for her or himself and the opinions expressed are solely those of the respective authors, in both the He Said / She Said series, as well as in their respective blogs [ADHD from A to Zoë and Jeff’s A.D.D. Mind]

If you missed our Introduction to He Said / She Said, check it out HERE.
For Blogchat #1, Part I, click HERE.

Recap: In Part I of our Blogchat, Jeff & I talked about an ADHDer’s creativity cycles, Jeff’s discovery of his ADHD, the problems of communication and lack of self-awareness, optimism versus pessimism and, aw, for Pete’s sake…just read it now!

Hey! Welcome back from reading Part I. Here’s Part II.

Blogchat #1, Part II
Tuesday, June 22, 2010

9:24pm [after a short break, but longer than planned…we both have ADHD, you know! lol]

Zoë    Jeff, I want to revisit the idea of “putting it all out there….” I mean, is online good enough?

© Jeff Siegel, 2010

Introduction to He Said / She Said: Examining the ADHD Life

I’m excited to announce this new feature of ADHD from A to Zoë. I’d been looking for a fellow ADHD er to collaborate with for my blog. I want to know what the ADHD experience is like for a man and how it compares to an ADHD woman’s experience so when I came across Jeff’s blog, Jeff’s A.D.D. Mind, I realized I’d found my collaborator.

© Jeff Siegel, 2010

Disclaimer: Although the He Said / She Said series is a collaborative effort between Zoë Kessler and Jeff  Siegel, each author speaks for her or himself and the opinions expressed are solely those of the respective authors, in both the He Said / She Said series, as well as in their respective blogs [ADHD from A to Zoë and Jeff’s A.D.D. Mind]

[Check out the He Said / She Said Introduction, and He Said / She Said, Part II]

Our first chat was scheduled for 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 22, 2010. I find it amusing that, even though we planned it hours in advance, a few hours before eight rolled around, we’d each separately e-mailed the other to beg for a later starting time, for various reasons. Classic!

Darn it.

After yesterday’s brave words, I found myself feeling quite low this morning. I wasn’t sure why, until I sat out on my balcony and tried to read a book. I just couldn’t concentrate on the words, even though I’ve been enjoying Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander very much (I’m going to write my own, called, “Outlandish,” but that’s another story…) (my birth name, by the way, is Diana…)

I had to read each paragraph over five times. Finally, I gave up and let my feelings surface: sadness, defeat, confusion, and yes, a bit of despair. I even shed a tear or two. Here I was again, existentially confused. Why? Jessica’s words.

I thought they hadn’t reached their target. I see that they have.

THIS JUST IN:  Today’s regularly scheduled blog post has been temporarily canceled due to incoming information.

This may shock you, but apparently, adult ADHD does NOT exist!

My extremely ADHD friend once told me that she and her ADD boyfriend could never have dinner together. They’d sit down to eat…and first one, then the other, got up to go do something. This continued until, by the end of the evening, they realized that neither of them had eaten.

[Feel free to check out Part I of this series if you missed it!]

In last Friday’s blog post, I expressed frustration at the fact that we’ve had research on adult ADHD for over a decade, yet it’s still difficult to find information, more difficult to find support, and even more tricky to find an expert to diagnose you.

Today, I’ll share my bizarre journey into the netherworld of adult ADHD. It’s a labyrinthian journey: pack a lunch ‘cause it’s rife with false turns and dead-ends…you’ll probably need a snack.

This week I discovered Jeff’s ADD Mind blog. I was reading his take on having ADHD and getting rich & famous, or, rather, NOT getting rich & famous.

I admit, it was a bit depressing. But just a bit. Truth is, I still want to be rich and famous. I do. So sue me. No wait – wait until I’m actually rich & famous, you’ll get more…

Anyway.  In spite of Jeff’s assertion that, “Simply stated, there are NO positive aspects of A.D.D./A.D.H.D. That’s right! If you have A.D.D./A.D.H.D. you are screwed” or perhaps because of it, I was compelled to ruminate over what positive gains I’ve made since my diagnosis (less than four years ago).

Photo © Zoë Kessler 2005

When I first started searching for information about ADHD, I came across a curious website that claimed all kinds of celebrities as having ADD / ADHD.  Perhaps you’ve seen it: http://www.adhdrelief.com/famous.html.

There’s another one that is just as ludicrous here: http://www.adhdstrategies.com/FamousPeopleWithADD.asp I’ve tried to contact “Dr. Jerry,” the host of the latter site, to ask how many of the famous people listed have actually received a formal diagnosis, but so far, I’ve received no answer. Quelle surprise.

ADHD diagnosis?

The catch is, how can we know any of these people actually have ADD or not? I mean, do we really have access to the private health records of Abraham Lincoln? Did they even diagnose for ADHD back then?

[Feel free to check out Part I of this series if you missed it!]

Part II

In Part I, I talked about how Maria in the film, The Sound of Music demonstrates a lot of the characteristics of a typical, hyperactive, Chick-A-D-D.

I left the story at the point when Captain Von Trapp expresses his love for Maria. We’ll pick it up there.

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