I have been missing quite a bit lately, and figured it was about time I gave a reason for my disappearance.  It isn’t that I don’t love writing about my experience with ADHD — I do.  It’s therapeautic and I love talking to all of you and hearing your stories and suggestions.

I have been MIA and have not written, quite frankly, because of all of the wonderful things added to my schedule and my ADHD.  I embarked on a journey of my dreams in working to create a better world for all, including those with mental health issues, and simply have not found the ability to focus to sit down and reach out.  My apologies!

I thought first I would fill you in on my progress as it relates so very well to all of us in many ways.

I started the nonprofit iFred seven years ago, by default, but it has grown to be a strong passion of mine as I continue to learn the truths about depression and the lack of resources available.  I launched a national cause marketing campaign through my for-profit company, the Mood-factory, in Lowe’s stores nationwide, where iFred earns $0.25 of each light bulb sold for iFred, the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression.

I started a company eight years ago to develop a product line of light bulbs based on how colors affect moods and named them Mood-lites.  Researchers have shown that colors have an affect on moods, so I took the theory and applied it to lighting.

These lights are NOT meant to treat any depression, but function as an additional way to create a certain mood in a room as you would with colored pillows, art and wall colors.

It is so amazing how organizations are popping up all over the world helping us join forces to tackle mental health diseases.  I was privileged enough to speak in Athens, Greece a few years ago about iFred’s rebranding depression work, and learned from countries around the world just how important it is we work together to solve our greatest challenges.

I’ve just recently been asked to join their advisory board, and continue to be amazed and impressed by the work of all throughout the world.

It was celebrated across the U.S. when we were able to get mental health parity law passed.  I don’t by any means intend to minimize this work – but do we realize that what we accomplished was to treat the brain in a similar fashion to the heart, liver, and intestines?  Should we really have to fight that hard for that?  Those that were involved in the legislation understand the intense work, dedication, and challenge this simple piece of legislation involved – and unfortunately the rest of the world is so far behind us in many different ways.

If you still don’t believe there is major value to the disorganized, scattered, wayward way of the ADHD mind, let me share an example of how it works.

Now, this may not be the best solution ever for solving the gay marriage issue, but it’s something my ADHD mind came up with that I guarantee a person who thinks along logical, straight lines might never imagine.  Our minds simply work in different ways.

I came up with the thought in bed this morning, while reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book Committed, about the entire marriage concept.  She talks at length about why we get married, the failure rate of 50% that would never be tolerated in any other government run program, and our ongoing desire to ‘get married.’  It makes me wonder why on earth people don’t scrap this institution, and come up with a new one that works.

Does ADHD effect your sex life?  Have you ever even thought about it?  I didn’t, until recently reading that it can have both positive and negative influences on your overall sexual experience.

So the question it than raised for me is “Is ADHD a blessing or a curse for your sex life?”  It is such a complicated issue, perhaps it is both a blessing AND a curse?  I’m interested in hearing all of your thoughts after you read a bit more, and see how it applies to your own life.

I’m 39 years old and still I feel like I just said two very bad words; sex and orgasm.  I’m looking around for the blog police.  I’m not sure why we are trained to ‘shhhhhhh’ about sex as young kids, but it certainly gets in the way of understanding sex in a healthy way.

I did not understand the benefit of orgasm until a much later age, and to me now it is just as important as balanced nutrition, clean water, sound sleep, and moderate exercise.

Art Therapy is becoming widely used and accepted as an alternate form of treatment for depression, anxiety, and ADHD.  It can be a truly wonderful modality, yet I often become disturbed when seeing some of the images that people create when they are depressed.  There is so much focus on the darkness of depression, as opposed to the brilliance we obtain from such depth of emotion.  I found research  that helps explain why, and how if we consciously create positive art it can create an even more intense improvement on stress, tension, depression, and the anxiety that often accompanies ADHD.

Art therapy is a great tool for those with ADHD, as it allows a person to express feelings, emotions, and energy through the hands and it releases energy.  Anytime ADHDers can do something free flowing and unstructured is wonderful, and art is a really fantastic way.  I’ve read a lot about art therapy, but few have touched on the importance of creating something positive with that energy.

Idea Quality Spectrum, ADHD vs. Non-ADHD

You might not first understand how it is possible someone with ADD / ADHD is brilliant.  On the outside they may look to be a mess.  They might show up late for meetings, lose their keys, forget your name, not catch a detail or jump from one subject to the next without you following.   Working with them can be the most frustrating experience at times.

Lucky for you, those with ADHD are also the most likely to come up with your next product line, provide a new solution to your customer service issue, think of a new angle on a legal case, introduce innovative laws that address multiple parties, or come up with an exciting PR campaign.  The number of ideas people with ADHD have, and provide when their skills are appreciated and utilized, is simply staggering.