ELITE DAILY – The Voice of Generation-Y – By PRESTON WATERS – Published: July 8, 2013 – The Truth Behind ADD And Success
Here’s a sweetly sad perspective of one twenty something’s effort to register objection to the current mainstream approach to understanding ADD. Written in popular Gen-Y vernacular, Preston Waters makes some solid points and offers some creative observations. “ADD is not a disorder; it’s a red light that our minds hit when we have no interest in something.”
“…we need to start thinking differently or else we are going to be a human race that lacks focus and depends on pills to help us get by any obstacle we encounter.” Amen!
Most people will find he reflects a perspective that often leads to crushing failures of relationship and lack of fulfillment: the need to exclusively engage in tasks that are compelling in and of themselves. That is a great privilege of an elite few. Generally, focus and the sacrifice of hard work leads to the natural desirable outcomes of the effort. “We are not the ADD-generation, we are the generation that would much rather be doing something that we want to be doing than being told what to do.” I’m perplexed why he seems to believe previous generations felt differently about compliance?
The fissures in relationships that can be caused by some of the classic symptoms of ADD (distractibility, memory issues, disorganization, impulsivity etc.) can be punishing consequences of the ADD brain. Are pills the solution? Certainly not necessarily. But becoming informed and aware, and making insightful and purposeful decisions regarding the unique way that the ADD brain is impacting relationships, professional life, self-esteem and daily routines is imperative.
Clearly the discomfort of reading books, typical of anyone with ADD, contributed to his limited research into ADD as an entirely negative and pathologized disorder. “ADD has long been considered a debilitation, something to be treated and to be cured.” I am sorry that this is his experience. I must wonder in what way he has closed himself off to the abundance of literature and professional services aimed at reframing the struggle for focus, the pain of school success/failure and the frustration in relationships so that the ADD brain can be a source of celebration.
Check out:
The Gift of Adult ADD: How to Transform Your Challenges and Build on Your Strengths, by Lara Honos-Webb
Adventures in Fast Forward: Life, Love and Work for the ADD Adult, by Kathleen Nadeau