Yes this is the same ADHD i.e. is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that are parents fret their children may have. It is not fun at all to not be able to focus, to be thoroughly distracted jump from one task to the other and not accomplish anything of worth; while the rest of the world moves ahead of us because they were absorbed in their task and knew where they wanted to be. Yes we’re not speaking of exactly the same thing. But the hyperactive component of the ADHD if rightly channelized by us in adulthood can be used to our advantage if we only know how to make good use of it at the precise moments in our lives…
But ADHD is a problem!
Do I need to work towards becoming ADHD now?
Yes but this IS different. It has been proven by neurological and electrochemical brain studies that hyperactive brains have altered satisfaction thresholds. They cannot focus because they lose interest. They need to move on to newer tasks because it stimulates them. Albeit the excitement is short lived and then it’s time to move to another new task (like we see in hyperactive kids, they cannot sit still at all, not while eating or studying or even watching television). The adult brain with the ADHD we are talking here works to our advantage because of this slight alteration in the satisfaction threshold; not the lack of attention. It doesn't imply that we be dissatisfied and keep driving for more and burn out. So yes don’t confuse this with the tricky ADHD which makes us lose focus, or the mania wherein we feel we have supernatural powers but we end up dissipating our energies and getting depressed in alternation. This ADHD is predominantly our hyperactivity where we may be run by a motor in a channelized fashion. So we achieve our goals and step to newer ones with added zest because it takes a LOT to appease our impetus.
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| Control your mind's gears |
No we don’t mean that. The implication is to be hyperactive in productive ways. You were born with a free will and an ability to mount any peak you ever wish to conquer. There is not a single limitation or infirmity that has prevented the human species from accomplishing something they wanted to truly achieve. Excuses are for losers. We all know that. When there’s something we could not accomplish, it was really and distinctly our own shortcoming, not that of a colleague, or employee or something in the environment that came in our way. Sadly we all do know it but don’t pay much heed to it. We don’t introspect and we have lost insight…
What must I do?
You are who you are and we cannot change your brain electrochemical transmission. So we cannot determine when you will lose focus and when you will be fed up or when we will be driven to newer challenges. But we do have a role in altering our own brain chemicals through our behavior patterns. If we scream at work all day, we do the same when we get home. As well as in the movie theater. As well as while we drive. As well as with our friends. Our behavior becomes us. and we cannot change it back unless we try really hard to be calm again. Likewise, when you decide for yourself to be highly driven, set specific goals for yourself and create internal rewards (no materialistic ones); you will be able to achieve greater heights. Picture this:
New accounts ledger
Your usual accounting methods will now change. Your credit account will have a personal drive much advanced than before, a zest exponential to the preceding one and pleasure several times surplus than before. You will not even know it; and one fine day if you do land up introspecting, it will dawn upon you that you are highly driven, that you relish the action (the destination invariably ends up being gratifying if you've enjoyed the ride) and you want more rides than ever before…
And then one day a friend will comment…
Oh my God what’s with you, do you have ADHD!?
What must I do?
You are who you are and we cannot change your brain electrochemical transmission. So we cannot determine when you will lose focus and when you will be fed up or when we will be driven to newer challenges. But we do have a role in altering our own brain chemicals through our behavior patterns. If we scream at work all day, we do the same when we get home. As well as in the movie theater. As well as while we drive. As well as with our friends. Our behavior becomes us. and we cannot change it back unless we try really hard to be calm again. Likewise, when you decide for yourself to be highly driven, set specific goals for yourself and create internal rewards (no materialistic ones); you will be able to achieve greater heights. Picture this:
- Would you work extremely hard even if you did not get a very high pay?
- Would you greet someone on the street even if they were not your friend?
- Would you do things because the action gave you a high and not the outcome?
New accounts ledger
Your usual accounting methods will now change. Your credit account will have a personal drive much advanced than before, a zest exponential to the preceding one and pleasure several times surplus than before. You will not even know it; and one fine day if you do land up introspecting, it will dawn upon you that you are highly driven, that you relish the action (the destination invariably ends up being gratifying if you've enjoyed the ride) and you want more rides than ever before…
And then one day a friend will comment…
Oh my God what’s with you, do you have ADHD!?
A refreshing new look at this well known "disorder"!Dr Shefali Batra's modernistic views, that examine closely,the way the patient views his "disorders" are a welcome change in the world of psychiatry.
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