Posted by pablo1 on July 29, 2004, at 19:22:47
In reply to and the inattentives, pablo 1?, posted by Kacy on July 29, 2004, at 18:09:28
I'm inattentive ADD (if ADD at all) though I'm not sleepy or particularly inactive, I'm definitely the daydreaming type. So my mind races, wanders or soars when it's bored. I multi-task for stimulation also... or hyperfocus/obsess but that's maybe another issue. I am impatient; if I'm not interested (at that point I'll daydream instead) and obsessive if it is interesting (or maybe obsessing to avoid things). If a conversation is boring, I'll think about something else (or a dozen other things)& then have no idea what was just said to me!
None of the meds I've tried seem to help me focus on the mundane tasks at hand except maybe marijuana but then I can't do serious thinking like balancing a checkbook, just boring physical tasks which are normally too tedious like cleaning. Well I guess the ritalin does that too and makes me obsessive and kind of stoned too. When I'm sober, I intermittantly feel spacey and kind of an unpleasant stoned feeling which is probably lurking anxiety, depression, emotional issues as best I can tell working with my shrink. Or maybe that's just the spacey feeling associated with ADD. I'm not sure.
Inattentive ADDers generally respond to the regular stimulants like ritalin just like the hyper types but less reliably. I never heard of a special med for inattentive type. It's a little more ambiguous and some experts say it's not even ADD but something else. Obviously it's less obnoxious so gets less attention. Maybe just a different personality response to the same condition though because women are much more likely to be inattentive type.
Another thing is that ADD thinking is in many ways identical to normal creative thinking. Instead of calm linear thinking the creative mind soars off in all directions looking for possibilities and unique connections. It's not easy to get along in the world of responsibilities when you are always trying to break things down and find new ways and people just want you do do your job and obey orders!
The ADDers I know who respond well to stimulants are able to calm down enough and feel less frazzled but still be creative, just without the frenzied (hyper) or aimless (inattentive) excesses. Some people get the zombie effect and feel robbed of their vitality and socially withdrawn. Some people get more socially withdrawn but feel OK with that.
Ack, stop me before I write a book here! I can feel my self induced adrenaline rush just from trying to put this all together. Thank goodness for cigarretes! Still feeling kinda different after coming off the effexor.
poster:pablo1
thread:370989
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040724/msgs/372150.html