Posted by IsoM on October 13, 2002, at 2:49:22
In reply to Re: hardwire vs chemical problems with ADD -- IsoM, posted by viridis on October 12, 2002, at 12:29:47
The lower mainland around Vancouver IS very beautiful, alright, & I wouldn't want to live anywhere else (in Canada). Unfortunately, the wet fall & winter gets to me. I actually love rain & the misty landscape but the short hours of daylight & the inability to do much outside really gets to me & my mood starts dropping each fall. I know the weather's not so cold or wet that I can't go out - & I do, - but I hate the layers of clothes, having to cover my feet, rain dripping on my head, & not being able to lay or sit on the ground.
I've noticed with quite a few ADDers a real aversion to the sensation of restriction that clothing gives. Many seem to be overly sensitive to tactile sensations, among other senses. Every tag has to be cut from clothes & I'll often rip something off 'cause it makes my skin crawl. I feel imprisoned by clothes most of the time. Curious if you & Jo Ann feel like that too?
Have a couple more questions for both of you too. Hoping the idea of an ADD coach might help, I read as much on the concept as I could & found that most involve contact through emails or phone. That method wouldn't help me at all. I find I need face-to-face mental stimulation to really motivate me. If something is very enjoyable or something I love to do, motivation is no problem & I can hyperfocus & maintain interest to stick to it for ages. But in anything where interest tends to flag (even if I don't dislike it), I could really use someone else around to make it more interesting. I love bouncing ideas off someone else. I really thrive on the mental & emotional stimuli another brings to a task. Are either of you like that too? I don't drain someone but can inspire as much as be inspired. It just keeps my arousal & focus strong to have someone else about. I'm also far less likely to start nodding off to sleep with someone around (who's not dreary or boring).
Another problem I have is the seemingly inability to get started at doing something (inertia) but once started, the unawareness of time passing & when noticed, not wanting to stop until finished. Similar with either of you there too? That's where another person would come in very handy for jump-starting me & then applying the brakes. Just someone's presence helps without having to force me.
Viridis, how do you manage to specialise as you have to become a research scientist? Haven't you felt like you were missing out on other areas of interest to you? Even at my age, I still have trouble deciding exactly what I want to do. There's too many unrelated subjects that I find equally exciting & hate missing out on anything. Throughout my life, all these personailty profile tests, Holland tests & others that try to zero in on a person's strong points & interests, have consistently said I should be a scientist, but a bachelor's wouldn't make me more than a glorified lab flunky. When I searched for the jobs I could get with my degree, I was horrified to realise how boring they were! And I'm not young enough to try for years & years to do more. Besides, the only areas of science that I don't like as much (but loved when young) is physics. And it's not just the sciences I love, it's history, archaeology, English, both literature & subjects like etomology, & so many other subjects that I love to read & learn about. How did you ever curtail your interests in other fields to pick a speciality in one? I'm really serious about this question as so many ADDers have trouble sticking to just one thing.
poster:IsoM
thread:122401
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021012/msgs/123434.html