Guest Essays

This week: A guest post from ADHD coach Cynthia Hammer, founder and former executive director of Seattle-based non-profit ADD Resources (click here to visit her blog, “Pinnacle Coaching”).

I’ve always enjoyed Cynthia’s personal essays (look for more to come), and we both appreciate the thoughtful perspectives of Judith Warner, who writes the “Domestic Disturbances” column for The New York Times.
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Do you ever get discouraged about all the bad and inaccurate press about ADHD? That it is a condition that doesn’t exist? That those of us who have ADHD are seeking the easy way out by taking medicine or that we parents give dangerous medicine to children for a made-up condition?

I just finished reading an article by Judith Warner, a columnist for The New York Times who planned to write a book on these kinds of topics, but she kept putting off writing the book—and she finally realized why. Read the rest of this entry »

Jeff discovered he has ADHD at about age 46 –”not the best of times to find that out,” he notes, “certainly not after 46 years of having bad habits solidify.”

Still, he dedicated himself to understanding the full depths of what it means to have ADHD, including learning to recognize problematic behaviors while they were occurring and modifying them for more desirable results.

Fortunately for his readers, Jeff has for several years shared his personal and philosophical musings on ADHD at his blog, Jeff’s A.D.D. Mind. I discovered it while writing my book and, frankly, feeling overwhelmed with the-then omnipresent rosy talk of ADHD’s gifts. The individuals and families I knew who were affected by ADHD were truly struggling; sure, they needed assurance and encouragement, but didn’t they also need realistic information and strategies? (My husband didn’t ease my worries about the book’s reception by jokingly offering to move us to a missile silo in Nebraska.) Jeff’s honest, thoughtful essays validated my approach at a critical juncture. Thanks Jeff! Here is one of my favorites from his archives:

The A.D.D.er Cannot Understand Life
Because the A.D.D.er Cannot Understand Time

Jeff

To make sense out of life, one must also be able to make sense of time; that is, understanding one requires understanding the other. In our everyday world, they are inseparable: Life requires time, and time has meaning because of life. The life of the human being is understood to be “a life” because it occurs in time over time. Read the rest of this entry »

The best part of having a blog is being able to share with you wonderful essays written by other people. After all, my journalistic background is as an editor — the person who assembles and polishes the entire magazine or newspaper. Recognizing talent is what I do best!

My friend Lew Mills, PhD, MFT is a San Diego-based psychotherapist with remarkably thoughtful perspectives on ADHD. Having it himself and having children with ADHD, Lew knows of what he speaks. I’ve always enjoyed his writing, and I’m pleased that he’s allowed me to share this one — about why being “special” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Think Different Differently

by Lew Mills, PhD, MFT

What is the most universal appeal in commercial advertising?

OK, yes, sex. Sure, I’d like to believe that the model in the beer ad is really flirting specifically with me. But really, our culture’s most beckoning appeal is to be “different.” The Apple Computer campaign, advocating that you “think different”, exploits it directly. Read the rest of this entry »