adhd
The problems that ADHD creates are not so much with knowledge, or the back part of our brain, but with performance, or the front part of our brain. That is where we use that knowledge in daily life for greater effectiveness. Thus, the problems for you have more to do with not using what you know at critical points of performance in your life than
... See moreRussell A. Barkley • Taking Charge of Adult ADHD, Second Edition
The massive behavioral conditioning we’ve all been undergoing since the advent of ubiquitous electronic communications technology has changed us radically. But this dramatic, if not epochal, change is underappreciated. It’s underappreciated because we’re living in it as it happens, like frogs in cold water that slowly gets heated up without the
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
Rewards work much better for the ADHD mind than do consequences.
Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
The blessing and the curse vie for top billing, for attention. When the DMN brings lovely images, it is our golden tool. But when it jumps track into the TPN and hijacks consciousness, then the DMN becomes the Demon, the seat of misery, the disease of the imagination. Trapped in the past or future in the DMN, you’re likely to abandon projects you
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
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There are some supplements everyone can agree to recommend: a multivitamin; vitamin D; magnesium; B complex; vitamin C (ascorbic acid, as well as Connect!); calcium; zinc.
Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
A wandering mind. You’ll get frequent comments from teachers, or, in an adult, supervisors or spouse, that the individual’s mind wanders, that he or she has trouble focusing and staying on task, that performance is inconsistent, good days and bad days, good moments and terrible ones, all of which usually lead the teacher, supervisor, or spouse to
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
a neurotypical brain, when the TPN is turned on and you’re on task, the DMN is turned off. But in the ADHD brain, the fMRI shows that when the TPN is turned on, the DMN is turned on as well, trying to muscle its way in and pull you into its grasp, thereby distracting you. In ADHD, therefore, the DMN competes with the TPN, which in most people it
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
To compound the problem, people with ADHD or VAST tendencies usually reject help. Of course, there is an upside to this trait—it’s called nonconformity. Another, less polite way of saying it: People with attention issues tend to have acute bullshit detectors. We hate hypocrisy maybe more than any other human failing, and we can spot it a mile away.
... See moreEdward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey • ADHD 2.0
You might say that stimulants stimulate the brain’s brakes, thus giving you more control.
An increase in dopamine helps our nerve cells pass on information more “cleanly” from one to another. It helps to reduce the noise, quiet the chatterbox, and tune your brain to the right channel. If the signals aren’t clear, it’s easy to fall into confusion and