Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
From our newsletter Emotional Wellness Matters, *This newsletter is intended to offer information only and recognizes that individual issues may differ from those broad guidelines. Personal issues should be addressed within a therapeutic context with a professional familiar with the details of the problem. Copyright 2016 Simmonds Publications: 550 La Jolla Blvd., 306, La Jolla, CA 92037
Most people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder do not know they have it. Indeed, the disorder was not recognized until the 1980s, and it was not till the 1990s that the recognition of adult ADHD was established. However, it is a condition that can have a significant impact on the way a person functions in the world. Unfortunately, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is poorly named. Is not so much disorder as it is a difference in the way some people process information and focus their attention. And to call it a deficit fails to recognize many strengths these people have. ADHD, however, is perhaps a better name than the old word for it– minimal brain dysfunction.
Researchers used to think that what they called “hyperactivity” was a condition found in childhood that was outgrown during adolescence. We know now that about one-third of children with these symptoms outgrow them during adolescence, and the other 2/3 continue to show symptoms into adulthood. Adult ADHD is a topic of much current scientific research, and many adults are now able to put a name on what for them has been a lifetime of feeling misunderstood. The professional community now recognizes two variants in this condition – the “hyperactive” type and the “inattentive” type.
Although not much is known today about the causes of ADHD, researchers agree that it is a neuro – chemical disorder, and it likely has a genetic component. That is, it tends to run in families. In fact, many adults with these symptoms, don’t know that it has a label until one of their blood relatives is diagnosed with the disorder. It occurs in women and men, boys and girls, adults and children. It cuts across socioeconomic strata, income levels, education levels, and levels of intelligence. It is not the same as a learning disability, dyslexia, or language disability, and it is certainly not associated with low intelligence. Poor parenting, early trauma, labeling, or other psychological factors do not cause ADHD. There may be, however, significant psychological problems that develop from growing up with the disorder.
Think of ADHD as the inability to turn off stimuli. Most of us are able to block out information from our environment, and this keeps us from becoming overwhelmed. For example, if we are trying to concentrate on a book, we tend to block out sounds from music or television in the background. If we are trying to listen to a teacher’s lecture, we don’t pay attention to what we see outside through the window. We tend to focus on one line of thought at the time to keep ourselves from becoming confused and chaotic. The person with ADHD, on the other hand, cannot turn off these external stimuli, as well as most people (although they certainly block out most stimuli). Their lives become a struggle to filter out and manage the oversupply of information they have to deal with. What they are trying to do is to protect their sensitive inner selves. If the amount of information from their environment becomes overwhelming, they can become overstimulated. “Hyperactivity “is simply the response of the nervous system to an onslaught of stimulation.