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The ADHD Club

#21
I was diagnosed with ADD (not so much H, I guess) in 3rd grade, I took Ritalin for maybe a year or so and then stopped.

Haven't done anything for it for the past twenty years. Maybe I ought to. I do have trouble getting things done. Meh.
 
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#22
I'm not ADD, but my wife is ADD, and a good friend I grew up with is ADD. And the other ADD peeps I know, they are all really good gamers. High speed computer games, action/problem solving games. Bejeweled, solitaire.

Their minds move so fast. If they are interested in the game they win and are instantly rewarded.

I think successful ADD people have developed unique skills. Figured out how to utilize the strengths their brain has.
 
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#23
Bassdokes said:
I'm not ADD, but my wife is ADD, and a good friend I grew up with is ADD. And the other ADD peeps I know, they are all really good gamers. High speed computer games, action/problem solving games. Bejeweled, solitaire.

Their minds move so fast. If they are interested in the game they win and are instantly rewarded.

I think successful ADD people have developed unique skills. Figured out how to utilize the strengths their brain has.
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I believe this is true. Though I do well to plan one ahead day at a time, I am a day-of-the-game player. In a crisis or when something needs to be done on a moments notice, I'm your man. All my friends who have their calendars filled up weeks in advance and have to plan every detail know I'm the put me in coach pinch hitter go to guy. I develop an unbelievably intense focus and clarity of thought and will come through every time while they have drama club. But that's all I've got. :laugh:
 
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#24
Goatee220 said:
Concerta levels me out. I'm more focused. It's like playing through an emotional compressor/limitor - the peaks and valleys aren't as harsh. No real personality changes, other than being much more even keeled. My fuse is a lot longer on the meds than off them, that's for sure.
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That sounds actually pleasant. I'll have to look into Concerta but I think that was one of the meds for a type I don't have so it may not work for me.
 
#25
Bassdokes said:
I'm not ADD, but my wife is ADD, and a good friend I grew up with is ADD. And the other ADD peeps I know, they are all really good gamers. High speed computer games, action/problem solving games. Bejeweled, solitaire.

Their minds move so fast. If they are interested in the game they win and are instantly rewarded.

I think successful ADD people have developed unique skills. Figured out how to utilize the strengths their brain has.
Click to expand...

This makes sense - ADD people crave stimuli, that's why we're at home on stage with lights and sounds and people going on. The key is knowing ourselves and what works and what doesn't. We need action-oriented jobs, desk jobs don't usually work for us. We do best when partnered with someone organized and detail oriented (my wife is a scientist). We do things to help us focus, like putting on headphones when we have to do busy work.

We make great litigators, because often we 3 steps down the road when everyone else is standing still.
 
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#28
BioWeapon said:
Hopefully nobody notices me flinging my pen in the air while I try to listen! :D
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Just had a talk with 4 of my students with ADHD on Thursday. We talked about coping skills like making lists. I told them how I tap my foot discretely and run bass lines with my fingers when I sit for too long (about 10 minutes) to help me focus when I need to listen to people talking. The trick is to do stuff like that and not look like a fidgeting freak. But it's better than meds if it works.

We also talked about being aware of the strengths and weaknesses which come with ADD and ADHD. I advised them to start looking for a non-desk job. When I became a teacher, I also considered law school and MBA programs but I realized that I had survived by working outside for years and a desk jobs would be a slow death if I could even do it at all. I chose teaching which allows me to almost never sit at my desk (I'm an active teacher).
 
#31
Heeey! I'm about a month late with this reaction I guess, but I'm a musician (not bass, sorry. I'm illegal. Please don't turn me in.) with adhd, and you are cool awesome musicians with also ad(h)d! So I couldn't resist to register. If that's okay.

Anyone here who has problems practicing for their instrument? I study to be a violist now and whenever I practice I end up playing piano, drawing, reading the back of my milk carton, you know, the usual. Anyone who recognizes?

By the way, on the medication thing: I started using Dexamfetamine, it's not a regularly used one, but for me it's great! Maybe it will be a help to some of you :)
 
#32
CatiousCur said:
Heeey! I'm about a month late with this reaction I guess, but I'm a musician (not bass, sorry. I'm illegal. Please don't turn me in.) with adhd, and you are cool awesome musicians with also ad(h)d! So I couldn't resist to register. If that's okay.

Anyone here who has problems practicing for their instrument? I study to be a violist now and whenever I practice I end up playing piano, drawing, reading the back of my milk carton, you know, the usual. Anyone who recognizes?

By the way, on the medication thing: I started using Dexamfetamine, it's not a regularly used one, but for me it's great! Maybe it will be a help to some of you :)
Click to expand...
Welcome to talkbass! Or talkadhd. Whatever it's going by now. :) I feel you on getting distracted easily while practicing. If I'm in the mood for it, I can obsessively play for hours on end. If I'm not, I'll be doing something else within minutes. You just need to find a way to make it more interesting, I suppose. I've had guitars for years, but I could never keep interested long enough to get beyond basic stuff. About a year back, I changed my approach to learning and it clicked. Since then, practicing has been pleasurable and I'm finally getting the hang of guitar. Just experiment til you find what works for you.
 

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