3.21.2009

It all ADDs up


Adult ADD is a strange and sometimes wonderful thing.

It causes a lot of trouble. But the rewards can be interesting, too. I have a friend who also has it (I refuse to say 'suffers from'). We are both artists, which is a common trait of AADD'ers. Many writers share the syndrome, as well as actors, scientists...it is often an unrecognized aid to focused and determined research and other endeavors. It can turn nasty, it's true - we start things and cannot finish them if we lose interest unless you drag us kicking and screaming back to it. We tend to be impulsive and too quick to act on untried ideas. (We are best at being the idea-person in a group, letting the follow-thru'ers act on them.)

What AADDers do wonderfully well,though, is chat. We understand, intellectually, about staying on-topic for long stretches of time...we just can't do it. We'll be talking about a tv show plot, then something one person says ignites an idea and off we go on another topic, only to change the subject again in another few minutes. It's like watching a verbal tennis match. Or My Dinner With Andre without the boredom.

We hate boredom. That's why the picture above is wincingly appropriate for a lot of us. We are, or can be, attrocious housekeepers. It's just not as important as what we're already doing, and what we're already doing inevitably leads to something else not connected with housework. Then, suddenly, it's bedtime. Tomorrow is another day.

1 comment:

  1. Well... Perhaps I now know the reason my house is such a mess!

    ReplyDelete