Driven to Distraction (Revised): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder

phobia. Only if the symptoms are more intense than is normal, if they last a long while, and if they interfere with one’s everyday life, only then can one entertain an actual diagnosis.

engaging in heavy exercise; keeping many projects going simultaneously; carrying games or crossword puzzles around in case a moment of tedium arises; taking on very challenging work; living on the brink of chaos by not tending to checkbooks, appointment books, and the like; provoking testy conversations for the fun of it

The procedure of psychological testing involves all three of these “treatments” for ADD. It is done one-on-one, with the psychologist guiding the individual orally through the tests, making it difficult for him to tune out. The subject is typically highly motivated, trying to “do well” on the test. And the testing situation is highly stimulating du

Max’s high IQ delayed the diagnosis of ADD. When a child is obviously bright and gets good grades, one often fails to consider ADD as a possibility. This is a mistake.

then the bad feeling comes back. It isn’t despair. I’ve never attempted suicide or anything like that. It’s just that I’ve never felt good, about myself or about life or about the future. It’s all been an uphill battle. I guess I always thought that’s just what life was—one long series of disappointments interrupted by moments of hope.

In people with this subtype of ADD the distractibility that is part of the syndrome interferes with the process of apprehending pleasure, of perceiving order, and of sensing that life can be all right.

Alcohol tends to quiet the internal noise many adults with ADD complain of. It also reduces, in the short term, the anxiety commonly associated with ADD.

Explosive temper

frequent ear infections in childhood,