About MrPerky

Part II

Published on April 26, 2004 By mrperky In Health & Medicine

Thanks for staying with me here

I had been recognizing the symptoms of ADD in myself and began wondering what positive effects medication would have on me. Would I also have as positive an experience as my son, Alex, has?

We have Alex working with a local Christian counseling group that has much experience with ADD on both the personal and professional level. After a session with our counselor, I casually asked if the counseling group worked with Adults who had ADD as well as with children. The counselor said yes and gave me some material to look over, some initial tests to review, and recommended the book Driven To Distraction by Hallowell and Ratey. I began to do some intensive internet based research on Adult ADD and had some family members and friends look over the surveys and fill them out for me. These surveys are brutally direct. It pays to have them filled out earnestly. Are you lazy? Do you have difficulty staying on task? Do you interrupt others when they are speaking? Many socially inacceptable qualities are examined and applied to ADD in Adults.

When I had the questionaires completed, I arranged for a session with a counselor, who then became my counselor. She spoke with me at length, evaluated the questionaires, and together we arrived at the ADD diagnosis. Key points were that the symptoms had been present _all_ of my life, that I was very inattentive, that I likely had self-esteem issues through dealing with this for my entire life, and that I could receive medication as a treatment for the condition.

I felt as if I had arrived at a major junction point in my life with a door newly opened and ready for me to step through.

Comments

JeremyG

on Apr 26, 2004

I will be reading your blog, at least for a while. I have to say though that i will be reading it with a lot of skeptisism.

I dont believe is these sort of conditions being a "desiese". I see it as a psychological problem, or often just plain laziness when it comes to self disciplin. But I'll read what you have to say for a while and try to keep my comments non confrontational...as long as you dont start writing about how God gave you this challenge for xxxxx reason.

Is this case I would say that it's basically like a horoscope. It "sorta applies to anyone if you want it to". Remember that counselors have a vested interest in finding something wrong with you....if there's nothing wrong with you, you dont go back every week. The fact is that Most people are lazy, most people have difficulty staying on a task etc....

mrperky

on Apr 26, 2004

Please see my response to your prior post on the Welcome topic. I think the issue is more one of scale. Many people experience the symptoms, but few people (4 in 100 or less) have the symptoms to the extent that a diagnosis as ADD can be made.

I understand your comment about counselors as well. They seem like Chiropractors in the way that you never are "cured" of the problem. However, I have never seen a counselor for psychological or psychiatric reasons before, and so I am willing to give them a chance.

-- MrPerky

dharmagrl

on Apr 26, 2004

I honestly think that too many people are willing to declare they have a 'disorder' of some kind or another, when they actually don't. There seems to be a disorder for every socially unacceptable trait you can think of.

If you DO have Adult ADD, then of course seek treatment...but as Jeremy said, be very wary of what you're being told by your son's counselors. Get a second opinion, and try to resist the temptation to make your symptoms 'fit' the criteria for the disorder.

mrperky

on Apr 26, 2004

dharmagrl, there is a little bit of the vicious circle in questioning the counselor. I do understand about being wary of "self-diagnosing" and then leading the counselor to make the diagnosis official for you. While this has been a concern, I have felt that I had to reach out to get help because I could not do it for myself. This implies some sort of trust in the counselor. I have also worked with my GP and an available certified nurse to confirm thoughts and treatment strategies. I encourage everyone to do likewise, since it is such a serious issue. However, at some point I had to find the person(s) who will be working for me and with me to understand and treat this condition. Such a person has to have my trust for an effective relationship. Thank you for your comment

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