Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood
by Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey
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Book Summary Information
Author: Edward M. Hallowell, John J. RateyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-03-02
ISBN: 0684801280
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Touchstone
Accessories:
- Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
- When You Worry About the Child You Love
- Driven to Distraction ( New on CD) : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood
- Connect: 12 Vital Ties That Open Your Heart, Lengthen Your Life, and Deepen Your Soul
Book Reviews of Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood
Book Review: Amazing; an experience of enlightenment about ADD & society
Summary: 5 Stars
Not since William Dufty's SUGAR BLUES have I ever read a book that has answered virtually every unanswered question I have had, and every painful mystery about the contradictory facts of life: regarding everything from the nature of modern society to stupid habits I cannot seem to let go of in my personal life; the actual non-emotional source of my brilliant son's troubles in school to the secret architect of my intimate relationships with women throughout my adulthood.
This book is not written for people who have never heard of Attention Deficit Disorder. This book is written--no, this book is a profound blessing--to people like me: people who have heard of it for quite some time, have children or family members or friends with it, and think because of such they actually know what it is, or what it does. People like me, who despite the facts above never consider, because they do not know what it really is, that they may have it themselves. My view of the stereotype of ADD and its stereotypically affected subculture (children with other neurological or educational differences in suburbia and the inner city) does not even begin to fully explain the most obvious and trivial of symptoms, let alone the actual racial and socioeconomic diversity of adults AND children who may be suffering with it, and for how long--in this generation and the many before us (like those of our parents and grandparents).
=For example, consider this enlightening and disturbing fact that could change one's entire view of the morality of the criminal justice system: the brain of a person with ADD functions in an entirely different way than those without it, and as such is affected in an entirely different way by the use of illegal drugs. While "regular" people search for the high received by Marijuana, the relaxation of inhibitions by alcohol or the stimulus from Cocaine, those with ADD develop the ability not just to finally relax but also to CONCENTRATE; to FOCUS their minds and organize both their thoughts and their life--and subsequently their emotions--in a way the condition will not allow them to otherwise when they get high. In other words, as 10-15% of the population of major cities across America may have ADD (the busy lifestyle we tend to be attracted to), at the very least 25% of the prison population--people who got there because of their purchase and use of illegal drugs (like crack)--*were intuitively self-medicating for a disorder they did not and still do not know they have*. This is what the white kids with ADD in suburbia getting a slap on the wrist for what the black kids in the ghetto with ADD are going to prison for are BOTH doing, when they continuously experiment with illegal drugs.
Which means, the TREATMENT over INCARCERATION argument in the "war on drugs" has more scientific validity than anyone in the booming prison industry, with all its congressional lobbyists, would ever admit; particularly when our more dysfunctional and often morally repugnant laws are being enforced.
=Consider also that people with ADD also get addicted to simple sugars and carbohydrates for the same or similar reasons...and this could be partly behind the boom of obesity in America.
=Then consider how routinely ADD is diagnosed in pre-pubescent boys (particularly those of color) but not in women and girls. And then take another look at everything from the constant worry of girls falling behind boys in science and mathematics in school (and the sexist mythology often associated with the explanations for it), to the rising rate of obesity and eating disorders amongst women as opposed to men...
The implications of this disorder's effect on our modern world however will still be thunder to the lightning affect of seeing how ADD just might explain the Hyde side of every Dr. Jekyll in your personal life--including yourself--under the surface of drug addictions, antisocial personality quirks, narcissism, verbal abuse, scholastic and professional underachievement and emotionally codependent & adulterous intimate relationships. I have had the experience of talking to several therapists (psychologists) over my adult life; read dozens of self-help books from Eric Berne to Nathaniel Branden to Melodie Beattie to Marianne Williamson to Ilanya Vanzant; scoured through much of the work of Freud and Jung and those influenced by them, including Joseph Campbell...all of them, particularly the psychologists, opened my eyes to significant ideas, perspectives and literature (like the work of the incredible Alice Miller, for example). ALL of it, however, and all of psychologists, missed this fundamental medical/neurological perspective, which gets to the root of all my problems AND my gifts simultaneously unlike anything I have ever seen.
If you have any of the personality traits or life experiences the likes of which have been referred to in codependency theory, chemical addiction, underachievement (or just the strange, inexplicable feeling, as it goes against the evidence of your actual career/life successes, that you're still a failure in disguise), chronic depression, dyslexia associated reading & comprehension difficulties and the like (not to mention the wealth of racist, sexist and moralistic pseudo-scientific literature that speak in subtle but primitive terms of your innate criminality or inferiority; or just plain "sinful nature")...be prepared for the Galileo experience of your life. This book made me and the woman I love repeatedly burst into tears, as every chapter revealed a crucial but mysteriously painful aspect of our mutual childhoods, family and personal lives that we tried to forget, but now understand.
The funniest thing: I first heard of the book more than seven years ago, and never got around to picking it up.
Was too distracted!
This book may have saved my life.
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Summary of Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood
Through vivid stories of the experiences of their patients (both adults and children), Drs. Hallowell and Ratey show the varied forms ADD takes -- from the hyperactive search for high stimulation to the floating inattention of daydreaming -- and the transforming impact of precise diagnosis and treatment.This clear and valuable book dispels a variety of myths about attention deficit disorder (ADD). Since both authors have ADD themselves, and both are successful medical professionals, perhaps there's no surprise that the two myths they attack most persistently are: (a) that ADD is an issue only for children; and (b) that ADD corresponds simply to limited intelligence or limited self-discipline. "The word disorder puts the syndrome entirely in the domain of pathology, where it should not entirely be. Although ADD can generate a host of problems, there are also advantages to having it, advantages that this book will stress, such as high energy, intuitiveness, creativity, and enthusiasm, and they are completely overlooked by the 'disorder' model." The authors go on to cite Mozart and Einstein as examples of probable ADD sufferers. (The problem as they see it is not so much attention deficit but attention inconsistency: "Most of us with ADD can in fact hyperfocus at times.") Although they warn against overdiagnosis, they also do a convincing job of answering the criticism that "everybody, and therefore nobody" has ADD. Using numerous case studies and a discussion of the way ADD intersects with other conditions (e.g., depression, substance abuse, and obsessive-compulsive disorder), they paint a concrete picture of the syndrome's realities. Especially helpful are the lists of tips for dealing with ADD in a child, a partner, or a family member. --Richard Farr
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