addprogrammer

Index, Rheanna, JaneWhite and Thunor, this post is primarly directed to you.

I've dumped on shrinks and as a group they deserve it. Let me say something good about them. The DSM-IV ADHD definition is right on target. I don't like some of the wording because it is misleading to the general public. For instance, lumping ADD and ADHD into one disorder may be technically correct but it has caused the disorder to go undiagnosed for many with ADD.

I'm in the Dr. Amen fan club for a similar reason. Amen lists ADD as the disorder and hyperactivity as a subtype of the disorder - that is the way it should be.

I've done some research on what the mainline shrinks say about "Overfocused ADD." They say "ADHD with comorbid OCD." I am uncertain if the difference is McIntosh apples and Red Delicious apples or if it's apples and oranges, the prescription is the same - an antidepressant and a low dose of stimulant.

Amen's Overfocused description fits me better than the decription given for OCD - much better.

I think I can top both camps with another name - "bipolar ADHD."

Both "ADHD with comorbid OCD" and "ADD with subtype Overfocused" give me the impression of two disorder threads running concurrently in the same process. I seem to experience whatever it is as one sequentially executed thread where for a time I experience ADHD then switch to Overfocused mode for a time similar to the sequencing experienced by bipolar suffers. To the best of my knowledge, BP suffers do not experience depression and mania concurrently. The sequencing is where the similarities end. I'm certain I do not suffer from bipolar.

I was surprised that I couldn't get anyone to sign in to the Amen fan club. Amen best describes Bob's universe. Jane is ADHD, Index, Rheanna and Thunor are ADD, and I am "ADHD with comorbid OCD" or "ADD with subtype Overfocused" - take your pick. We live in different universes. You do not experience what I experience and neither do I experience what you experience.

My experience helped to see that the DSM-IV ADHD definition is on target. The biological defect that causes the symptoms defined as ADHD is at root. Many other disorders and factors can create ADHD impostor symptoms or exacerbate ADHD symptoms but they do not cause ADHD. That includes sight, hearing and sleep disorders. Depression, anxiety disorders and all other disorders related to emotions. Learning disorders, dyslexia, Tourrettes, environmental factors and every other disorder or condition or disease and all other definitions (except ADHD) under the sun.

ADHD manifests itself as excessively volatile working memory. OCD is working memory that leans excessively toward the persistent end of the scale. "Normal" is working memory volatility degree range within specs. I experience all three. Nothing else changes except the degree of working memory volatility. All non-med remediations that work long term for me such as writing things down are workarounds for my inability to persist thoughts long enough to act on them. The meds get the degree of volatility within specifications. Unfortunately, the meds can't fix the damage of the 53 years of unfettered ADHD rampage. That is what CBT is for.

Bob