by Lynda Kohn

Created on: November 27, 2010   Last Updated: November 28, 2010

Personal notes on living with ADD
I am  a woman who is successfully living with ADD.  ADD stands for attention deficit Disorder.  It is differentiated from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder since there is no hyperactivity involved.  Hyperactivity in ADHD is defined as excessive movement of a constant nature, fidgetting, difficulty in staying still.    It is not unusual for ADHD and ADD to be combined with bipolar disorder.  The medical term for two health conditions coexisting with each other and relating to each other is co-morbidity. I've been seen as having bipolar by several psychiatrists too.  

 There are at least six types of ADD. They are as follows: Classic type.  This is the type most people envision when they hear or read of ADD.  The symptoms are inattentive, hyperactive, distractable, poor organization skills, restless, being impulsive. Inattentive type Symptoms:  aka Space Cadet Easy to distract, terrible organization skills, low energy levels, easily bored, attention is brief except for what is really interested.  If interested, attention can be obsessional.  Frequent daydreaming.  Important but not to the point of disconnecting from reality.   Head can be "in clouds"   Ironically named Overfocused type. Symptoms:  Possibly excessive concern over even minor concerns.  Oppositional, argues a lot, being compulsive. Insists on own way.  Tendency to be rigid.  Difficulty in compromising.  There is the temporal lobe type with severe mood swings and possibility of anti-social behavior, rebellion against authority figures. Limbic presents with attentiveness, feeling sad, low energy levels, poor self image.     Mine is  inattentive type.   That is I can get easily distracted.  For example I'm writing this article here and I suddenly hear a loud noise out my window.  I immediately stop typing and I try to find out what it is.  In other words I'm curious and  I feel I need to see what's going on.

Being diagnosed as an adult woman with ADD. My diagnosis of ADD Inattentive type was given to me fairly recently.  That is about five years ago.  I strongly suspect I was ADD pretty much my entire life.  I remember being easily distracted in school and constantly being accused of daydreaming.  I recall being obsessed by several of my childhood toys, especially

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