ADHD: Upsides to Thrill Seeking
The number six symptom in Hallowell and Ratey's Diagnostic Criteria for Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults is a need for high stimulation.
6. A frequent search for high stimulation.
The Adult with ADD is always on the lookout for something novel, something engaging, something in the outside world that can catch up with the whirlwind that's rushing inside.
My mother tells of a story where my late brother, Ryan, created a new sport one day. It involved BMX bikes and trampolines. Now, one thing you have to understand about Utah is that a family is not a real family unless there is a trampoline in their backyard. It is that important. When a neighbor moved away and left their trampoline behind, my children could finally hold their heads up high in school even though the trampoline wasn't large enough to bounce two hyperactive chinchillas on. You would think with access to a full olympic sized trampoline my brother and his friend would have been content. But Ryan had ADHD and why be content with jumping on a trampoline when you can ride your bike off the roof holding onto a rope and swing onto the trampoline instead?
I have my own escapades involving roofs to recall. I especially liked the challenge of climbing out my bedroom window and walking along the apex to the chimney. At one point I contemplated rigging ropes from the chimney into the canopy of trees around my house. All I had was my Mum's clothesline and even I knew that wouldn't hold me. Oh, what I could have done with some real rope. I eventually did get into those trees. I had lots of fun moving from tree to tree 25 feet above the ground for an afternoon, then I forgot about it and moved on to something new: playing in traffic. Behind the wheel, of course.
The fact is that many people with AD/HD have this need to fill their mind by pursuing something exhilarating but risky. There's an abhorrence of boredom that drives their impulses. Gambling, drugs, sex, extreme sports, creative banking, foolhardy activities, and unhealthy relationships litter the lives of so many ADHD adults. Common sense flies out the window and normally intelligent and bright people get caught up doing something dumb for the thrill of it - the challenge - all for those few precious moments of intense clarity hyperfocus can bring.
Instead of belaboring the negatives of this behavior, however, I wanted to contemplate upsides to it. Are there any benefits to needing high stimulation? I asked my mother-in-law what she thought and she started laughing out loud. Eventually, I had to hang up. For all I know, she's still laughing.
I contacted an editor friend of mine and asked her what benefits she could think of. She felt that the need for more intense experiences often produced "more experiences, period, since people with that sort of wiring tend to try to cram as much into life as they possibly can. This results in more to think about, more to write about, which makes them very interesting people to be around." I always knew I liked that girl. Too bad she wasn't talking about me.
One byproduct of seeking out the new thrills continually is increased creativity. Old ideas are abandoned for exciting, brand new ones. If tapped, that can be a valuable resource for the person with AD/HD. In addition, an unquenchable thirst for new information makes one well suited for the tech industry which is in a state of constant flux and development. I've heard it said as well that these types of individuals excel at sales - people who love the thrill of closing the deal. Personally, I'd rather continue my exciting life as a beta tester for the pharmaceutical industry. Oh, boy. Thrills galore.
High stimulation can certainly lead to negative behavior, but the upside for us is a very varied existance. We don't so much think outside of the box as live there. While that makes fitting in difficult, when we harness our skills we can stand out from the crowd in beneficial ways. Sometimes that's lucrative, sometimes it simply adds spice to life. It's not all dangerous. Here I ply my creativity with words and communication, challenging myself to improve with each column. Over there I explore fractals, illustrate critters, master technologies, and channel the need for thrills through the acquisition of knowledge. Recently I discovered my wildly ecclectic music collection, refined by over 25 years of seeking out new and exciting forms of music to fight off boredom, has had interesting side benefits. My iTunes library has made me youthful and hip to my kids. I hadn't planned on that happening, but my 30gb collection of meta tagged MP3s has been a treasure trove for my 13 and 11 year olds who have bonded with me because of it. Or maybe they just love my collection of Euro Vocal Trance.
Adult ADD is an asset when we minimize the downsides and nourish the upsides. Analysts would have you see only the negative aspects of AD/HD because that's how they're defined in their books, but we benefit from the need for high stimulation all the time. Keep it safe. Keep it legal, but keep getting bored. You're bound to discover something new and exciting again any minute.
technorati tags: ADD, ADHD, AD/HD, Thrills, Thrill, Seeking, Coping, Strategies, Adults, Vices, Vice, Impulses, High, Stimulation, risky, behavior, Success, Skills
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Ok, I am known for getting bored easily. Then I am also known to stuck to a certain routine. So, I don't know what to make of all this... So, I will only talk about being easily bored. It's like if I have to concentrate on something that I don't like doing, I have to have small distractions and take a ton of breaks so that I can get back to what I was originally doing and eventually finish the job. Good example was when I was in my previous school and got an assigment, I always found *better* things to distract myself with. I had to... like clean the cat litter box ... Yeah... and... do laundry and... basically do anything else than the assigment. I did some other stuff and got back to my computer, continued with the assignment and then did something else.. and so forth. The assignment took forever to finish but it got done anyhow.
I have never been seeking anything dangerous though. I am such a chicken and have ton of phobias... like major fear of heights etc...
I don't know if those people who are into extreme sports or have those crazy shows on TV have AD/HD... Makes me wonder!
However, he is a musician who is constantly pushing himself toward the hardest music he can play. He is competitive musically and was a competitive dancer, neither of which bothered him in the least.
I, on the other hand, tend to always be hunting for some new challenge of the intellect -- whether it's conquering new software, hardware, tackling a problem or finding some new skill to learn.
I abhor boredom. I loathe the routine. This creates some problems when it comes to things like housecleaning and other requirements of life, but I often bribe myself into dealing with that by promising myself some kind of new challenge when I'm done.
I consider this particular attribute of ADHD to be an asset more than anything else.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and I'm looking forward to reading yours.
DnW
Thanks for the visit - Carmon
I like your Fractal Artwork.
However, I can certainly relate with your need to make things more complicated. Oh, like doing the assignment wasn't hard enough, we have to add stress and crunched deadlines to make it worse.
I have a fear of heights, too, but I like to push myself to conquer it, or I used to anyway when I had time for silly pursuits. There was a time I was at the Grand Canyon all by myself. I wanted to get a great shot with my camera of the snow on the orange rock, so I slipped under the rope wearing nothing but plastic soled moccasins and crept up to the edge. My heart was racing, I was scared to death, but I got my shot. Stupid, but thrilling. Maybe it's a guy thing.
DrumsNWhistles ~ Welcome. I tend to be more like you. My stimulation is found within the mind. Last Friday I spent the day discovering how to write an Applescript that launched the moment I inserted my USB thumb drive, backed up a specific file to the drive, unmounted the drive, and spoke to me when it was done. It was immensely satisfying to me, even if a bit geeky. I was finding the tiny steps needed to back up that file too odious to bear. LOL Still, when used in moderation this is an asset that helps me stand out.
Life at Star's Rest ~ Thank you. I saw both posts, but it is perfectly acceptable to only respond on your own blog. It's up to the poster to come back for the answer. :) Good luck with your show.
Heidi the Hick ~ Good luck with getting focus. Brain storming is fun, but when we do nothing but brain storming we can't share with the rest of the world some of our better ideas. I have that problem, too. ;)
Melissa ~ Well, not all thrills are created equal. I don't think yours come with a built in Fun Factor. But could you really relax at a spa? You'd be too worried about what your kids were up to. LOL Good luck with Sam. My brother - the college professor - died when he was just a babe during an epileptic fit but came back to life on the way to the hospital. I know how frightening those seizures can be, and how dangerous. But as an adult he lives a normal live. He just needs to be on constant guard for his epilepsy. My mother taught him the life skills he needed to survive, and you're doing the same for your own child. Good luck.
Susanne ~ Glad you like my fractals. I've been thinking of making them a Flickr stream or photocast to get more exposure. Right now the whole page is a blog. Be sure to subscribe to the feed. I've done so with yours. Thanks for dropping by.
I totally relate to that! People know that if they come to me with something new, I will jump at the chance to do it.
Your story about the trampoline reminded me of a few stories from my youth. Once, my brothers and I and several neighborhood kids were jumping off our garage roof into a pool made by throwing a garbage bag over an innertube and filling it with water. I had some friends who got their kicks from riding their bikes out of a second story window. No trampoline. Just ground. We would also go tobogganing down deer trails through the woods. No room for error there!
AH MEMORIES!!
Of course, AD/HD people don't corner the market on the need for high stimulation but in tandem with other attributes you will find it tends to define them - though not all people with AD/HD gravitate towards such intense experiences.
Comments are down on this column so my concern that not as many people could relate may be proven true. I still felt this attribute of AD/HD needed to be explored. Besides, it was fun to reminisce. ;)
then again, someone did tell me that maturity is highly overrated ;)
used to have a problem when getting behind the wheel. it helped satisfy adrenaline cravings and release stress..till i was forced to drive more sanely.
upsides? a career that involves risk like fire-fighting is a legitimate option.
a really good way to revel in adrenaline is serious sports..dont have to compete, against anyone but yourself.
lifting heavy weights especially puts me in the zone for those vital, few seconds of euphoria. and yes, the high can last hours..unlike sex.
not to mention the psychological high which is even more difficult to estimate
..which is a major reason why i wonder so many guys treasure it over sheer adrenaline rush.
i mean, sex is like food..a necessary evil but not extraordinary
..running a 100 metres in 10 secs flat, now THATS special
I would love to travel to a foreign country by myself right now. I miss traveling. I need to shake up my life a bit. ;)
Sol ~ I was a maniac behind the wheel when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I don't believe maturity is fully responsible for my mellowing out. I think I just dislike traffic citations more than I like driving aggressively. ;)
Sex is an interesting problem that I might tackle here one day. The anticipation is such a rush that our world culture is completely addicted to it. But as you put it, there are so many more satisfying things to do. They're just not as intense, and so they don't get the spotlight.
cheesemeister ~ Heh. Glad you're still with us. :)
~Douglas
your editor friend
However, what he misses in that assessment is that his behavior makes it much more difficult to have relationships with others. His inability to stay focused during our conversations and lack of impulse control have led to my feelings being hurt too many times. He also has struggled to be able to keep a job and bring income in for himself. While I don't mean to downplay the positives, AD/HD can significantly impact the lives of others in negative ways. I believe that publishing an article that does not appear to recognize this is a little irresponsible.
Honey, I'm sorry your beau is a cad, but don't project his attitudes onto me. Most people I know with AD/HD can usually find their self-esteem circling the rim, if you follow. They hate themselves, think they are failures, and often are discouraged with life. They need to hear a few good words of encouragement.
I don't speak for all people with AD/HD, usually just those people like myself. And we need to focus on the positive sometimes. There are upsides to this "gift" that need to be recognized so we can utilize them in our lives instead of being the wrecks we usually are.
Don't judge me by just one article. I've covered the downsides of AD/HD over and over again here. I invite you to click on the "AD/HD" tag at the bottom of the article.
(Not sure why I'm bothering to reply. It's not like you ever visited my site again.)
Anonymous #2 ~ I like your comments so much better than the other Anonymous. What a diverse and varied life you have lived. That is such an upside to this aspect of AD/HD. Just keep those financial risks down as you know and you should be able to continue to live a rich life. Thanks for taking the time to comment.