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I joined the Midori Traveler’s Notebook (TN) club this past Summer. I missed the big blogging heyday about them around 2012 to 2015 when the Internet seem to explode over this nifty little notebook system, but I was all about digital back then. I loved my iPhone and didn’t feel a need to go analog. Recently, though, I noticed some artists doing inspiring things in their TNs, and I thought this could be the kick in the pants I needed to fit sketching back into my life. I started small with one notebook insert with a leather cover. Only when I noted that I was actually using it, I invested in more inserts. The only feature it was missing for me was a ToDo list insert, but nobody made one. And thus I began my journey yesterday into DIY Notebook Hell. With ADHD as my guide, I boldly discovered blog after blog of incredibly ornate notebook inserts that people made for themselves because the official ones were just “too expensive”. Since you can get official ones fo...

About Me

January 02, 2012

Celebrating Year Nine I’m Douglas Cootey, and I’ve been blogging here since 2 January 2005 . Before that I blogged for years into a tiny text file called “what’s_new.html” and hosted it on a site so old not even archive.org remembers it very well. I would update that blog via telnet using vi on a 1200 baud modem. It was very exciting. I started out blogging about mental health in order to accomplish three goals: First, I wanted to overcome the stigma. I couldn’t talk about my ADHD or Depression without feeling shame. The method I used to overcome this was self-deprecating humor and honesty—a method that continues to work well for me. Next, I wanted to reach out to others who shared my issues. My blog has reached thousands of people, many of who don't comment because the mental health stigma is strong. However, many of whom send me emails thanking me from time to time for something that I have written. I have learned so much from thei...

Hallowell and Ratey's Diagnostic Criteria for ADD in Adults

May 22, 2007

If you have ever found yourself putting the milk away in the cereal cupboard on a regular basis or reading a magazine in the lobby long after that meeting you were supposed to be at started and wondered whether you have ADD or ADHD or AD/HD or Hyper Kinesis or Minimal Brain Dysfunction or whatever they're calling it this year, you could do no better for yourself than to turn to Doctors Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey for diagnosis. I have long linked to their classic book on ADHD, " Driven to Distraction ", on my site and have used their list of criteria as fodder for many articles. Their book explores the phenomenon of ADHD through the cases of Dr. Hallowell and provides in depth descriptions of the various aspects of this disorder. I found the book revelatory and insightful, even comforting. I especially found it useful in providing words for me to help explain myself better to my wife in the early years of our marriage. I am much more articulate now than I was...

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