ADHD: Bored of Boredom - Five Ways to Bear It. One Way to Beat It.
Last week's column didn't strike a chord in as many people as others I've written. I can only think that is a good thing . There is hope for the survival of the species. We can't all live like maniacs at the far edge, dangling off cliffs, betting the house on a football game, juggling machetes , etc...but would you be surprised to learn that all that high stimulation activity is a subset of something you probably CAN relate to? The seventh symptom in Hallowell and Ratey's Diagnostic Criteria for Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults is: 7. An intolerance of boredom. A corollary of number 6 . Actually, the person with ADD seldom feels bored. This is because the millisecond he senses boredom, he swings into action and finds something new; he changes the channel. If there is one aspect of AD/HD I wish people who don't have it could fully understand it is the intolerance of boredom . One of the loudest complaints I have heard from people who don't have AD/HD ...
