A Splintered Mind

I have the comorbid conditions of ADHD and Depression. And may I say that I despise the word "comorbid". What a gruesome, ghoulish word to hang around people's necks. Leave it to psychologists to come up with terminology that depresses depressives. Because "coinciding" and "overlapping" weren't descriptive enough. But I digress…which is the point of this quick post after all. I have often found my ADHD to be very helpful in treating my Depression. This is because sometimes I can forget I am depressed if the distraction is engrossing enough. In fact, when I discover that I am depressed, I will seek out distractions as the first coping strategy to get the depression under control. Sometimes, the depression is a wave that passes. What a perfect way to sidestep it by finding something else to think about for a short time until my mind & body regulate themselves. I had originally stated here that ADHD and Depression were not common coinci...

Last week Rock Center with Brian Williams had a segment on a mother who was only diagnosed with ADHD after her daughter was discovered to have ADHD. The mother was 42. You can see a clip of the segment here . I'm wondering how common this is with others. I was diagnosed very early. At 3 weeks old my doctor decided I had "hyperkinesis". That could be because I rarely slept and would stand when people held my fingers. My head was too heavy to support, and I flopped it around, but I was standing. The year was 1967. Fifteen years later the term was Attention Deficit Disorder, but I was lucky. I was diagnosed very early. There was a label for my symptoms. When were you diagnosed? Did you learn you had ADHD early or late in life? If you were late to the game, do you think an earlier diagnosis would have helped you score better?

I have decided that April is the month I finish my Depression book. I've been working on it long enough, and now that my health is returning to me I would like to make a big push to make up for lost time. I'll still post here throughout the month, but the articles will be shorter than usual. I ask for your patience and support. You can follow my progress on Twitter or Path. Today's post is a departure for me. Somebody I know needs your help, but it's help that might benefit you. An associate of mine, author David Farland, has suffered a family tragedy lately. His son, Ben, had a very severe sports accident that nearly cost him his life. In fact, he is still struggling in the hospital today. Ben's bout with death has generated a hospital bill estimated to be in the millions. As a writer, Dave doesn't have health insurance, so he is turning to his readers for help. He needs them to buy one of two books today. Read on for the details. I've known Dave for...

Saturday - Entry 30: It may be 6:15am, but I am very pleased with myself. I pushed through the stupor my brain has been under since the accident and finished my freelance assignments. It is such a good feeling. Not only did I complete my freelance work despite my addled mind, but I significantly increased my rate of output. Considering that the first two articles took over three days to complete, getting my output back to less than 30 minutes per article was reason to celebrate. I rewarded myself with an episode of Elementary since I was too wired to sleep. I also did sit-ups, folded laundry, got another load going, and cleaned the living room. All before 6am. As I said, I was wired. I realize that whiplash, even mild forms of it, can make a mind a quivering puddle of goo, so I am thankful for the elasticity of our minds and their ability to heal. I feel in hindsight that I was rather lucky to have escaped the accident with as little damage as I did. Still, I have tried t...