I Was Recently Diagnosed with ADD -And was Happy About it!!

At the grand age of 54 I was finally diagnosed with a mental condition that I’d suspected for many years that I had: attention deficit disorder, or ADD. Knowing that I was correct in my self assessment — as I usually am when it comes to ailments of mind and body — I was thrilled that there was now actually a diagnosis of what was “wrong” with me … after decades of people telling me something was “wrong” and implying very strongly that I was “bad” because I am different. That gray cloud has hung over my head for most of my life, one that lifted and let the sun shine in once I knew the truth.

Once I returned home with the diagnosis papers in hand, I decided to check out “Scattered: How attention deficit disorder originates and what you can do about it” by Dr. Gabor Mate. I wasn’t all that surprised to basically read the story of my life in those pages. I also admit that while I find it fascinating and very illuminating, I also have been in the process of reading it for over two months… a book that may have taken me three or four days if I really sat down to concentrate on it … because, as people with my condition will attest, I keep getting distracted by other things. I am currently in the last few chapter on how adults can lovingly “re-parent” themselves to cope with this condition.

In a nutshell, ADD is a mental condition in which the brain does not fully develop, meaning the person afflicted is kind of immature, or “stuck” in one way or another. Its origins may begin inside the womb…