Militant Vigilance

In his forward for The Disorganized Mind, John J. Ratey, M.D. mentions that "militant vigilance" is necessary for ADHD sufferers to deal with their deficits. I can definitely attest to this, as it is the one area in which I am sorely lacking. The simplest tasks seem impossible because of my inability to maintain this vigilance.

For example, the other day I was involved in a discussion with other attorneys about ADHD. A very well-meaning person suggested that problems with missing court hearings and deadlines could be solved by using a PDA to record dates. Unfortunately, I knew from personal experience that having a PDA and calendaring software did not help me, because often I never made the proper entries in my calendar. I would be on the phone or opening mail, but I would be distracted and would not record the pertinent information at that moment. Yet if I did not write it down right away, the information would be lost and I would get a call from a judge a few weeks or months later asking where I was.

Something is missing, and it's not the tools. It's an awareness issue. Yet even that is insufficient to describe it, because sometimes I'm aware that I should write something down and yet I can't get myself to do it. This ties into something Nancy Ratey, the author, discusses in Chapter 7 on Impulsivity. People with ADHD often have an inability to learn from past mistakes. They lack a "working memory or judgment or a way to evaluate consequences...." Nancy mentions this in the context of ADHDers speaking without thinking, but I think it fits with my issues also. Of course, it seems counterintuitive to think of sitting and not doing something (like recording a phone call) as impulsivity, but the working definition by Ratey seems to fit.

Anyway, all thoughts on this subject are welcome.

Books I am Currently Reading

The Disorganized Mind, by Nancy A. Ratey, Ed.M., M.C.C., S.C.A.C.
10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD, by Stephanie Moulton Sarkis, Ph.D.
Living with ADD: A Workbook for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder, by M. Susan Roberts, Ph.D. and Gerard J. Jansen, Ph.D.
Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder, by Susan C. Pinsky

My Attention Deficit Disorder

I decided to create a blog to discuss adult attention deficit disorder from the point of view of someone who suffers from it. I call it "100 Televisions" because talk show host Tammy Bruce once said that ADD was like "having 100 televisions playing in your head all at once." ADD ruined my career as an attorney. I hope that this blog will help others as well as myself cope with our ADD.